This year’s International Women’s Day, under the theme: Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress, comes at a time when MISA Zimbabwe prioritises and accelerates female journalists’ safety and security.
In December 2023, the organisation launched an advocacy campaign against the online abuse of women journalists under the theme: Shining the Spotlight on Resolution 522.
The advocacy campaign is raising awareness and mobilising women and female journalists to articulate, demand and defend their right to free expression online, in line with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Resolution 522 on the Protection of Women Against Digital Violence in Africa.
Resolution 522 highlights and laments that, digital violence is increasingly gendered and disproportionately affects women, through inter alia threats of sexual violence, misogynistic disinformation campaigns and revenge pornography…
The resolution encourages States to take measures that safeguard women journalists from digital violence, including gender-sensitive media literacy and digital security training.
MISA Zimbabwe has since conducted such trainings and will continue to do so in 2024 and beyond.
MISA Zimbabwe is pleased to announce that at the launch of the Shining the Spotlight on Resolution 522 campaign, the government, through the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, committed to implementing Resolution 522 Recommendation 1.
Recommendation 1 speaks on the need to: Review/adopt legislation that aims at combating all forms of digital violence and expanding the definition of gender-based violence to include digital violence against women including cyber-harassment, cyberstalking, sexist hate speech amongst other ICT-related violations.
MISA Zimbabwe will continue to work with different stakeholders to strengthen investment in women’s safety, both offline and online.
We wish all women, including female journalists, a happy and safe International Women’s Day as we take the necessary steps together with key stakeholders to curb digital violence and sexist hate speech, among other ICT-related violations against women.
MISA Zimbabwe Statement on International Women’s Day
Golden Maunganidze
Chairperson
MISA Zimbabwe
