BlueLink Presented Results on Role of Internet in Gender Based Violence

Results on role of the Internet in gender based violence as well as possible actions to overcome it presented BlueLink’s Deputy Editor Velina Barova at the annual Democracy Conference in Varna, Bulgaria. The civic forum, organised by the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development, Za Zemiata and arch. Kalina Miteva, took place on February 29 and March 1, 2020.

At the Democracy Conference BlueLink presented results of a study on role of the Internet in gender based violence. The wide research aimed to understand how to challenge the anti-gender backlash in Bulgaria with the means of internet communication and build capacity of civil society groups and institutions for overcoming it.

Key recommendations for overcoming the issues included: reconstructing a supportive discourse on tackling online gender-based violence; interaction and partnership between institutions and civil society; fine-tuning legislation to address legal deficiencies; improving technological aspects of security in the context of gender-based violence on the Internet; and increasing the effectiveness of the moderation and self-regulation of online media and social networks.

The research is held by an expert team including of BlueLink, Media Democracy Foundation, Gender Alternatives Foundation and independent experts. The report was part of a project revealingly entitled  "After the Storm”, seeking for ways to restore policy dialogue and supportive discourse against GBV online in Bulgaria, implemented by BlueLink. The project was funded by the Feminist Internet Research Network (FIRN) of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC).

This work forms part of the APC “Feminist Internet Research Network” project, supported by
the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of IDRC or its Board of Governors.