Combined Statement through the Global Relationship for Action on Gender-Based On the web Harassment and Abuse upon Standing with the Women and Ladies of Iran

We invite the international community to join us urgently in working with technology companies to do everything in their power to enable women and girls’ access to information online, particularly their particular full and effective use of online platforms. This includes implementing practical and proactive procedures to combat the misuse of their platforms to threaten, harass, and silence Iranian women and girls by surging resources for Persian (Farsi) language content moderation along with other Iranian languages, applying policies on harassment and abusive content in a timely plus consistent manner, and delivering resources and transparent reporting options for those experiencing on the web harassment and abuse. The particular members of the Global Relationship for Action on Gender-Based On-line Harassment and Abuse remain in solidarity with Iranian women and girls and will carry on and look for ways to support females globally in exercising their rights freely and safely, online and offline. The individuals of Iran rely on social media and other digital tools to communicate and broadcast their particular messages to the world—always, plus particularly during the ongoing violence perpetrated by Iranian government bodies. The women and girls of Iran bravely use these essential tools, even as Iranian authorities and their followers misuse and abuse exactly the same technologies against them, propagating coordinated online harassment, mistreatment, and disinformation campaigns made to discredit them and stop their protests. This use of violence against women and girls in public life, which manifests both online and offline and it is exacerbated by the scale, rate, and reach of technology platforms, is a deliberate method leveraged by illiberal actors around the world seeking to halt democratic movements and shore up their own political power. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence threatens the particular lives, safety, and livelihoods of survivors and their own families, especially as online and off-line violence are often mutually reinforcing. December 8, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario — Global Affairs Canada Australia, Canada, Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States The particular undersigned Foreign Ministers intended for country members of the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Mistreatment call attention to the intense violence faced by the brave Iranian women and girls that are leading nationwide protests over the tragic death of 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini. Since then, Iranian authorities have continuing and even escalated their intense suppression of protestors, including through their use of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Women and girls have faced targeted on the web harassment and abuse by Iranian authorities, their apparatuses, and institutions as they demand respect for their human legal rights and fundamental freedoms. All of us condemn this ongoing violent crackdown on protestors, including on digital platforms and through Internet restrictions.

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