Examining New Dimensions: Gender-Based Digital Transnational Repression
Building upon our prior research and the contributions of other scholars to this field, the aim of this novel study is to understand the security risks and harms caused by digital transnational repression against exiled and diaspora women human rights defenders. We use the term “women human rights defenders” broadly to describe women in exile or in the diaspora working on any human rights issue in relation to their country of origin. This includes human rights activists and individuals who may not self-identify as human rights defenders per se, such as journalists, researchers, or other members of the public. The focus of our research is on human rights defenders who identify as women (cis/trans), non-binary, and gender-diverse individuals.
Drawing on the lived experiences of 85 women human rights defenders originating from 24 countries of origin (which we also refer to as home countries in the report) and residing in 23 host countries (which we also refer to as countries of residence or host states), we examine how gender and sexuality play a central role in digital transnational repression. We refer to this specific dimension of transnational repression as gender-based digital transnational repression. This study contributes to existing research on transnational repression and authoritarianism by investigating the specific ways in which state and state-affiliated actors deploy digital technologies and weaponize gender as a tool of repression against women human rights defenders residing outside their countries of origin. We shed light on new forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence against political exiles and diaspora members and the impacts of this practice on targeted individuals and communities.
We find that exiled and diaspora women human rights defenders targeted through digital transnational repression face not only the same digital threats as men human rights defenders, but also gender-specific forms of online harassment, abuse, and intimidation. These threats lead to disproportionate harms that range from professional setbacks, stigmatization, and social isolation to the erosion of intimate relationships, profound emotional distress, and psychological trauma. Gender-based digital transnational repression also frequently involves the amplification and exploitation of entrenched patriarchal norms around women’s bodies, sexuality, behaviour, and notions of family honor, potentially leading to further forms of violence and discrimination.
Scholarship on technology-facilitated gender-based violence commonly attributes online violence against women to misogynistic ideas and patriarchal norms in society which are reproduced and extended through digital technologies.1 Our research highlights how state or state-affiliated actors build on such misogyny and patriarchism to instigate and perpetrate repressive acts with a distinct political purpose: to silence criticism and dissent beyond their borders.
The involvement of state or state-affiliated actors in these practices further exacerbates the power asymmetries between offenders and victims, increasing the risks for the safety, security, and fundamental rights of the targeted women. States have the resources and political will to engage in invasive surveillance or mount coordinated online defamation and harassment campaigns that can leave severe impacts on the psychosocial wellbeing and professional career of targets. Further, they are also likely to act upon online threats against an exiled human rights defender, for instance by harassing, detaining, or even killing her family in her home country, inciting regime loyalists and chauvinist groups in the diaspora, or sending hired thugs to physically assault her. Finally, states are harder to hold to account due to the fact that, contrary to individuals or companies engaging in online violence against women, they may benefit from immunity from civil proceedings in domestic courts.
In addition, the intersecting identities of those targeted by gender-based digital transnational repression – namely, their gender, race, ethnicity, immigration status, and socio-economic class in the host country,2 among others – lead to compounded vulnerability. Exiled and diaspora women human rights defenders often lack robust social networks and support structures in their host societies, leaving them further isolated and exposed to state repression. Their social ties to diaspora communities that may already have restrictive views on the public activity of women, as well as the increasingly hostile migration policies of host states, can further limit protection against the long arm of a repressive home state.
These unique dimensions of gender-based digital transnational repression call for responses that take into account both the intersectional risks to women targeted with online violence and the specific challenges of tackling transnational repression. By examining the interplay between digital technologies, authoritarianism, and gendered threats against exiled and diaspora women human rights defenders, our research sheds light on the dynamics and impacts of gender-based digital transnational repression and will inform the development of more effective strategies for prevention and mitigation.
Report Structure
This report is organized as follows:
- Section 1: provides an introduction to transnational repression and gender-based digital transnational repression and highlights gaps in research to date
- Section 2: describes the research methods and challenges or limitations in undertaking this research project
- Section 3: discusses the methods and impacts of gender-based digital transnational repression through an analysis of 85 interviews conducted as part of this project
- Section 4: reviews efforts by research participants to seek the support of their host states and developments in how host states have addressed transnational repression
- Section 5: describes how participants experienced gender-based digital transnational repression on social media platforms, the lack of assistance from these companies, and reviews selected platform policies and the lack of specific measures addressing digital transnational repression
- Section 6: provides a set of policy recommendations to specifically address gender-based digital transnational repression
- See, for example, Henry, Nicola and Anastasia Powell (2015), “Embodied Harms: Gender, Shame, and Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence,” Violence Against Women 21(6); Suzie Dunn (2020), “Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: An Overview,” Centre for International Governance Innovatio< https://www.cigionline.org/publications/technology-facilitated-gender-based-violence-overview/>. ↩
- We refer to the country in which the research participant lives as their “country of residence,” their “host country,” or their “host state.” We refer to the country in which the research participant was born or where their parents were born as their “country of origin” or “home country.”
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