Women's Equality & Digital Access: Rights To Expression WE-DARE

该项目涉及两种相互关联的方法：a)组织网络活动和其他深入的利益攸关方参与，以建立一个专注于打击暴力侵害妇女行为的学者和实践者的积极研究联盟；b)促进共同创造解决问题的数字创新，以便在项目的下一阶段（2020年10月之后）实施和研究。a)与10个网络合作伙伴（非政府组织和科技公司）的网络活动和利益攸关方接触将探讨4个相互关联的方面：-了解数字背景下的妇女权利；通过在圆桌会议和公共论坛上举行的包容性利益攸关方对话，我们将探讨如何在南非和其他地方的在线空间和集体运动中构建妇女权利，以确定歧视和受害的隐性根源，并了解这些问题如何在数字环境中重现，但也可以得到解决。-准入：通过焦点小组，我们将确定阻碍妇女实现其权利和保护自己免受暴力和恐吓的主要地方准入障碍。我们的目标是了解实际的障碍，如获得电力、负担得起的数据和仪器，以及更隐性的文化、社会和个人因素，这些因素可能会破坏数字空间的积极参与。-参与：数字平台有可能使人们更容易获得政府服务，特别是在医疗保健和司法方面，这可以在维护妇女权利、保护她们免受暴力和恐吓以及提供求助和支持渠道方面发挥重要作用。我们将探讨如何加强和简化妇女在相关政策平台的参与，以及政府和企业可能需要改变哪些政策来保护妇女在网上的权利和声音。-发声与行动：研究女性在数字空间中的沟通方式，将使我们能够确定使女性感到安全、得到支持并有能力发声反对暴力和歧视的因素。影响实验室带来了参与在线聊天论坛的详细专业知识，他们的一名博士后研究员将研究一个专注于针对妇女的暴力行为的特定论坛，该论坛将在价值聊天应用程序中创建，这是一个在上一轮融资中设计和推出的移动工具。b)我们与企业和非政府组织合作伙伴的合作将超越网络活动，共同创造潜在的数字创新。目标是了解这些组织当前的商业模式、服务和数字化方法。这将确保我们不会重新发明轮子，而是富有成效地吸取经验教训，利用这些见解共同创建具体的试点项目，这些试点项目可以在DIDA赠款周期的其他阶段获得资助。例如，与Wiconnect合作将使我们能够了解电力、数据和教育之间的复杂关系，并探索加强妇女获得和有效利用数字创新的潜在影响。通过研究Saya-Setona的活动，将探讨女性作为数字公民的当前参与情况，以确定可以加强政府沟通和女性获得政府服务的具体因素。我们还将与Praekelt.com合作，Praekelt.com通过其姊妹组织Praekelt.org提供数字社区项目，以及与OpenUp合作，OpenUp是南非的一个公民技术组织，专注于为活跃的公民提供开放数据。通过研究他们成功的数字干预措施，特别是针对妇女的数字干预措施，我们希望深入了解如何扩大和支持数字参与，以及未来哪些干预措施最能解决针对妇女的暴力问题。

The project involves two interrelated approaches: a) organising networking events and other in-depth stakeholder engagements to build an active research consortium of academics and practitioners focused on combating violence against women; and b) facilitating the co-creation of problem-solving digital innovations to be implemented and studied in a further phase of the project (post-October 2020).a) The networking events and stakeholder engagements with 10 network partners (NGOs and tech companies) will explore 4 interrelated dimensions: - Understanding women's rights in a digital context: By means of inclusive stakeholder dialogues taking place at a Roundtable and a Public Forum, we will explore how women's rights are constructed in online spaces and collective movements in South Africa and elsewhere, in order to identify the tacit roots of discrimination and victimization, and to understand how these may be reproduced, but could also be addressed, in digital settings.- Access: Through focus groups, we will identify the primary local barriers to access that undermines the agency of women in realising their rights and protecting themselves against violence and intimidation. We aim to understand both practical impediments like access to electricity, affordable data and instruments, as well as the more tacit cultural, social and individual factors that could undermine active participation in digital spaces. - Participation: The potential of digital platforms to enable easier access to government services, especially around healthcare and justice, can play an important role in upholding women's rights, protecting them against violence and intimidation, and offering avenues for recourse and support. We will explore how the participation of women in relevant policy platforms could be strengthened and streamlined, as well as what government and corporate policy changes may be needed to protect women's rights and voices online. - Speak-out & Action: Studying the ways in which women communicate in digital spaces will allow us to identify the factors that make women feel safe, supported and empowered to speak out against violence and discrimination. The Affect Lab brings detailed expertise on participation in online chat forums, and one of their post-doctoral researchers will study engagements on a specific forum focused on violence against women that will be created within the Values Chat APP, a mobile tool which was designed and launched in a previous round of funding. b) Our engagements with our business and NGO partners will go beyond networking events towards the co-creation of potential digital innovations. The goal would be to understand these organisations' current business models, services and approaches to digitalization. This will ensure that we do not reinvent the wheel, but rather productively build on lessons learnt and leverage these insights to co-create specific pilot projects that could be funded in further phases of the DIDA grant-cycle. For instance, working with Wiconnect will allow us to understand the complex relationship between access to electricity, data and education and explore the potential impact of strengthening women's access to and productive use of digital innovations. By studying Saya-Setona's activities, women's current participation as digital citizens will be explored in order to identify specific factors that could enhance government communication and women's access to government services. We will also work with Praekelt.com, who delivers digital community projects through its sister organisation, Praekelt.org, as well as with OpenUp, which is a civic tech organisation in South Africa focused on open data for active citizenry. By studying their successful digital interventions, particularly those targeted at women, we hope to gain insight into how digital participation can be scaled and supported, and which future interventions would best address the problem of violence against women.