Technology-Facilitated of Gender-Based Violence Against Women

Through the examination of four case studies (India, Australia, Uganda, and the USA), it is clear that the issues of IBSA and deepfake pornography are worldwide. With increased access to the Internet came new ways for women to be victimized, and much of the world was either ill-prepared or outright neglectful in considering what would come next. This lack of response has led to countless women being targeted by the crimes of IBSA and deepfake pornography, or being re-victimized following related sexually-charged crimes.

The effects of IBSA and deepfake pornography are horrific and extend to all aspects of women’s lives. They may lose their jobs, be forced to drop out of school, or be ostracized by their peers and families. They may experience negative effects on their psychologies and bodies, and may even be made into targets for later abuses and crimes. Meanwhile, the perpetrators often commit this crime for the reason of controlling women’s bodies and sexualities or making mockeries of it.

In this sense, IBSA and deepfake pornography are symptoms of a larger issue of misogyny existing in the world. These crimes exist because of a global society that diminishes women’s sexual autonomy. It is due to this that those laws must be implemented all over the world to properly tackle the problem. As seen in the Case of Australia, harmful websites that are based out of the country cannot be shut down, and the Australian government’s range to handle the issue was limited. This dynamic occurs in many other cases as well, wherein a lack of cooperation hurts survivors.

Therefore, all countries must not only have the legislation but be willing to work together for women’s lives to be properly protected from IBSA and deepfake pornography. It is for this reason that this article calls on the UN to pass international legislation to promote these protections. Women deserve lives free from online technological violence.

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Issued by the Young Feminist Scholars Program, Politics4Her Written by Jillian Maginot