The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, took the opportunity of International Women's Day this week to urge for action to make the Internet a "safe" and non-"toxic" virtual world for those who are targets of online hate and violent attacks.
"Online violence is a direct attack on democracy that effectively censors women, harasses them and blunts girls' ambitions to become leaders," Guterres wrote in a speech read to thousands of delegates gathered for several days at UN headquarters in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Guterres opened the 67th session of the CSW on Monday by denouncing the growing global inequalities between women and men. "We must ensure that the online world is safe for women and girls," he urged. "Whole swathes of the internet are becoming toxic amplifiers of hatred, aggression and harassment and the first targets are women and girls," the UN diplomat said.
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Guterres castigated "digital technologies that provide new tools to control, harm, silence and discredit women, including those in public life." He called on governments, regulators and tech companies to put safeguards in place "to create a safe digital environment and hold harassers, and abusers accountable."
"Women activists around the world are standing up and demanding an end to harassment, violence, discrimination in education, work, the law and all aspects of (our) lives," echoed UN Women Director Sima Bahous on International Women's Day, March 8.
According to the UN, women and girls are 27 times more likely than men to be harassed online or subjected to hateful messages.
