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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 78690, member: 636"] Officials at the African Development Bank say the rising tide of online abuse against women is a crisis that needs immediate attention. In a statement tied to a global activism campaign, director Jemimah Njuki and senior manager Ndey Oley Cole pointed out the shocking stats. Over twenty-five percent of women in sub-Saharan Africa have dealt with digital violence. For young people aged eighteen to twenty-four, that number jumps to thirty-four percent facing online bullying. This kind of harassment is a direct roadblock to women joining the digital economy, they argued. With countries pouring money into tech infrastructure, making the internet safe and inclusive has to be a core part of the plan, not something added later. The authors listed five key moves to fix the problem. Governments need to pass and actually enforce laws that specifically target online gender abuse. Digital safety should be baked into national tech strategies from the start. Social media companies must be held responsible for moderating content and protecting users. Funding should also go to innovations led by survivors, as African women are already building tools for online safety when they get support. Another huge issue is the lack of good data. Without consistent numbers from across the continent, crafting real solutions is much harder. The bank officials stressed that improving gender focused data collection is a critical step. They ended with a push for everyone, from governments and tech firms to regular citizens, to team up. Stopping digital gender based violence is not just the right thing to do. It is an economic must-do if Africa wants its women and girls to safely tap into the digital world. [/QUOTE]

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