Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you Chair. I deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and my own country New Zealand.
We take this opportunity to reaffirm our strong support for this resolution, and we welcome the pen holder’s choice to focus on eliminating violence against all women and girls in the digital environment this year.
Technology and online spaces are increasingly being misused and weaponised against women and girls on the basis of their gender.
Technology facilitated gender-based violence is pervasive. It takes various forms in the digital environment including cyberbullying, online sexual abuse and harassment, cyberstalking, online grooming, and hacking.
And offline, technology can be used for targeted surveillance through the use of spyware, non-consensual video and image recording or sharing through non-internet-based devices, and black mail.
We welcome the resolution capturing the ways technology can exacerbate gender inequalities and gender-based violence, while also acknowledging its role in empowering women and girls, especially if a Safety by Design approach is taken.
With the ever-evolving nature of the digital environment, and the increasing rate of technology facilitated gender-based violence, we deeply regret that multiple amendments have been tabled on this resolution, including on agreed language.
Sexual and gender-based violence and intimate partner violence are terms central to the discussion of eliminating violence against women and girls. Digital tools can exacerbate violence occurring offline, including intimate partner violence. The reference in this resolution to marital rape is an important acknowledgement that consent is not given at the altar in a marriage.
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and language on diversity, is more than a collection of words. These are terms that capture the reality of intersectionality, and how compounded discrimination can increase the likelihood of women and girls experiencing violence. This language goes to the heart of discrimination and is much needed in the text.
We strongly support the reference to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health in the draft resolution, to ensure the holistic needs of victims and survivors are addressed. The amendment to delete this paragraph is antithetical to the realities on the ground: universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights is vital to save the lives of women and girls.
Ultimately, violence against women and girls in the digital environment has many ramifications for women and girls’ participation, silencing them in online spaces, and diminishes their rights to engagement and participation in public life. When women and girls, in all their diversity, are harmed and excluded from public life, we are all worse off for it.
This further reinforces patriarchal roles, norms, and structures, which serve as a significant obstacle to achieving gender equality.
This is why we will vote against the amendments and why we will vote in support of this resolution.
We remain steadfast in our call to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls.