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FIRE Launches Campaign to Curb
Violence Against Women on the Internet
at International Know How
Conference 2006
By FIRE/RIF –
Feminist International Radio Endeavour
August 17,
2006
An international
campaign to address and curb violence against women in the Internet, and
research on the international audience of FIRE’s internet radio are two of
the topics that FIRE will bring to the International Know How Conference
2006 in Mexico City, August 21-26, 2006.
Under the theme,
“Weaving the information society: A multicultural and gender perspective,”
the conference is expected to bring about 400 women together from around
the world to talk about issues of gender justice, cultural diversity, and
access to information and communication as a women’s human
right.
At the event, FIRE will launch an international
campaign entitled, “Campaign Against Violence in the Internet: Connected by a Network Free of
Violence,” and also present it at a workshop. The campaign is designed to
raise awareness and contribute to the elimination of violence against
women in the Internet, which may range from sexual harassment and abuse in
chat rooms and blogs to stalking through email to violent pornography, all
of which violate the human rights of women. Some of this violence
takes similar forms that have existed outside the Internet, whereas others
reflect new forms of expression and abuse.
Individuals, organizations or networks may join the
campaign by committing to renounce and counteract any form of violence
against women on the web, and likewise assume a personal commitment to end
violence against women. They
may post the campaign logo on their website as a commitment to keep it
free of violence and promote the respectful use of the internet. For
more information on the campaign, go to: http://www.radiofeminista.net/agosto06/camp_violencia/camp_violencia.htm
Also at KnowHow, FIRE will present at workshops in
Spanish and English on its four-year multi-method study entitled, “A
feminist reconceptualization of interactivity of media: FIRE coverage of
women & armed conflict.” The study examines the impact of FIRE on its audience and connects
it to an in-depth analysis of FIRE coverage of women in armed conflicts in
Colombia and the Middle East.
 The study shows that FIRE has an interactive impact
on the audience ranging from amplifying women’s voices and perspectives,
to bridging to political organizations and movements, to connecting and
building movements.
In armed conflict, FIRE amplifies the voices of women whose
perspectives as active agents for peace are ignored in mainstream media,
and are portrayed mainly as passive victims. Likewise, FIRE’s broadcasts
provide a bridge to the audience to learn about and get involved in
political actions and activities of women’s peace organizations, and
promote collaboration to help build political and social movements for
peace.
FIRE will also be broadcasting live the panels and
plenary of the KnowHow Conference which is held every four years as an
initiative of the KnowHow Community.
This year it is hosted by the Programa Universitario de Estudios de
Género (PUEG; University Program of Gender Studies) and UNAM (National Autonomous University of
Mexico).
For more information about the KnowHow Conference go
to: http://knowhow-pueg.unam.mx/english_site/index_eng.html.
For more information about the Campaign Against
Violence on the Internet, or FIRE’s study on it’s internet audience and
FIRE coverage of women in armed conflicts, go to: http://www.radiofeminista.net/
in Spanish and English, or write to: oficina@radiofeminista.net.
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