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Sexualised online harassment is a form of sexual gender-based violence directed towards women in politics via tech space. With the advancement in technology, online space has become an equal vote hunting space just like other tradition media and means. Campaigning in this space has had more challenges for women than men.
Unlike the physical and verbal attacks, they encounter in physical campaigns, the tech space has opened a vicious ground for sexual harassment. This has been exploited by political competitors to the detriment of these women. Due to the long lifespan of content in the virtual space and a potency of a global reach, the effect of online sexual harassment on women is extensive.
Queenter Mbori; a gender equality advocate and the Executive Director at the Association of Media women in Kenya (AMWIK) asserts this,
‘These attacks are directed to the victims based on their gender and tend to touch on anything linked to the victim sex wise, biologically or gender wise’.
The attacks manifest in trolls, body shaming, misinformation, and hate comments. These attacks always violate the privacy of the victims, causing them harm, frustrations hence demoralizing their leadership goals. The agenda behind these attacks is to get the women off the campaign trails hence minimizing their impact.
The women aspirants attribute these tribulations to the patriarchal nature of the Kenyan politics that condemns a woman by her very essence, being a woman. Wanjiku Thiga, a feminist politician, having vied in Kiambu County stresses this,
‘For a long time in Kenya, men have taken the political leadership positions and women viewed weaker, thus most find it easy to attack them.’
According to Miss Thiga, the attacks have shifted online. These escalate to physical sexual assaults at times. The impact is as potent as those of physical attacks and is far reaching due to the nature of the lifespan of the online content.
Data from the Communication Authority of Kenya (January – March) 2024, shows that cyberbullying is the most common form of online misogyny ranking at 27.8% of digital investigation trends. Social media platforms rankings in 2024 as per the order of popularity are; Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram and X.
According to this data, there has been an increase in cases of cyberbullying from the vilest; Facebook, X, Telegram, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, various blogs and WhatsApp respectively.
A study by Federation of Women Lawyers- Kenya (FIDA) in 2022, shows that 23% of women experienced cyber bullying during elections. The UN Women-Kenya found out that publishing blasphemous issues about women, hacking, identity theft and online stalking are the most common forms of online harassment women face as shared by Mrs Christine Okeno, the team leader on ending Violence Against Women and Girls.
However, talking to these women players, WhatsApp Platform is where these attacks happen the most, contrary to the notion that it is Facebook. This is due to the personalized nature of this platform. This is affirmed by AMWIK and UN Women according to their findings on the ongoing research work.
The ease of duplication and sharing of message via community WhatsApp groups has made targeted communication so potent in spearheading negativity. The sensational nature of the attacks therefore finds a very fertile ground to go viral.
The victims have endured stress and in extreme cases depression like Ms Thiga, who was hospitalized due to the trauma. Some have deplatformed leaving their fate at the mercy of their attackers. These attacks have impacted negatively woman leadership in Kenya.
To these victims, their attackers are persons well known to them.
Ms Catherine Namayi, an aspirant with disability, from Kakamega narrates,
‘As for me, WhatsApp is the worst space to be. Without community control measures and the personalized nature of this space, I was torn down sexually by people well known to me, some even my family members, ‘
Scholastica Muthoni, a sitting Member of County Assembly, Mukuru Kwa Reuben ward, Nairobi County bore the pain of this space when as a grandmother, she was branded a prostitute in the online space she shares with her grandchildren, during the campaigns.
Research by UN Women indicates that less than a third of women experiencing online violence report these cases. This is because of stigmatization, victim shaming or blaming, the society normalizing violence both online. Some victims don’t report as they feel the authorities have trivialized these cases.
Inadequate implantation of the available laws has pushed them out of the techno space as a way of redress. They cannot actively participate in politics. Reviewing and implementation of the cybercrime laws are some ways to address this.
It is everyone’s responsibility to be mindful of the other users as we navigate the online spaces.
