Struggle against cyber crimes against women in Gaza
While the internet has made our lives easier, it can also become a nightmare for women. Female lawyers in Gaza have rolled up their sleeves to raise awareness against sextortion and online violence.
REFIF ISLIM
Gaza - There has been a significant increase in cybercrime against women, especially sextortion, during the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Statistics indicate that especially social media has become a nightmare for women.
The Centre for Women's Legal Researches and Consulting (CWLRC) is an independent non-profit centre established in Gaza in 2005 upon the initiative of a group of Palestinian lawyers and civil society activates who believe in the importance of enhancing women's social and legal rights through providing legal consultation training and researches to achieve equality, justice and democracy in the Palestinian society. The centre has launched a campaign to raise awareness and educate women about sextortion. We spoke to Tahani Qassem, projects coordinator of the Centre for Women's Legal Researches and Consulting (CWLRC), about their project.
Speaking about the impact of sextortion on women, Tahani Qassem said that women can overcome the impact of sextortion when they receive legal and psychological support. “Our aim is to eliminate the victimization of women who face it,” she added.
Significant increase in the number of complaints
Tahani Qassem told us they launched the campaign on February 1 and that they've already come a long way. Stating that not only women and girls but also men and boys can be victims of sextortion, she said, “We have carried out our campaign mostly on social media platforms. There is a significant increase in the number of complaints since we launched the campaign. Online blackmail causes many divorces and drives women suicide. We launched the campaign to eliminate and end online blackmail and to raise awareness of the public against sextortion.”
“Don’t be afraid”
Stating that the campaign will last until the end of 2022, Tahani Qassem noted that they will post infographics, photographs and videos on social media to raise awareness of the public. She also called on women and girls, victims of online blackmail to “ask for help, not to accuse yourselves. They can apply to our centre when they are subjected to blackmail or sextortion. They shouldn’t be afraid.”