Unite to End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls

Stakeholders across Jamaica are being urged to intensify coordinated actions to safeguard women and girls from emerging forms of digital violence.

The call was issued during the inaugural Gender-based Violence (GBV) Advocacy Forum, held on Friday (December 12) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.

Hosted by the Bureau of Gender Affairs, the forum formed part of the national observance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) and the extended 16 Days of Activism campaign, which was delayed due to the national response to Hurricane Melissa.

In her remarks, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, commended the Bureau for advancing the National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence (NSAP-GBV) 2017–2027.

Pointing to this year’s theme ‘Unite to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls’, Ms. Grange said that while technology continues to transform communication, education, and economic opportunity, it has also introduced new forms of harm, including cyberbullying, online harassment, deep fakes, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

“Technology is changing how we communicate, how we educate, and how we build opportunities,” she said in a message read by Women Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) Board Chair, Mrs. Debby-Ann Brown Salmon.

“It has, however, created new forms of harm… Even so, we are not standing by helpless. Jamaica is strengthening its legislative framework, building partnerships with digital platforms, and expanding training for teachers, parents, and young people,” Ms. Grange added.

The Minister also acknowledged the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Melissa, noting that the Ministry, through the Bureau, continues to support psychosocial care, counselling, and access to safe spaces for women and girls, who face heightened risks after natural disasters.

“This… is how we rebuild…not only with concrete and sand and steel, but with the awareness and vigilance, care, and coordinated efforts,” she stated.

For her part, Principal Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Sharon Coburn Robinson, highlighted the significance of the forum, noting that it drew on insights and strategies from a recent three-day United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-supported workshop that addressed gender-based violence in disaster response contexts.

She pointed to growing global concerns about unsafe digital environments, where women and girls are subjected to harassment, stalking, online exploitation, doxing, and coordinated hate campaigns.

“It is therefore of growing concern that increasingly digital platforms have become unsafe spaces where women and girls are subjected to sexual harassment and other forms of blatant and subtle discrimination,” she said, noting that such violence “carries a whole range of consequences, which are profoundly real.”

The Director also used the occasion to highlight the ongoing implementation of the Sexual Harassment (Protection and Prevention) Act, supported by the Sexual Harassment Investigation Unit and the Sexual Harassment Tribunal.