eLiberare Association, alongside Equality Now, the Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN, the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN, and the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the UN, will organize on March 12, 2025, the side event „Empowering Women, Protecting Futures: Tackling Online Sexual Exploitation Through Technology and Legal Frameworks”, in the margins of the 69th annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), under the auspices of ECOSOC.
Background to the Event
Marking the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), the main theme of the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women will direct attention to the pivotal achievements and ongoing challenges in implementing the Platform for Action to empower all women.
This side event will bring together diverse stakeholders to explore practical strategies and initiatives to prevent and combat sexual exploitation in the digital space while leveraging technology and audacious legal frameworks. Central to these efforts is ensuring that the voices of survivors and frontliners are heard and that their experiences and perspectives shape the solutions for current and future generations.
Event Description
The accelerating pace of technological advancement is transforming societies, creating new opportunities for progress and empowerment. However, this digital transformation is not equally beneficial for everyone. Women and girls across the world remain disproportionately excluded from digital spaces due to limited access to technology, gender biases in online spaces, and fewer opportunities for digital literacy and STEM education. They often face online violence, discrimination, and harassment, which can escalate into exploitation. Such exploitation can manifest in various shapes, including online sex trafficking, where vulnerable women and girls are coerced or manipulated into digital spaces for the purpose of sexual exploitation. These digital forms of sexual exploitation and trafficking are exacerbated by a lack of adequate protections, leaving victims defenseless.
These challenges not only perpetuate the cycle of abuse, but also deepen existing inequalities and undermine efforts to achieve gender equality, particularly in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 5 (Gender Equality).
The conversations will be around the following issues:
- How can the Beijing Platform for Action be adapted to address the evolving challenges of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation?
- What strategies can ensure that survivors’ voices and insights are central to shaping policies and technologies aimed at preventing technology-facilitated sexual exploitation?
- How can governments and organizations provide adequate resources and support for survivor-led initiatives in combating digital forms of sexual exploitation?
- What are some examples of successful legal frameworks and international collaborations that address technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and close jurisdictional gaps?
- How can partnerships with technology companies and innovations in emerging technologies create safer digital environments for women and girls?
- How can new mechanisms (e.g., the UN Cybercrimes Convention and Global Digital Compact) and existing international mechanisms be leveraged to address technology-facilitated sexual exploitation?
The event aims to:
- Explore actionable and effective strategies and initiatives to prevent and combat technology-facilitated sexual exploitation while leveraging technology and robust legal frameworks.
- Ensure the inclusion of voices and perspectives of survivors of exploitation in identifying discrepancies and potential remedies for the online abuse and exploitation phenomenon.
Moderator:
Andreea Mocanu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Romania to the UN
Keynote Speakers:
- Samantha McCoy, Attorney, Public Speaker, Activist and Licensed Mental Health Therapist
- Lisa Kristine, Humanitarian Photographer, Activist and Fine Artist
Panelists:
- Rabbi Diana Gerson, Associate Executive Vice President of The New York Board of Rabbis (NYBR)
- Ioana Bauer, Chairwoman of eLiberare Association and Ashoka Fellow
- Tsitsi Matekaire, Global Lead on End Sexual Exploitation at Equality Now
- Ciczie Weidby, Swedish Delegate to the CSW and Member of the Swedish Parliament
- UN Women Delegate (TBA)
Date: 12 March 2025
Time: 10:00 – 11:15 AM
Address: Conference Room A, at the United Nations Headquarters, 760 United Nations Plaza, Manhattan, New York City