Digital Violence – The New Frontier of Gender‑Based Abuse**

Welcome to a special edition of our “16 Days of Activism Against Gender‑Based Violence” podcast series. In today’s episode, hosts Charmaine Prince and her guest Linda from Nairobi dive deep into the evolving landscape of violence against women and girls—especially the rapid surge of digital abuse that followed the pandemic’s “shadow” wave of domestic harm.

We’ll explore how traditional forms of GBV—intimate‑partner violence, workplace discrimination, community bias—are now spilling into the online world. From cyberbullying, doxxing, and AI‑generated deep‑fakes to catfishing, trolling, and misogynistic “manosphere” networks, our conversation maps out this unsettling digital minefield. The hosts also discuss the urgent need for education: why many still don’t recognize online harassment as violence, how we can empower women to become “sister‑keepers,” and what role schools, families, and policymakers must play.

A recurring theme is the future of the next generation. As kids grow up with iPads, Alexa, and AI assistants, the line between protection and exposure blurs. Charmaine and Linda argue for critical thinking over blind reliance on technology, urging us to teach digital literacy before digital victimhood takes root.

In a hopeful turn, the hosts propose practical steps—weekly “courage” spotlights, blogs, and safe‑space online forums—to spread knowledge, spark community dialogue, and build resilient networks that can push back against both old‑school and new‑school abuse.

Stay tuned as we unpack the realities of digital violence, share stories of resilience, and chart a path toward safer, more informed online spaces for women, girls, and the generations to come.

Speaker 1
Welcome to our podcast series for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, from November 25th to December 10th. I'm your host, Sharmin Prince. And together, we'll shine a light on some of the urgent issues. Welcome to a special edition podcast for the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, 2025.

Speaker 3
Bonjour Lynda from Nairobi, Kenya. Joining you this evening on the 16 days, day one.

Speaker 2
Thank you. Now, Lynda, what does the 16 days of activism mean to you in Nairobi, Kenya?

Speaker 3
Thanks, Shamim. You know, it's not every day that you have an opportunity to on a certain thematic area, not trenching, because generally abused mentally, sexually, physically, but we do not have, it's not every day that you get that opportunity globally, that you get to highlight and find ways to remedy or to help the people reintegrate or how they can tackle or go through that. So for me, 16 days is just 10 days that we really get to look into the aspect of gender-based violence, particularly on men and girls, and see where we are.

Have we learned the gains we've made? What are the things that are still hindering us? And how can we look at things going forward? Because as you see, since we had COVID, the nature of violence has, the trajectory has totally changed.

And right now we are talking about digital violence in terms of GBV. So imagine now, five years from now, what else will we be talking about?

Speaker 2
Yeah. The pandemic, I remember the UN general secretary Antonio Gonzalez called GBV the shadow pandemic because there was a rise in domestic violence during that time. And I'm so glad that the UN theme for this year's end digital violence against all women and girls. And here we are in a new space because the digital world is fairly new to us.

And women and girls are at the helm of violence, the discrimination of the biases. The UN is encouraging us to join the Unite campaign to stop digital abuse. And this is an addition to all the other forms of abuse that we are dealing with as women and girls. And now we have not solved, ended, or fixed those old forms of abuse, and we have to deal with something new.

So a person can be dealing with abuse at work, discrimination, bias, stereotypes in the community. intimate partner violence in the home, and then they're trying to escape online and they're faced with digital abuse.

Speaker 3
Can you imagine that? So basically there's no safe space.

Speaker 2
Wait, oh my God, I listed that and it's like the first time I just, I wrapped my head around what we're facing and what we're dealing with. It's a lot for a woman.

Speaker 3
Yes.

Speaker 2
And even our girls.

Speaker 3
Because imagine, most of us go online. I'm going on my Facebook page to maybe see what Charmaine is posting. And Charmaine is also being abused by somebody. And instead of me getting comfort, I'm even feeling more grieved because somebody is bullying her online.

Somebody is making comments on her wall with digestive innuendos. And just as you have said, We are facing so much and we have not yet even finished dealing with what was there in the past. So it's sad that you're even embracing more. I

Speaker 2
mean, after I listed all those things and it encapsulates the possibilities that a woman can be dealing with at any given time. It, I still can't wrap my head around it because it's the first time. And I just have to be honest, I thought through the complexity of, of abuse that women and girls may face on any given moment, including this new online abuse. Um, and intimate partner violence has also spilled over online because we have the deep fake and we have the doxing and we have the stalking.

The digital world has become, I think the UN call it a minefield.

Speaker 3
of

Speaker 2
harassment, abuse and control. And just those words, a minefield of harassment. People can harass you, you can block them, they can create fake accounts and still continue their harassment. I hope that within the next 15 days, we can create something on the quilt of courage to have a safe space for women and girls who They want to be on social media, but they have a safe space to share and they're not exposed to the minefield of

harassment, abuse, and control.

Speaker 3
But I think, Shamim, I'll take a step behind, because you defined such profound words. We've talked about doxing, we've talked about stopping. How many people realize that is a form of violence? There's still a gap, a glint can be able to come.

Highlighting that these are actually forms of violence and even describing it very clearly so that people are very much aware. Because some people may think it's part of life, but from a point of knowledge and when you realize it's happening to you, I think the biggest challenge in our communities, in our homes, in our settings, wherever we are, is that lack of knowledge. I think that there's actually digital virus making more. Are you sure?

Yeah, so I think more needs to be done in terms of educating the masses. that there's actually something called digital violence, and it entails a goal set that highlights other forms of digital violence.

Speaker 2
Yeah, I want to agree with you 1,000 times about the education and the awareness, because I don't think every digital user understands that. An act can be deemed a cyberbullying. A comment can be deemed a sexual harassment. The threats, be it from whomever.

Now we have artificial intelligence, which is supposed to be an enhancer for our lives and help us make our lives easier. We have another form of abuse through it with the deep fakes where someone can take your head off from your picture and place it on a naked body and it looks like you. And now it's all over social media, the deep fake pornography. It's something that we need to talk more about, the explicit image, sexually explicit images that are circulating.

And we need to empower our women that if someone sends you another woman nudes, it is not your place to share it around. we should be our sister's keeper. I think that we need to really promote that more. The doxxing, especially in my Guyanese community, where people are just sharing people's private information, like it's public knowledge.

And if there is a falling out and there is an impasse in the relationship, I don't think that information should be made public, but that's doxing and I don't know if a lot of people who are aware that there is something called doxing.

Speaker 3
I think that's very interesting. But I think also what you just started with the field of courage also, maybe we'd be having one every week, highlighting a particular area of racial violence. And now that's a highlight of the week, so that it will stick and people will get to know about it.

Speaker 2
Okay. Yeah, we can do that.

Speaker 3
When one person is educated, it will share because somebody will be like, what? I didn't know that. Then I'm sure when they're having dinner or something, they'll share it with somebody else. That's how the tree will grow.

But important is the knowledge flows down the master.

Speaker 2
Okay. Yeah, that's a brilliant idea. And it's something that could be done, writing a blog for We have enough because you have cyberbullying, trolling, online threats, boxing, AI deepfakes, catfishing, which is the impersonation. Um, you also have those misogynistic networks like manosphere.

I don't know if you're familiar with that. Online grooming.

Speaker 3
Because,

Speaker 2
I mean, we are as advocates in this space and we are now learning the vast expansion of gender based violence outside of digital violence. And we're still learning that and understanding how to navigate, how to intervene, how to support, how to advocate. And here we are with a new phenomenon. digital violence to add to that.

So it's another learning process. And I believe as the digital space is expanded and AI is introduced more into our lives, there will be addition to this digital abuse and digital violence. And I'm so glad that we choose to have this conversation. because out of it, we'll be able to

Speaker 3
come up with solutions together as we discuss, because just as you're speaking, also my mind is going ahead because remember the young ones, their minds are growing faster than we were doing. So imagine if we're able to capture them as young as they are, what kind of change in terms of the grownups that will be having in the next 10, 20 years. For me, I think our greatest English question is the young ones, because they are our greatest asset. They are the embodiment of the future.

Today, me and Charmaine are here to listen. will be out there, but what have we left in them in terms of knowledge?

Speaker 2
Because

Speaker 3
that is what they will carry on for future generations.

Speaker 2
Yes, yes. I totally agree. But we have a lot of work ahead of us. Too much.

Because I'm thinking of most all the children that have electronic They have an iPad, they have whatever. There is a three-year-old in the house here. She comes to visit and she goes to the Alexa. She didn't know how to operate it.

And one day she's calling it Siri. And I said to her, no, it's Alexa. So now that she knows she comes and she goes to it and she touches and she know how to find YouTube. And it scares me because yes, she can find YouTube and the children stuff, but what if she stumbles on something that is adult content?

So it's how do we educate and protect those kids whose parents are exposing them, then you can't stop

Speaker 3
that.

Speaker 2
But

Speaker 3
also has, it's good, but also has ramifications. You see, I normally say, you cannot be like an ostrich. Because at some point, tomorrow you will not be there. You know, waking up, I normally say waking up in the morning is grace.

But if you're not there, and you're the one who's doing the limitation to your son or your daughter, imagine now somebody else comes. It's better for me to educate them, but also tell them the disadvantage. Maybe my approach is different, but I'd rather introduce, tell them this thing is there, Bat is a bat.

Speaker 2
I mean, they have the exposure at school. For some parents, that's enough. But the time at home, because kids aren't playing anymore. I went back home and you don't see kids playing outside.

Kids are locked into a screen and they're in those screens. You have no idea what they're exposed to. even though you may have parental control. So I think we need to give children an opportunity to be kids and explore.

I was trying to get a 13 year old to read a book a week. Not happening. Um, I had someone working with me. Um, and was totally reliant on AI, wouldn't do anything, even answering my emails were done with AI.

They're totally dependent on this digital world. They're not using the gray matter in their brains to think.

Speaker 3
Um, I, I have my reservations on AI and chatty because I am what you call old school. I believe in something called critical thinking because it helps you. It challenges you. It helps you think out of the box, but when you totally die on to God, give you a brain.

Why did God give you a brain? For you to think it is for you to do your things. But we are replacing that gift with technology. And unfortunately, as good as it may seem to be, it's coming up with a negative innuendo in it.

And it's totally being misused for everything. Because even right now, when you're filling out something, there's always a disclaimer. Nowadays, even when you're filling an online form, the question you're asked is make sure that the responses that you're giving is not adopted from AI.

Speaker 1
It

Speaker 3
is noted that you've got it. Yeah, I've noted that in several online platforms, which means they have as well noted that people are not using their brains. They just go lifting things from the online platform, which is sad. Yeah, because you get to miss the real you.

When you think, when you apply things to yourself, when you do things for yourself, it is the you that is there. But when you're replacing your technology, it is there to facilitate, to assist,

Speaker 2
but not to

Speaker 3
be misused.

Speaker 2
I totally agree with you. Spending two months with someone who refuse to use their brain. And it may sound strong that I'm saying that because of the over-dependence and co-dependence on AI. We have a lot of work to do in order to help the next generation not to lose the gray matter in their brain.

I know that we have the digital space and this new world that we are embarking on or we have embarked on that continues to expand and There is no control, but we have the responsibility to ensure that we are supporting, educating, and encouraging the next generation not to be reliant because as they become reliant on technology, digital abuse, is inevitable. And on that note, I know it's night in Kenya. We will end, but we will be back talking about digital abuse and all the other forms of online abuse harassment that women and girls are facing and welcome to the 16 days of activism over to you.

Speaker 3
Welcome and we look forward to interacting with you and once again feel very safe feel very comfortable, take all the courage that you have. This is once in a lifetime opportunity. Aside from the digital platforms that you've been having, that maybe had inclinations that are not protective, this is a safe space. So feel very safe.

comfortable, take the courage to face it. So most welcome.

Speaker 2
Thank you.