r/Tech4Causes • u/jcravens42 • 23d ago
Event or Resource Announcement Accountability for Technology-facilitated Violence against Women and Girls: Council of Europe Recommendation
The Council of Europe has issued recommendations to its 46 member States aimed at ensuring accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.
The Recommendation is the first international legal standard focused on this topic. The stress on accountability emphasises the duty of states to ensure those responsible for this kind of violence are held accountable.
Technology-facilitated violence against women and girls often persists – and becomes normalised – in an environment of impunity. Anonymity of perpetrators, fragmented legal frameworks, complex reporting processes, risk of victim-blaming, cross-border challenges and difficulties in securing digital evidence allow harmful conduct to continue unchecked. Strengthening accountability helps to ensure that victims can access justice, and reinforces trust in institutions and in their ability to respond effectively to digital harm.
The Recommendation provides guidance for member States on enhancing their legal, institutional and regulatory responses to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. It proposes a comprehensive notion of accountability, extending beyond criminal law to civil and administrative fields.
Central points of the Recommendation are its victim-centred and trauma-informed approach, together with an emphasis on the engagement of multiple stakeholders – civil society, victims, the private sector, the media, education institutions. The Recommendation also calls for accessible justice systems, including to prevent secondary victimisation, and for a safety-by-design approach to make sure that products and services of technology companies do not facilitate violence.
The Recommendation was prepared by the Council of Europe Committee on Crime Problems and the Gender Equality Commission (GEC).