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executive summary
The Global Technology Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) Shared Research Agenda is a set of research priority recommendations to address the global problem of TFGBV. These priorities have been identified through a process that is transparent, methodologically sound, inclusive and inclusive, and to ensure the representation of those who are frequently underrepresented in such important decision-making processes. We aim for global inclusivity. It is a unique and diligent approach that emphasizes decoloniality, cooperation, and collective power.
The Global TFGBV Shared Research Agenda follows the development of the previous Shared Agenda on Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Violence. In 2021, the Global Shared Research Agenda (GSRA) was developed in collaboration between the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) and the Equality Institute, with support from funding partners and from the field. More recently, the African Joint Research Agenda (ASRA) was developed by SVRI and UN Women, while the Intersection of VAW and VAC: A common global research priority was managed by UNICEF Innocenti, the World Health Organization (WHO), and SVRI. I did. Similar to these previously shared research questions, this TFGBV shared research question was developed through a methodology called the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI). This approach takes into account the opinions of multiple stakeholders, not just technical experts, so that all opinions are treated equally without one opinion dominating over another. This is achieved by “crowdsourcing” multiple opinions on an issue, which goes beyond the judgment of a single “expert.”
Three groups were established to manage and guide the co-creation of the global TFGBV shared research agenda.
1. The Stewardship Group (SG) oversaw the entire process, including coordination, design, analysis, reporting, and dissemination. SG includes SVRI (Elizabeth Dartnall, Aisha Mago, Mark Tomlinson), UN Women (Rafael Raffin, Juncal Prasaola Castano, Giorgia Airoldi), Progressive Communication Institute (Tigist Shewalega Hussen, Namita・Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse (Rachel Grant), which includes key staff and consultants working with the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse (Rachel Grant).
2. An Advisory Group (AG) group was established at the initiation stage of the project using set criteria established by the SG. The AG included 29 participants from the fields of feminist technology, violence against women and girls, online violence prevention and response, as well as big tech and cybercrime across multiple geographies. AG members jointly provided expert technical opinion and advice on key steps in the TFGBV priority-setting exercise.
3. The Global Expert Group (GEG) will ultimately be the largest group with 350 experts and will be a key component in ensuring the involvement of multiple and diverse stakeholders around the world in prioritizing research questions. provided a mechanism. To create the GEG, the SG and AG collaborated to create a longer list of global experts and organizations working to understand, prevent, and respond to TFGBV.
Leveraging the support and expertise of dedicated experts across these three structures, the Global TFGBV Shared Research Agenda was developed through a six-step iterative process with many opportunities for feedback and discussion. In the first step, the literature was reviewed to identify key gaps in the field, which formed the framework for the priority-setting process and led to the identification of five key research areas for developing the proposed research questions. We conducted a narrow-scope review.
• Domain 1: Nature, prevalence, and impact.
• Domain 2: Response
• Domain 3: Prevention of TFGBV
• Domain 4: Population
• Domain 5: Measures and methodologies
Once these domains were established, potential research questions were gathered using a two-step approach. The online question collection survey was shared with SG and AG and further disseminated by members to relevant networks. Forty-nine responses were received online and several more via email. A total of 481 potential research questions were collected. These questions were reviewed, synthesized, prioritized, and reduced to 15 questions per domain by SG. The questions were then shared with various governance groups through an online global ranking survey, where respondents were asked to rank the survey questions in each domain. Overall, a total of 350 experts shared their responses.
Top two research questions for each domain
Domain 1: Nature, prevalence, and impact
• What is the current prevalence of TFGBV across different online platforms and digital communication channels (including certain dating apps), and how does it affect different groups and demographics (age, gender, socio-economic status)? How does it differ?
• What is the nature, prevalence and impact of TFGBV in a particular environment?
Domain 2: Response
• What policies, legal frameworks and regulatory approaches are in place to address TFGBV? To what extent are they implemented? How effective are they?
• How are private sector organizations, including technology developers, held accountable for the technology they create and the TFGBV performed on their equipment and domains?
Domain 3: Prevention of TFGBV
• What evidence-based interventions are effective in preventing different forms of TFGBV?
• Which preventive interventions are most successful in changing the attitudes and behaviors of TFGBV perpetrators, including those in high-risk categories for criminal behavior?
Domain 4: Population
• With respect to TFGBV, how does lack of or limited access to the internet affect the ability of marginalized groups to access justice or seek redress?
• Expand our understanding of TFGBV by maximizing existing findings from specific populations (particularly hard-to-reach and marginalized groups) while being sensitive to local realities and lived experiences; How can I apply it?
Domain 5: Measures and methodologies
• What are the best approaches to conduct high-quality, ethical and safe research on different forms of TFGBV, including in humanitarian settings?
• What is the best approach to conduct law and policy analysis on TFGBV and generate evidence on implementation?
conclusion
TFGBV is a major global issue that undermines gender equality and disrupts human rights and social development around the world. There is growing interest from world leaders in understanding and addressing TFGBV, and this global collaboration aims to provide a strong evidence base for constructive action.
Our findings highlight the need for basic research to understand the nature, risks, protective factors, and impacts of TFGBV to provide strong evidence for prevention and response. Such research is essential to ensure a survivor-centered approach to response and prevention. Participants called for the development of innovative methodologies that accurately capture the complex nature of TFGBV. Standardized, reliable, and valid measurement tools are essential to ensure consistent data across studies and to understand the prevalence, impact, and effectiveness of interventions.
Participants emphasized that response strategies to TFGBV should prioritize the perspectives and experiences of survivors and align the services and support provided to their actual needs and preferred channels for seeking help. Respondents consistently advocated for strong policy and legal frameworks that punish perpetrators and hold digital platforms accountable for fostering such an environment. Furthermore, the design of technology platforms should prioritize safety features to reduce the risk of TFGBV, while respecting privacy and freedom of expression.
This process recognizes that neither the risks nor the impacts of TFGBV are equitably distributed, and emphasizes the importance of a cross-cutting approach to understanding TFGBV. Feedback on the role and impact of policies and laws highlights the need for strong legal frameworks to hold perpetrators and platforms accountable, and how these can be used to silence and oppress marginalized groups such as activists and the LGBTQI+ community. It highlighted a dual narrative of potential abuses of the law. Future research should comprehensively examine these dynamics to ensure that TFGBV laws enhance protection without enabling political repression.
Future direction
Effectively addressing TFGBV requires a multifaceted research approach spanning basic research, improved methods, and evidence-based prevention and response strategies. We must also pay close attention to the intersecting needs of marginalized and vulnerable populations. Our collaborative and inclusive methodology in setting research priorities fosters collaboration among global researchers, policy makers, funders, and activists to more effectively address TFGBV. The purpose is to promote initiatives. This promotes safer digital spaces and contributes to the broader goals of gender equality and ending gender-based violence, both online and offline.
We call on all stakeholders committed to promoting a violence-free online environment to advocate for the implementation of this agenda. In doing so, we will deepen our understanding of TFGBV, develop effective, high-quality responses to support survivors and victims, and promote a zero-violence online and offline agenda for all women and children. Cultivate your space.
