Campaign for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Africa -By Edwin Uhara

The increasing rate of violence against women and girls have become source of concerns lately. We read it in the news everyday and we sometimes witness or experience it in our neighborhoods.

There is no day that passes without reported case of violence against women in our news channels.

The situation has become so prevalent that if you do a content analysis of our dailies from January to December, one will come to terms with the fact that no hour passes without a different woman somewhere in a different location facing a different case related to violence, intimidation, bullying, sexual harassment, cyber stalking or any form of these abuses.

This necessitated why the United Nations designated November 25 every year as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; a day to raise awareness on the dangers associated with this evil practices.

This year’s campaign focuses on the digital realm with the theme: “Digital Violence is Real Violence.”

According to report, “Violence against women on online platforms is, today, a serious and rapidly growing threat that seeks to silence the voices of many women—especially those with a strong public and digital presence in fields such as politics, activism, or journalism.”

It further stated that, “Digital violence is a form of violence on the rise due to weak technological regulation and a lack of legal recognition of this type of aggression.”

In some countries, the impunity of digital platforms; new and fast-evolving forms of abuse using Artificial Intelligence AI, movements opposing gender equality, the anonymity of perpetrators and the limited support for digital victims has made the situation worst.

The report added that “These acts don’t just happen online. They often lead to offline violence in real life (IRL), such as coercion, physical abuse, and even femicide – killing of women and girls. The harm can be long-lasting and affect survivors over a prolonged period of time.”

A case in point was how the life of a promising young lady in Nigeria, Cynthia Okosogu was abruptly brought to an end in 2012 by men of the under-world who lured her to their den using the Facebook.

Digital violence targets women more than men, across all walks of life especially those with public or online visibility – such as activists, journalists, women in politics, human rights defenders, and young women – the report added.

Noting that, digital violence manifest itself in the following but not limited forms; Image-based abuse/ non-consensual sharing of intimate images – often called revenge porn or leaked nudes.

Cyberbullying, trolling, and online threats.
Online harassment and sexual harassment.

AI-generated deepfakes such as sexually explicit images, deepfake pornography, and digitally manipulated images, videos or audio.

Hate speech and disinformation on social media platforms.

Doxxing – publishing private information.

Online stalking or surveillance/tracking to monitor someone’s activities.

Online grooming and sexual exploitation.

Catfishing and impersonation.
Misogynistic comments on networks like manosphere, incel forums etc.

The report concluded that,
38% of women have experienced online violence and 85% have witnessed digital violence against others.

Misinformation and defamation are the most prevalent forms of online violence against women as 67% of women and girls who have experienced digital violence reported this tactic.

90 – 95% of all online deepfakes are non-consensual pornographic images with around 90 per cent of these depicting women.

73% of women journalists reported experiencing online violence.

Fewer than 40% of countries have laws protecting women from cyber harassment or cyber stalking. This leaves 44% of the world’s women and girls representing 1.8 billion – without access to legal protection.

Adding that the impact is even worse for women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including race, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

“Almost one in three women have been subjected to physical or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life.

This view is corolated in another UN- report quoted in an article entitled ” The Rising Tide of Femicide in Nigeria: A Silent War Against Women,” written by Valeria Ogide.

The author asserted that “every 10 minutes, a woman is killed which is a sobering statistic that underscores the global crisis of gender-based violence.”

The article further stated that “In 2023, Africa bore the highest burden of intimate partner and family-related femicide in the world, with over 21,700 women tragically losing their lives.

“In Nigeria, femicide continues to be an issue that is frequently under-reported, normalised, or dismissed” – The article suggested.

“Over 401 women reportedly died as a result of sexual and gender-based violence in 2022 alone.”

Tragically, women have become items that can be used to express negative emotions at will without fearing the consequences.

In a related development, a release by Oxfam entitled: “SAY ENOUGH TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN NIGERIA” reported that “Widespread harmful traditional practices still exist, including widow abuse, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation/cutting FGM/C.”

It is estimated that 27% of women aged between 15 to 49 years have undergone some form of female genital mutilation/cutting while single women (divorced, separated or widowed) experience higher risk across all zones in Nigeria which is about (44%).

Sadly enough, the Nigerian multiple indicator cluster (MICS) report of 2011 revealed that 46% of Nigerian women believe that a husband has a right to hit or beat them for at least one reason.”

This is unacceptable as there should be #NoExcuse for any form of abuse; online abuse or offline abuse as the case may be.

The organization further explained that “Violence against women and girls is rooted in unequal power relations that are further reinforced by social and gender norms that normalize and justify violence against women, including rape.”

The increasing incidents of rape against women and girls speak to underlying social norms that make it acceptable for men to feel entitled to women’s bodies without their consent – This is outrightly unacceptable.

While I commend countries with strong legal frameworks that protect the rights and privileges of women and girls from abuse, those without such legal frameworks should endeavor to enact such law because when a woman or a girl’s right is abused on account of her gender, what it simply means, is that the right of the entire human race is abused.

There should be no justification or #NoExcuse for any form of abuse at all, let alone abusing the right of women and girls.

It not enough to raise awareness against this scourge on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women alone, but sustainable mechanism should be put in place to guarantee the safety of those who works in the field of raising the awareness as well as defending their rights when overpowered by repressive regime anywhere.

If all hands must be on deck from now, I believe the issue of violence against women will drastically be reduced by the year- 2030.

Comrade Edwin Uhara is A UN-trained Negotiator and Rights Campaigner based in Abuja, Nigeria.

He reachable via: edwinuhara@rocketmail.com