How ICT Contributes in Exploiting Women and Girls
Friday 27th January 2006

The use of the internet to perpetuate violence against Women is of increasing concern at global, regional and national levels. The internet is utilized to normalize and accelerate the sexual exploitation of women and children.

According to a recent research, the internet has increased the commodification of Women and sexual violence on them. Competition among sites has increased the percentage of violent and misogynistic images.

A recent comprehensive paper has outlined the various forms of new technologies that have been used to sexually exploit women. They include digital video disks that enable greater interactivity between users and images; news groups for the exchange of information on how to locate and sexually exploit women; websites as popular medium of distribution and marketing of pornographic materials and prostitution; chat rooms as spaces for child sexual abuse, file transfer protocol (FTP) as a technological application for exchanging materials on child pornography; and live video chats which can facilitate human trafficking for sexual purposes.

According to a leading advocate on Information, Communication and Technology [ICT] and domestic violence in the United States, “Technology is becoming an integral part of battling tactics”. Some of the documented dangers experienced by survivors included surveillance of Internet activity through spy software and tracking of movement through global positioning software.

The sex industry has used the anonymity provided by the internet to violate laws prohibiting sexual exploitation and violence with impunity, particularly in countries with less restrictive laws, creators of phonographic websites can avoid regulation while still accessing global markets.