Dakar – UN Women and UNFPA as part of the French Muskoka Fund launch a hackathon to fight online violence against women and girls in West and Central Africa.
The region is experiencing major challenges, such as conflicts, epidemics, and natural disasters, which affect the vulnerability and chronic poverty of women and children. On the other hand, violence against women remains high, with harmful practices widespread. Women face multiple discriminations, hindering their social, economic and political empowerment. They account for nearly 70% of people living on less than a dollar a day and 2/3 of non-literate adults. Women’s isolation limits their access to education, information, and resources.
Women and girls are even more affected by the digital divide, with limited access to technology. They are also the main targets of online violence, which has devastating effects on women’s human rights and economic exclusion.
The Hackathon to fight against Gender-Based Violence is an opportunity to commit to building a safe and accessible digital environment to enable women and girls to fully enjoy their human rights and achieve their potential.
The Hackathon to fight against Gender-Based Violence is open to young people between the ages of 18 and 35 from and residing in West and Central Africa. They are committed to thinking about innovative technological solutions to: (1) prevent and fight against different forms of violence against girls and women or (2) fight against online violence.
Candidates are invited to propose their solution before November 17 by posting their project on the dedicated Hackathon website: www.hackathon-vbg.org
UN Women’s Regional Director a.i. for West and Central Africa, Dr. Maxime Houinato, said: “It is becoming imperative to bridge the digital divide and create a safe digital environment for women and girls in the region, in order to promote their empowerment and access to education, health care and economic opportunities. ‘Using digital technologies to raise awareness and mobilise younger generations in the fight against violence against girls is a way to invest in creating a more equal and inclusive society’.
UNFPA’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Dr. Sennen Hounton emphasizes that “Promoting digital access for girls and young women is essential as it opens up education, training and employment opportunities that provide them with important prospects for the future. But the digital world also contains many threats and we are witnessing the emergence of new forms of violence, online, which can dramatically affect adolescent girls and young women, in particular”, he recalls that “the demographic dividend, the fight against violence against girls and digital access are interconnected and can reinforce each other to create more sustainable egalitarian and safe societies.”
The 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) recommended zero-tolerance policies against online violence and the creation of safe digital spaces by design, as well as strengthening digital education and research to combat such violence.
About UN Women
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. As the global champion of women and girls, UN Women was created to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls around the world.
About UNFPA
UNFPA is the United Nations agency responsible for sexual and reproductive health. Her mission is to build a world in which every pregnancy is desired and every birth is safe. A world in which every young person realizes their full potential. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.
About the French Muskoka Fund:
Since 2011, the French Muskoka Fund (FFM) has been working to improve the health and well-being of women, newborns, children, adolescents and adolescent girls by strengthening health systems, including the community health system. This initiative responds to France’s commitment at the G8 Muskoka Summit to strengthen its contribution to sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, and women’s empowerment. The WFF works by mobilizing comparative advantages and coordinating the complementary expertise of four UN agencies (WHO, UN Women, UNFPA and UNICEF). Together, they are working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on health, gender equality and women’s empowerment.