iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#SexWorkerPrideDay passed us by, but #SexWorkerPride hasn't 😉 Today, we honour sex workers’ labour, resilience & ongoing fight for dignity and justice. ❤️ @apc.org Bookmark #SexWorker led research that foregrounds the lived experiences of sex workers in Uruguay: www.genderit.org/feminist-tal...

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

What does it mean to centre the human in a A.I. world, when "the human" itself (as a category) has historically been structured by white supremacy, patriarchy, ableism and cis-heteronormativity? @apc.org Xonorika Kira writes ⬇️ @globalvoices.org globalvoices.org/2026/04/16/o... #AI #Human #AntiAI

An image of beautiful blue and pink sunset with a single tree in the front surrounded by big boulders; looks like a desert landscape.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Tired of pre-programmed responses generated by opaque algorithms designed to please you and hold your attention? @apc.org #AskAPeer by GenderIT.org & @globalvoices.org centers human creativity and connection in the age of AI ⬇️ globalvoices.org/special/dont... #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Human

Don't Ask AI, Ask A Peer
Illustration of three people sitting and talking with glowy cyber plant like things behind them.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Bookmark this! A speculative story begins with the death of an artisanal miner in a “sacrifice zone” and dives into... not just loss, misinformation, and the erasure of working-class lives — but also inside “narrative repair” that remediates mass media ⬇️ @apc.org genderit.org/feminist-tal...

On a wall is text “The media is complicit in everything” and another poster that says “Stilfontein is now. Stop the sacrifice” with a few words below scratched/blurred out. There is a figure in the middle.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

"We're not trying to build the next big app. We're trying to keep our tools alive long enough for people to survive." #RightToRepair The right to repair is one of the most powerful ways we know how to resist — peek into #FeministRepairLabs around the world ⬇️ @apc.org genderit.org/feminist-tal...

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

The digital divide is a political divide. Here's why: The ability to connect becomes a matter of survival in times of crises. It decides how you access emergency services, and the difference between being helped and being ignored ⬇️ @apc.org #ClimateCrisis #KeepItOn genderit.org/feminist-tal...

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Let's talk about the 🐘 in the room: in an increasingly #BigTech consolidated world, is taking back the tech still a real possibility? We have to say — despite it all — YES it is. From #FeministRepairLabs to #CodingCare, GenderIT.org delves into it ⬇️ @apc.org genderit.org/editorial/co...

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

#FeministTechJoy: For the first time in India, a project implemented in partnership with the Rajdhani App Workers Union was used to track (self-reported by workers from the "10 minute" delivery apps): ➡️ Earnings ➡️ Expenses ➡️ Working hours ➡️ Work-related concerns (1/3) @apc.org

Wage fluctuation in “ten minute delivery apps” is a feature; not a bug.

Wage fluctuation pushes and pull workers into a dynamic labour pool — to meet supply and demand.

In these apps, wage fluctuation is also gamified and incentivised. This keeps workers perpetually “playing” for more — as base pay constitutes only a minor share of the total income in most cases, it’s not a real choice.

Seeding change: A feminist action research project addressing wage disparities and platform power in India
Association for Progressive Communications

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

#WorldPressFreedomDay In the latest report by UN Women (April 2026), increasing levels of digital violence have forced a 50% jump in women journalists & media workers self-censoring on social media, bringing the total up to 45% Find more data at GenderIT.org ⬇️✍️🏿 @apc.org @pressfreedom.bsky.social

#WorldPressFreedomDay
Illustration of a woman journalist laughing and using a video camera. Text: We don’t just fear surveillance for political reasons — it feels intensely personal, intrusive in ways men may not fully grasp. Our private lives become ammunition.

Source - Weaponised Surveillance: Ethiopia’s Digital War on Women Human Rights Defenders
GenderIT.org

#WorldPressFreedomDay
Illustration of a disabled Hijabi woman writing on a desk while using a wheelchair. Text: They release intimate conversations to silence us. It's psychological warfare — knowing your most private moments can be weaponised publicly.

Source - Weaponised Surveillance: Ethiopia’s Digital War on Women Human Rights Defenders
GenderIT.org

#WorldPressFreedomDay
Illustration of a Hijabi woman using a camera. Text: Once, security officials entered my neighbourhood and started asking around about me. In a small community, people start to wonder what I’ve done wrong. Security officials treat people of my gender as if it’s a weak spot to shut us down.

Source: How India Weaponises Kashmiris Against Kashmiris
GenderIT.org

#WorldPressFreedomDay
Small illustrations of a microphone, press ID and notepad. Text: I isolated myself, stopped using my phone for some time completely, avoided sharing anything online and even limited my circle. It feels safer this way. Over time, I’ve tried to find strength in sharing with other journalists here. That sense of shared experience has helped, even if just a little.

Source: How India Weaponises Kashmiris Against Kashmiris
GenderIT.org

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Calling all feminists and allies! Repost & bookmark ⬇️ #TakeBackTheTech is completing 20 YEARS of research + activism on tech-facilitated violence — and you're invited 😍 Enter a virtual room of allies and co-creators organising with curiosity, joy, pleasure & creativity ➡️ s.apc.org/7F52aG @apc.org

Where are we now? What have we learned? Reflecting on 20 years of research and activism on tech-facilitated gender-based violence.

CSW70 Parallel Event

Wednesday March 18 12-13:30 UTC
Registration: https://s.apc.org/7F52aG

Feminists have been naming, resisting and documenting technology-facilitated violence since before it had a name. This session asks the hard questions: Where are we now? What have we learned? Where do we stand from impunity to justice?

Digital safety |Feminist research | Policy advocacy | Gender Justice | Collective action | 20 years

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Are you a technologist, #DigitalRights advocate or digital practitioner? [ONGOING] Co-hosted by @apc.org, the fourth Global Symposium on Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV) is taking place right now — 4th & 5th March '26. Register now: tfgbvglobalsymposium.vfairs.com

"I want a safe and equitable internet"
two people on the side with one asking the other: Your opinion on our digital futures?
On the bottom is event information: 4 - 5 March 2026, virtual event
Fourth Global Symposium on Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV)
Join global advocates, technologists and practitioners in shaping a safe and equitable digital future for all.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

On the #InternationalDayToEndViolenceAgainstSexWorkers, we're spotlighting the incredible work done by Nawara Women’s Network for the MENA region. They supported a digital tool to collect information about violence against sex workers in the MENA region. ⬇️ @apc.org www.apc.org/en/news/new-...

A translucent image of a woman holding up a sign. On a browser tab is text: Report VASW is a website, not an app — nothing needs to be downloaded.

Plus: using a website is safer than an app for people whose phones may be surveilled — it is harder to find on a device.

On a phone screen is text: It works like a form, and asks whether the violence was online (e.g. sharing personal information) or in real life (e.g. physical violence), what happened, where, and whether the survivor would like to be contacted by Nawara.

On the top right corner is text: Source: A new tool to help sex workers who experience violence
https://www.apc.org/en/news/new-tool-help-sex-workers-who-experience-violence-2

On the bottom right corner is text: #InternationalDayToEndViolenceAgainstSexWorkers

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Yes, #OnlineStalking of #WHRDs is real. Marina from @derechosdigitales.org says: "We need a holistic approach.. intersectional, proportional, and contextualised. We need rights-based tech governance [because] when defenders are safe, our democracies are safe too." #16Days #HumanRightsDay @apc.org

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

What does feminist digital safety look like? Why is it important? Riddhima from #POVMumbai says: "Feminist digital safety means it is built into platforms, rather than being an afterthought... Safety is a pre-requisite to fully and freely participate online." #TakeBackTechJoy #16Days @apc.org

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Supporting Women Human Rights Defenders' advocacy is now more important than ever before. As Anais from #NavegandoLibres puts it: "Funding #WHRDs means funding the fight for a dignified world... asking for our rights and dignity is never extreme." #TakeBackTechJoy #NoTechForWar @apc.org #16Days

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

The methods of the #Varakashi social media stalkers are both brazen and subtle. They are so adept [and] can quickly morph [identities], says a former digital #stalker working for Zimbabwe’s government. Read here: genderit.org/feminist-tal... #NarrativesOfPower #NoTechForWar #16Days @apc.org

Image of a woman looking at a computer with hate speech and surveillance eyes. Text: The name of the digital stalkers army working at the behest of the Zimbabwe regime is called ‘Varakashi’.

When translated from Zimbabwe’s vernacular Shona language, this means ‘Digital Destroyers’.

‘Varakashi: Here and abroad, Zimbabwe´s state online-stalkers brigade hunts female prey’
Narratives of Power on GenderIT

Image of a woman looking at a computer with hate speech and surveillance eyes. Text: “Their job description is ruthless and clear-cut: to surveil dissidents at home and abroad, to disrupt social media or e-news sites debate, to sow rapid fire digital misinformation and suppress criticism of Zimbabwe’s governing regime.”

Yasin Kakande
Africanist, Zimbabwe expert and author.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Can digital safety legislation be developed without relying on surveillance-heavy solutions? Annex from @pollicy.bsky.social says: "Digital safety regulations are important [but] we recommend government bodies to employ a gender lens in [forming] these regulations." #16Days #NoTechForWar @apc.org

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Ha’åni Lucia Falo San Nicola from Guåhan writes about the intersecting struggles of #Indigenous communities and women’s rights. #WHRDVoices This is definitely a must-read, and possibly a bookmark. On #GenderIT: genderit.org/Unyielding_A... #SafetyForVoices #16Days @apc.org #Hawaii #IndigenousWomen

An outlined illustration of a women’s protest in Guam (Hawaii), with the banners revolving around Indigenous women’s (Famalao’an) rights. Text: “To experience colonisation as an Indigenous woman is to reckon with subjugation on multiple fronts, a compounding pressure that is unfortunately neglected or disregarded when addressing decolonisation and social justice.”

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Trans people are often stalked online. #NarrativesOfPower #16Days A lot of times, such stalking aims to discredit, silence, and amplify rampant anti-trans #disinformation — this has real consequences for an already vulnerable community. Read: genderit.org/feminist-tal... @apc.org

An illustration of a butterfly net catching butterflies in trans colours, while mouse cursors point to the catching. Text: Trans activists who support extreme right-wing ideologies become allies of the very system that marginalises them, perpetuating their own oppression.

An illustration of a butterfly net catching butterflies in trans colours, while mouse cursors point to the catching. Text: Cyberstalking has become a fundamental tool in this dynamic.

Text adapted from “When The Oppressed Use The Master’s Tools To Oppress: Cyberstalking From Anti-rights Trans Activists” (in smaller text)

A partial illustration of the butterflies. Text: In the case of trans people, cyberstalking is not an isolated phenomenon. It is a manifestation of the structural violence that has existed for centuries.

A partial illustration of the butterflies. Text: The ecosystem of misinformation that develops around cyberstalking makes it even more complex. Digital platforms are used to spread lies about gender identity, transition, and human rights.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

#WHRDVoices: Read the reflection of Mariam, a #Palestinian woman human rights defender, on the recent #Israeli colonial violence, the challenges, and what kept Palestinian human rights defenders going. Now on #GenderITorg: genderit.org/Unyielding_A... #16DaysOfActivism #NoTechForWar @apc.org

Image of people mobilising for Palestine. In the backdrop is a large wall or fort-like structure which is outlined. Text: “From childhood, we learn that Palestinians live a different reality from other people.”

Image of people mobilising for Palestine. Text: “One becomes accustomed to going through Israeli military checkpoints, being subjected to searches, harassment, arrests, tear gas firings and sounds of gunfire.”

Partial image of the outlined wall/fort-like structure. Text: “You inherit a level of trauma which, though normalised, grows with you and leaves a long-term impact.”

Partial image of people mobilising. Text: “We also carry a particular anxiety as women, doing the best we can while thinking of our family and of others around us, who may, for example, face some form of surveillance or intimidation from the IOF or be subjected to visa or residence permit denial…”

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

What would you do if a casual acquaintance... ➡️ found your personal email address 📩 ➡️ showed up at events you’re going to 🧑🏾‍🤝‍🧑🏽 ➡️ spread a completely fake story (with serious allegations) about your loved one? 💔 Well, Vickie kept receipts 😉: genderit.org/feminist-tal... #16Days @apc.org

An illustration of a woman on a stage speaking into a mic. Text: “I don’t think anyone noticed when I disappeared. I stopped performing stand-up, stopped using my voice. No one asked me why I had stopped showing up at open mics.”

“I keep receipts”
Vickie Wang

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Highly visible movements are targeted on social media as “a calculated effort to reverse the gains of the 2010s, and to isolate and punish those who dared to be visible,” says Zoya Rahman. #WHRDVoices #16Days @apc.org Deconstruct #BigTech visibility on @GenderITorg: genderit.org/Unyielding_A...

$An outlined illustration of a protest with barbed wire graphics. Text: “State crackdowns on digital spaces often attempt to fracture the collective by isolating and punishing visible individuals.”$ Barbed wire graphics with part of the protest imagery visible. Text: “It is a strategy designed to dismantle the "we" by targeting the faces that make the political work more discernible.”

Barbed wire graphics with part of the protest imagery visible. Text: “It is a strategy designed to dismantle the "we" by targeting the faces that make the political work more discernible.”

Barbed wire graphics with part of the protest imagery visible. Text: “What we name as online visibility is never neutral. It is shaped by who is watching, who is targeted, who is deemed expendable.”

Barbed wire graphics with part of the protest imagery visible. Text: “Where internet access is dictated by the state, digital erasure is a form of political silencing. Digital access shapes who gets seen and who remains invisible.”

(in small text) This post has been adapted from an anthology by Women Human Rights Defenders by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

In South Africa, it’s common practice for retail stores to display a cashier’s full name. For women, it turns into a nightmare. A booming retail industry and an abundance of labour means that women are scared to ask for safety concessions. #16Days @apc.org Read: genderit.org/feminist-tal...

An illustration of a distressed woman behind a checkout counter going through a very long list of unsolicited messages and images. Text: “I would be fired on the spot to tell male store managers to redesign the checkout tech.

On any day in my store, there are 100 other desperate women with CVs in the books of labor brokers, waiting to take up my cashier’s job anytime.”

Agnes Ndaba
Former checkout cashier
Currently a trade union gender activist with the National Union of Retail Workers of South Africa

You look cute: How electronic checkout slips became a stalking nightmare for South Africa’s women (in smaller text)

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

“The moment an opinion divulges from the status quo, their personal identity becomes a weapon for character assassination.” Have you seen this happen around you? #India Read on @GenderITorg: genderit.org/feminist-tal... #NoTechForWar #NarrativesOfPower @apc.org

Illustration of a long-haired person holding up a signboard: We the people of India. Behind them is a fire.

A browser tab with web address: http://shameladyboy.sendthreats.com

The screen is divided into multiple panels with eyes, figures of women, hate speech, and sexual advertisements.

Browser tab with the same web address. Text: “The act of voicing dissent, engaging in political praxis, or even articulating alternative ideas has historically entailed significant socio-political risks… leaving them more vulnerable in a world governed by the digital.”

Under digital siege: How marginalised genders survive online stalking in India

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

#WHRDVoices: Graciela, a campesina woman deeply rooted to the land, writes about how disinformation campaigns existed before the internet, and its parallels with disinformation campaigns on the internet. Read on #GenderITorg: genderit.org/Unyielding_A... #SafetyForVoices #16Days @apc.org

An outlined illustration of three women photographed together, close to each other. Text: “We have experienced repression and harassment from the Hierarchical Church, from large landholders and from the government, who for decades accused our struggle of [being communist].”

Text with block patterns behind: “The bishop used mass services to question young people, telling the congregation that it was communism.”

(in small text) This post has been adapted from an anthology by Women Human Rights Defenders by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Coordinated disinformation campaigns use ethnicity and gender to target Muslim women in #SriLanka. Fawzul Himaya on how “online safety” laws are often used against free speech, and how solidarity can guide us to a better world: genderit.org/Unyielding_A... #WHRDVoices #16Days @apc.org

Outlined illustration of a tunnel that has two figures at the end. Text: “For an hour, he pulled up photos of women activists with their full names and questioned our ideals, our motives, and the way we dressed and held ourselves.”

Partial depiction of an outlined illustration of a tunnel that has two figures at the end. Text:“Groups from in and out of the country would question our ideals, share and attack our posts from social media, and question our intentions in livestreams to thousands of followers.”

Patterns of the outlined illustration of a tunnel that has two figures at the end. Text:“While I tried to guard my own privacy, it was during these campaigns that my extended family came to know of my work. I was warned against doing what I wanted to do. It was unnecessary, they said, humiliating and beneath me.”

Outlined illustration of a tunnel that has two figures at the end. Text:“I was betraying my community. I was challenging God. An uncle pulled me aside and said, “Whatever you’re doing, I hope you know what you’re getting into. You’ll have to answer for your actions in hell one day.”

(in small text) This post has been adapted from an anthology by Women Human Rights Defenders by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

If you consider yourself less tech-savvy than your partner, you might be downplaying your own abilities. Learn how to use some diagnostic tools and interpret results at our #FeministLearningCircle, thanks to facilitators Amarelu and Martu! @apc.org #16Days RSVP: limesurvey.apc.org/index.php/94...

Feminist Learning Circle
5 Dec
13 - 14.30 UTC

Your ex is not a hacker but you can be!

with Martu and Amarelu <3

Main body text: How does spyware ACTUALLY get on a device?

Small text: Can your partner or ex install stalkerware on your phone without you knowing about it?

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

“What I discovered was that pro-Duterte influencers regularly [turned] incivility into outright hate speech. And those posts were the most viral. This wasn’t just my story — it was systemic [and] study proved it.” #16Days @apc.org Renee Karunungan on #GenderIT: genderit.org/Unyielding_A...

An outlined illustration of a woman with a tape over her mouth. Text: “I first became a target in 2016, during what would become one of the most polarising elections in Philippine history.”

Peek into the brutal, blunt and unapologetically macho campaign of Rodrigo Duterte.

Patterns in the background. Text: “He would curse, openly harass women during his campaign trail, and he would proclaim to “kill, kill kill,” – which was met with cheering by his supporters.”

Patterns in the background. Text: Digital media was not used to educate or engage, but to silence and suppress.

“When I publicly criticised his war on drugs platform and rhetoric, I quickly became a target of an online hate campaign.”

Patterns in the background. Text: Dismissive comments were plenty, but so were graphic rape threats, violent death threats, and photos of guns with captions.

(in small text) This post has been adapted from an anthology by Women Human Rights Defenders by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

On #WorldDisabilityDay, read about the human cost of RSF’s monopoly on Sudanese communications. Aid groups, community kitchens and emergency response rooms struggle to deploy resources where they’re most needed. #NoTechForWar #16Days Read @apc.org #GenderITorg: genderit.org/feminist-tal...

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Do you believe your partner is tracking you? Do you feel unable to protect yourself effectively? We're here for you. Figure out what is really happening with your devices at our #FeministLearningCircle! @apc.org Get a quick crash course into Anti-Stalking 101: limesurvey.apc.org/index.php/94...

Feminist Learning Circle: 5 Dec, 13 - 14.30 UTC
Your ex is not a hacker but you can be!
with Martu and Amarelu

You just broke up with your partner. He set up your devices and accounts when you were together. You feel unsure, worried and scared. Is it really that easy for an ex to hack your phone?

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Today, we remember the resilience of women human rights defenders #WHRDDay #16Days This powerful piece captures the feeling of hopelessness and the resistance that lives unbroken in so many #WomenHumanRightsDefenders around the world. Read: genderit.org/Unyielding_A... #WHRDVoices @apc.org

Outlined illustration of a woman speaking on a mic. Text: “I was only 21 when I learned the military government could be watching me even in my bedroom, not through a person but through my phone.”

Wavy patterns on the side. Text: “Female activists like me endured mockery of our appearance, sexually explicit photo edits, rape threats and death threats, all knowing these threats could materialise.”

Screenshot of a message on a phone with text as follows: ALERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone
Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone. While it’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously

Wavy patterns on the side. Text: “Writing this is my way of refusing to be erased. I want them to know: you did not win. I am still here. I have not stopped fighting. And I will continue for those who can’t.”

— Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul
Thai Human Rights Activist

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Is your phone at risk after a breakup? If you feel helpless/anxious after a breakup — especially as a woman, trans or queer person facing digital violence... this #FeministLearningCircle is for you! Use diagnostic tools + interpret results in real time: limesurvey.apc.org/index.php/94... @apc.org

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Laura Vidal dissects repression & resistance in #Venezuela. Media, technology + legislation are weaponised to carry out mass surveillance, criminalise dissent, and restrict news — yet, #WomenHumanRightsDefenders lead via creative ways to resist. Read: genderit.org/feminist-tal... @apc.org #16Days

In spiky text bubbles: “Mujerzuela,” “Sayona,” “Loca,” and “Qué buena que estás” with social media icons around them. Text: “In politics, words are used to disqualify women’s capacities and devalue them as people in the eyes of the public.”
Venezuela’s election processes display layered forms of violence combining gender, ethnicity, and political repression.

An illustration of a panopticon with light shining from it. Text: Female candidates received 60% more online attacks linked to their gender than male candidates in Venezuela’s 2023 opposition primaries.

Source: ProBox and the C-Informa coalition

A partial illustration of a panopticon with light shining from it. Text: “This is something that has been taking place for years, with consistent reputational attacks that don’t happen in the case of men.”
— Valentina Aguana
Conexión Segura y Libre (Venezuelan digital rights organisation)

A partial illustration of a panopticon with light shining from it. Text: This constant barrage of targeted attacks — both sexualised and dehumanising — seeks to discredit women’s intellectual and political capacities as well as erode their legitimacy as public figures.

(in small text) This post has been adapted from a collection on militarisation and technology by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Women human rights defenders working on indigenous ownership of land and territories against extractivist governments and corporations face higher risks & dangers in their everyday life. Digital security becomes an urgent need that all defenders + communicators must prioritise. @apc.org #16Days

Illustration of a group of women looking at their phones together. Text: 1,428 acts of aggression
Against land defenders
In the last 5 years.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Gendered weapons in an information war look like… ➡️ Self-censorship after after observing fellow trans women being villainised and fetishised online ➡️ Blackmail after creating fake profiles through stolen and leaked media. ...and much more. Read: genderit.org/feminist-tal... @apc.org #16Days

Illustration of two figures having a conversation. One says: Bye bye gender ideology. The other, while looking at their phone, says: Western propaganda. Text: In August 2022, amidst political unrest and a worsening cost-of-living crisis, Pakistani influencers launched an anti-trans moral panic.

An illustration of a group of people in a pro-trans protest while a large hand with a hammer comes down on them. Text: In Pakistan, influencers targeted the centuries-old Khawaja Sira community (historically referred to as hijra), accusing them of being a foreign import despite their deep roots in South Asian history and spiritual traditions.

An illustration of a group of people in a pro-trans protest. Text: In an increasingly hostile digital environment where platforms prioritise engagement over safety, coordinated attacks cannot be curbed — leaving activists vulnerable.

Self-doubt, doxxing, deep fakes, harassment and physical harm become consequences.

(in small text) This post has been adapted from a collection on militarisation and technology by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Ma Bee is a #WHRD from #Myanmar, a feminist researcher and founder/editor of Myit Ye See Than Magazine. Read about the transformative potential of fear as a reflective tool — for ourselves and our communities. #WHRDVoices for #16Days — supported by #SafetyForVoices! @apc.org #TakeBackTechJoy

Illustration of a pair of canvas shoes with flowers blooming out of it. Text: On one of the days of continuous protests in a suburban area of Yangon[...] two military trucks entered recklessly while I was singing the protest song and leading the chants.

Illustration of flowers. Text: I had never gotten hit by this kind of fear before. I asked myself, “What am I afraid of?” I was scared of getting caught by the soldiers for sure. At the same time, I felt anger.

Illustration of flowers. Text: bell hooks said:

Fear is the primary force upholding structures of domination. It promotes the desire for separation, the desire not to be known. When we choose to love we choose to move against fear – against alienation and separation. The choice to love is a choice to connect – to find ourselves in the other.

Illustration of flowers. Text: When someone asks me now what my biggest fear is, I answer “losing freedom” as an individual and as a collective group of people.

I believe the first stage of freedom from fear is to notice and accept its existence.

From there, we can find ways to overcome and be healed from its wounds.

(in small text) This post has been adapted from an anthology by Women Human Rights Defenders by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Women journalists and human rights defenders working in Lebanese frontlines face higher risks of cyber violence. “The idea [behind repression] is to silence journalists [and] stop reporting on violations [or]corruption.” #NoTechForWar Read on GenderITorg: genderit.org/feminist-tal... @apc.org

Illustration of a woman working on a computer. In the background are windows opening up to a warscape. Text: “What we saw during the last war, particularly the escalation, was that there were warning signs for people who work on documenting violence, that if you’re documenting what’s going on in the ground, you may become a target.”

— Ramzi Kaiss, a researcher with Human Rights Watch (on the war in Lebanon)

Illustration of a window opening up to a warscape. Text: Kaiss has been a part of multiple HRW investigations documenting Israel’s targeted technology-driven location attacks on media and aid workers in Lebanon in the last 15 months, including the one that killed Najjar, Reda and Qassem last October.

Israel has consistently denied HRW’s investigations, calling them false.

Illustration of a window opening up to a warscape. Text: Women media workers in Lebanon have historically faced discrimination and harassment within close quarters, especially the Lebanese political parties.

The recent past has seen Lebanese women journalists being compelled to flee the country, or being imprisoned for their work.

“In a country like Lebanon, where, already in peace times, there exists discriminatory laws against women, especially ones that don’t protect them from physical and sexual abuse, reporting on war becomes even more challenging for women.”

This post has been adapted from a collection on militarisation and technology by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

#RideRollLead is not just a group, it's a sanctuary where women feel seen, uplifted and empowered. #Pakistani women meet and find community on rides. #WHRDVoices: Reclaiming public spaces through incredible acts of resilience and mutual aid brings us so much joy! #16Days #TakeBackTechJoy @apc.org

Image of a woman cycling. Text: How Ayesha’s cycling group in Pakistan started with a bike commute… and a Facebook post!

More than 50 girls signed up within the first hour, but nobody had a bike.

Partial image of a woman cycling. Text: In her city, biking — even though therapeutic — wasn’t a safe activity for women. So even though there was interest, women didn’t own bikes.

“If you get the bikes, would you be interested in running a girls’ cycling group?”

Hand-drawn element of a cycling route and a cycle. Text: That’s how the first-ever girls cycling club in Karachi was born: "Ride, Roll, Lead”

What started with two cycles turned into 10 cycles within a month.

Image of a woman cycling. Text: “Cycling, when done in a community, becomes more than just movement. It's an act of resistance, existence, visibility, and a source of joy amidst all life’s problems.”

(in small text) This post has been adapted from an anthology by Women Human Rights Defenders by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Digital surveillance in Kashmir acts as a character certificate — based on social media activities, journalism or human rights work, making its way into the files of the CID. For women, the consequences (& harassment) are gendered. Read on GenderITorg: genderit.org/feminist-tal... @apc.org #16Days

Image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: “Security officials treat people of my gender as if it’s a weak spot to shut us down”.

How gender is weaponised against Women Human Rights Defenders in Kashmir

Image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: For women human rights defenders in Kashmir, technologies of war—particularly digital surveillance—have been re-engineered to operate as intimate tools of intimidation. Not only are their public actions monitored, but their private lives are dissected under the state’s algorithmic gaze.

Partial image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: Security officials use journalists’ digital presence to dissect private lives, from everyday movements to information on their families, during summons. This often means endangering sources or personal privacy.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

“I dream of a world where women human rights defenders have robust support [and] therapy is affordable. Where healing is a line item in every donor budget." #WHRDVoices: Zipporah (Kenya) writes about burnout, and how sustainable activism must be rooted in rest. #TakeBackTechJoy #16Days @apc.org

Image of women sitting around a table and talking. Text: People imagine activism is glamorous, the hashtags and panels. But we cry in matatus. We skip meals. We stretch stipends whenever they find us. We attend funerals of girls we couldn’t save.

Text on a patterned background: We don’t all wear capes. Many of us wear aprons, lesos, worn-out hope, and a knowing smile that hides exhaustion.

Text on a patterned background: In meetings, our voices as women are often interrupted. In protest planning, our safety is an afterthought. We are told we are too emotional, too soft, too distracted by our children, our hormones, our families. But we show up. Every time.

Text on a patterned background with women talking on the side: Honestly, sometimes, we just want to rest. To pause. To breathe. But guilt comes flooding in. Who will carry the work? Who will protect the girls? Who will answer the calls?.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Personal phone calls, once assumed private, frequently surface on social media in Ethiopia. These leaks rarely come from formal institutions. Instead, they’re disseminated by quasi-influencers and government-aligned digital actors. #NoTechForWar On GenderIT @apc.org: genderit.org/edition/focu...

Central image of a woman speaking on a phone with a mass of people around her. Text: “It’s not just about politics. It’s about humiliation. They turn our private lives into weapons.”
How surveillance became a political strategy in Ethiopia

Image on the side of people milling about. Their eyes are completely white and screen-like. Text: Surveillance in Ethiopia has evolved beyond a mere function of the state.
(and deployed against women, its effects are particularly devastating.)

Image on the bottom left corner of people with screen-like eyes peeking out. Text: Tools once reserved for military intelligence—call interception, movement tracking, metadata harvesting—are now used to intimidate, humiliate, and silence women human rights defenders (WHRDs).

Image on the bottom of a group of people with screen-like eyes. Text: This ecosystem thrives on fear. Surveillance doesn’t merely extract information—it amplifies vulnerability, intersecting with deep-rooted misogyny, stigma, and social exclusion.
This post has been adapted from a collection on militarisation and technology by Safety For Voices.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Across the globe, Women Human Rights Defenders organise for justice & equality. #WHRDs face intense attacks — disinformation, surveillance, stalking — but continue the work in a remarkable display of hope & care. So even as we say #NoTechForWar, we continue to #TakeBackTechJoy! [1/2] @apc.org

On a dark purple background are surveillance icons and "16 Days of Activism" is on the top left corner. The central image is of diverse women holding glowing tech devices, surrounded by flowers. Text in the middle: Networking resistance #NoTechForWar

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

So, yes, we are all connected — in this reality, how can you participate in real, tangible ways towards the struggle for Palestinian self-determination? How can you resist forces that seem too big and vast to take on? (2/2) #TakeBackTheTech interviews ➡️ takebackthetech.net/blog/big-tec...

"Big Tech almost demands our silence in exchange for the use of their services." PART 1: Interview with DJ Outvertigo

Featuring an illustration of the interviewee by Laura Ibanez

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

#BlueSky, help us reach the right people! 🚨 We are seeking proposals & pitches for stories, analysis + collective experiences that address digital stalking from an intersectional feminist lens 🏳️‍🌈 🚨 Send pitch (300 words) to genderit_editions@apc.org 📧 🚨 PAID Details: genderit.org/resources/ca...

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Targeted and mass surveillance of women and queer human rights defenders uses #GenderedDisinformation when it manifests. #CSW69 Their private lives may be used to discredit their work or shame them — but this specific targeting needs to be acknowledged and redressed. (4/4)

Blood stain on the bottom left of the image. Text: Attacking the “honour” or reputation of women human rights defenders puts their lives at risk.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Yet anti-surveillance or "protection" cannot become an excuse for governments to create laws that unfairly target freedom of expression. Anti-cybercrime measures must be grounded in the principles of legality, necessity & proportionality. (3/4) 🔗 www.apc.org/en/pubs/when... 🔗

Illustrations of a computer setup and a keyboard on the left and right side of the image respectively. Text: [Anti-GBV laws] are used to legitimise disproportionate censorship and surveillance measures, and in some cases are even used against those who invoke them for their protection.

When protection becomes an excuse for criminalisation: Gender considerations on cybercrime frameworks
Derechos Digitales and APC

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Emerging technologies harm #WomenHumanRightsDefenders in newer ways. State-backed military-grade surveillance technology targets #WHRDs to impact their personal & professional lives. #InternationalWomensDay #CSW69 @apc.org's open letter to states: www.apc.org/en/pubs/open... (1/4) #IWD #IWD2025

Text with illustrations of women in media at the bottom and a surveillance eye on the right: “Dozens of women journalists and human rights defenders in Bahrain and Jordan have had their phones hacked using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.”

https://theintercept.com/2022/01/18/pegasus-spyware-nso-group-women-activists-journalists/

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

The answer lies in the data that is used to train them and the team that creates them. Teams that are not well-represented, for example: all male, all white, all heterosexual — will undoubtedly design systems that do not reflect the common spectrum of experiences. (2/4) #IWD #IWD2025

A.I. needs to be transparent, diverse, representative, inclusive

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

#ArtificialIntelligence is evolving to become a part of our daily lives — it is now more enmeshed than it ever was. It creates photographs, videos and text... and women's images are made to look "sexy", while prejudices remain constant in many answers. (1/4) Thread ⬇️ #CSW69 #IWD #IWD2025

Artificial intelligence is a feminist issue.

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Take Back The Tech! @takebackthetech.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Digital platforms must be held accountable for prioritising engagement and profit over the harm caused by divisive and hateful content to people on the ground — people who are its "users". #BigTech can't just use "digital literacy" as a Get Out Of Jail card. #CSW69 (4/4) #IWD #IWD2025

Text with icons of social engagement on the side and a switch off button at the top: “Facebook could do much more and shut these pages down but so long as they continue to profit from the reach and engagement, they don’t seem to be interested in decisive action.”

- Mehreen Faruqi, Australia’s first female Muslim senator
'Inside the hate factory: how Facebook fuels far-right profit' (The Guardian, 2019)

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