Reclaiming Tech: Countering Digital Violence Against Women Environmental Defenders in the Global South

Join us for an urgent and timely online conversation on a topic that remains critically under-discussed: how technology is being weaponised to perpetrate violence against environmental and human rights defenders in the context of extractivism in the Global South.

Around the world, women and queer people—especially those from Indigenous, black, rural, and other marginalised communities—are at the forefront of environmental and human rights struggles. In response, they are increasingly targeted with reprisals both offline and online. 
Findings from recent research by the Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy and Fundación Multitudes reveal that online violence against women environmental and human rights defenders (WERHDs) is not isolated—it is embedded in broader systems of oppression, driven by patriarchal, colonial, and racialized structures.

This event brings together activists and experts from Latin America and South Asia to:

• Share lived experiences and regional perspectives on technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV);
• Exchange strategies, tools, and practices to protect WERHDs and strengthen transnational solidarity;
• Co-create visions for future action and advocacy.
   

Let’s come together to understand, resist, and reclaim technology as a tool for liberation, care and affection.

Speakers

• Camila Ramírez Araújo (Mexico) 
  Intercultural manager from the National University of Mexico (UNAM), specialized in the mediation of intercultural conflicts and the social studies of science and technology. Human rights defender, feminist, and popular pedagogy educator. Involved in the defense of water, territory, and peoples' collective rights.
• Hera Hussain – Chayn (UK and Pakistan)
  Hera is the Founder and CEO of CHAYN - a global nonprofit that creates resources on the web to address gender-based violence. Chayn’s multilingual resources, designed with, not for survivors, have reached more than 600,000 people. Raised in Pakistan and living in the UK, Hera knew from early on she wanted to tackle violence against women. She believes in using the power of open source technology, trauma-informed design and hope-filled framing to solve the world's pressing issues. Hera is an Ashoka Fellow, and was on the Forbes 30 Under 30, MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 and European Young Leader 2020 list.
• Hyra Basit – Digital Rights Foundation (Pakistan)
  Senior Project Manager at Digital Rights Foundation and is currently the Cyber Harassment Helpline Lead. Hyra is one of the first team members who joined the Helpline and has also been part of the research efforts on gendered disinformation in South Asia, particularly during elections. Her work centers around advocacy with social media companies and assisting transgender and journalist communities, and she is also interested in creating social change through film.
   

Time frame
The event is scheduled to take place on September 10th, from 14:00 to 15:30 (CEST) 
/Mexico 6:00; Colombia 7:00; Chile 9:00; Bosnia-Herzegovina (CEST) 14:00; Pakistan 17:00; Australia (ACST) 21:30;/