MANILA, 30 March 2023 — In time for Women’s Month, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched a campaign in the Philippines to address digital violence and online abuse.
Dubbed “Bodyright,” the campaign highlights the importance of women and other vulnerable groups’ control over their bodies and how they are portrayed online, especially at a time when online abuse and sexual exploitation are widespread. It is the new ‘copyright’ symbol to demand protection from online violence and it draws attention to the lack of protection women and girls, in all their diversity, face online.
Bodyright is UNFPA’s global campaign that calls on policymakers, tech companies and social media platforms to take image-based abuse, the devaluation of human beings and online misogyny as seriously as they take copyright infringement. It also rallies all partners and supporters including civil society and the general public to promote the safe, ethical use of technology and develop concrete actions to end online violence.
On its website unfpa.org/bodyright, people can sign the petition and show their support for the campaign by affixing the Bodyright logo or ⓑ symbol on their photos to “own” their bodies online and to “claim their bodyright.”
“Violence in digital spaces is rampant, with women and girls being disproportionately attacked, and its consequences frequently spill over into the real/offline world. Yet it is seldom regarded with the gravity it deserves,” Dr. Leila Saiji Joudane, UNFPA Philippine Country Director said during the virtual event for the launch of Bodyright (Livestream of virtual launch: https://www.facebook.com/UNFPAph/videos/602077721828853)
She pointed out that while technology and the internet has presented the world with many opportunities, it has also resulted in harm and violence of women, children and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Bodyright is about everyone’s fundamental right to choose what they do with their bodies - including how they are portrayed online,” Joudane added.
She said institutions, social media platforms and technology companies should find ways to protect people’s bodies and images online just as they have found ways to counter copyright infringement.
“When you upload a video online using someone else’s song, some websites can immediately flag your video for copyright infringement. But when a woman’s intimate photos make their way online without her consent, it is very hard to have the images removed from the internet,” Joudane explained, adding that it results in the violation of women’s and girls’ rights.
The Bodyright launch last Wednesday featured messages of support from ACCORD Incorporated, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia Pacific (CATW-AP). The event featured songs performed by young artists about women empowerment, gender inequality, cyberbullying and other forms of gender-based violence. Youth from Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao also performed spoken word poetry that tackled the unique needs and cultural contexts faced by women and girls in the region.
The participants of the event called “Take Back the Web: A night of creative expression about women & girls’ lives, rights and bodily autonomy” also posed with their “b tattoos” or stickers of the Bodyright logo. At the end of the event, members of youth groups Perxx Commune and Pandi Empowered Survivors - Youth read the Bodyright petition and led its ceremonial signing.
Globally, 85% of women globally with access to the internet reported witnessing online violence against other women, and 38% experienced it personally, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. The same report showed that around 65% of women surveyed have experienced cyber-harassment, hate speech and defamation, while 57% have experienced video and image-based abuse, where damaging content is shared concurrently across platforms.
In the Philippines, Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) reported that in 2021, the most prevalent cases of online GBV are non-consensual distribution of intimate images (48.00%), threats of violence or blackmail (41.33%), and deleting, changing or faking personal data (22.67%). #
About UNFPA
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA globally is promoting commitments to achieving three transformational goals by 2030 - ending preventable maternal deaths, ending unmet need for family planning, and ending gender-based violence and other harmful practices against women and girls including child marriage. UNFPA works with the government, civil society, development partners, other UN agencies, academia, and the private sector to reach those furthest behind first and leave no one behind, especially young people, the poorest, the conflict and disaster-affected, indigenous peoples and people with disabilities.
For more information contact:
Kristine Sabillo Guerrero
Media and Communications Analyst
kguerrero@unfpa.org
