International Women's Day - AfDB Calls for Safe Cyberspace for Women

8 March 2016
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)

To: 08/03/2016

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

The African Development Bank's East Africa Regional Resource Centre (EARC), is hosting a forum in Nairobi, Kenya, on the theme "Making the Internet a Safer Place for Women" to mark International Women's Day on March 8.

The event will bring together the donor community, key government officials, United Nations, private sector, civil society, and academia, among others. The forum will explore the magnitude of cyberspace gender violence, and discuss possible measures that can be implemented to protect women and children from abuse. Solutions will be sought on how to make technology, and the internet in particular, a safer place where more women can fully utilize and harness the power of ICT for their social and economic development.

The AfDB Vice-President and Special Envoy on Gender, Geraldine-Fraser Moleketi, and the EARC Director, Gabriel Negatu, alongside Kenya's Inspector General of Police, the UN Country Director for Kenya, among others, will participate in the event. The forum will launch a program that sensitises and empowers the Kenyan police and judiciary to better handle crimes related to gender-based cyber violence. The initiative is a joint partnership between the Bank and Facebook.

A policy brief based on recent research conducted on gender-based cyber violence in Kenya will also be unveiled at the meetings. The document highlights the fact that gender-based cyber violence is a human rights violation.

The 2016 theme for International Women's Day is "Pledge for Parity". It implores all individuals to join forces and help women to realise their full potential.

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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