Does Social Media Fuel Or Prevent Gender Based Violence?

Gender based violence is a problem that has been affecting our societies as long as I can remember. With the coming of social media, the world has become a global village making it easier to communicate and network with people from different parts of the world. It is now possible for an individual to be violated without being physically present.

Have you ever been sent threatening messages? Has your partner ever threatened to share your intimate photos or conversations? Been stalked online? Received messages that are sexist jokes? Received a message that contains content that can lure a woman into situations that can lead to rape?  If yes, you have been a victim of gender based violence. It’s shocking, right? This just shows it is happening daily and affecting everyday people’s lives.

Social media has really fueled gender based violence in Kenya. The internet is available to everyone and so is violence. Violent behaviour ranges from virtual harassment and public shaming be it about a person’s body, behavior or work to the desire of inflicting physical harm. Scrolling through your Instagram, Facebook, twitter feed and seeing a nude pic isn’t that alarming. Most often than not, it’s always a revenge plot by a lover or friend. Yesterday I came across a Facebook post that made my jaw drop. It was a nude picture of a 21 and 60-year-old man and woman respectively having sex. The man who posted the picture claimed, he was just exposing his cheating girlfriend to the world. The use of technology as a means of harassment and abuse has a more traumatizing, incentive and invasive effect.

A Kenyan girl posted how she almost committed suicide due to people body shaming her, just because she was plump. Her post read, ” You can never understand how painful it is for people who don’t know you to call you fat and ugly. The comments on social media almost lead me to an early grave. Be kind people. ”

Did you at any time in 2014 hear about Kenyan women being stripped naked? Am pretty sure you did. It was all over social media and local media stations. The videos and images were utterly heartbreaking. One incident happened in a Githurai-bound matatu, where a girl was fingered by 3 different men, while hurling insults at her. The men claimed that the girl was indecently dressed and were trying to teach her a lesson and to act as an example. I found the claims to be utterly barbaric and the act simply inhumane. The videos were shared widely on different social media platforms and greatly resonated among the youth and people of Kenya. Leading to the #mydressmychoice movement, a campaign that was set out to stop Kenyan women from being further humiliated by being stripped naked.

Through this campaign, the incidents of girls being stripped reduced and finally came to an end. This proved that social media doesn’t always fuel gender based violence but at times it puts an end to it. As time goes by, social media is now preventing gender based violence by providing platforms where people can share their stories and be able to report such cases. There is a recent hash tag that has been making rounds in social media #mymatatustory that came about due to women and girls complaining of being sexually harassed by PSV drivers and conductors. People are using the hashtag to share their stories and through this, NTSA and equity bank have come up with a help line to deal with such incidents.

Just chose to be on the better side of social media. Use it for good and impact people’s lives. We can all play a role in preventing gender based violence.

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