Electronic violence against the Filipina

Whatever we may have thought or felt about erswhile lovers Katrina Halili and Hayden Kho–and whether or not we may have felt that their case was worth any airtime at all–we do have a lot for which to thank them. For one, their little lovers quarrel showed how appalingly simple it can be to produce and distribute intimate videos without one’s partner’s consent; for another, their case cracked wide open a series of social phenomena that have been penetrating the urban underbelly for a while now but which remain, for the most part, undisclosed and undiscussed. It also forced us to look at their issue as more than just a domestic matter or a sordid secret gone awry, but to look at what is essentially a private matter as a cause for public concern and action.

Investigating electronic-Violence Against Women (e-VAW)

From September to October of this year, the Foundation for Media Alternatives hosted a series of consultation meetings with government and non-government organizations in an attempt to map out issues and initiatives related to emerging forms of violence against women (VAW) using information and communications technology. These forms of abuse, collectively named e-VAW, are many, ranging from harassment and stalking through mobile telephony all the way to cyber-prostitution, sex trafficking, and online child pornography through the Web and social media.

Continue reading at Sex and Crime in the time of social media at Pro Pinoy