WCC NEWS: Webinar to offer practical tools to root out gender cyberviolence

The webinar “Rooting out gender cyberviolence: An introduction to social media monitoring” on 8 December will give WCC member churches and partners the opportunity to take action against the harmful—and growing—phenomenon of online gender-based violence. 13 September 2021, Berlin, Germany: An international symposium on Social Justice in a Digital Age is held in Berlin, Germany. Co-organised by the World Council of Churches and World Association for Christian Communication, the event brings together research, experiences from different regions and marginalized communities, expert input on economic and political trends, and ethical and theological reflection as a contribution to the WCC 11th Assembly in September 2022. Here, presentation by Dr Sarah Macharia. Photo: Albin Hillert, all rights reserved 06 December 2022 During the 60-minute learning event organized by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) in collaboration with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the participants will learn the nuts and bolts of media monitoring to challenge gender cyberviolence and build non-sexist social media communities. In a recent global study, close to 60 percent of young women aged 15–25 said they had experienced some form of online harassment on social media, and nearly half had been threatened with sexual or physical violence. The report found that online abuse is silencing the voices of girls and women. “Media monitoring is a practical tool that anyone can learn to use to root out gender cyberviolence and promote social justice in their everyday life and own contexts,” says Sarah Macharia, who will lead the webinar. She is global coordinator of WACC’s Global Media Monitoring Project, which has studied gender representation in the media and trained media monitors for over 25 years. Part of a gender and media initiative, the webinar will introduce participants to social media monitoring as the first step in establishing a global Ecumenical Gender and Media Observatory. The Observatory aims to create ecumenical media watch groups to collect evidence and act together to overcome online gender-based violence and advance gender justice in and through the media. The webinar is a contribution to the 16 Days of action against gender-based violence. Participation is open to all, including people with no or little media monitoring experience and those who have previously done media monitoring. Advance registration is required.   Webinar details: Rooting out gender cyberviolence: An introduction to social media monitoring Thursday, 8 December 8–9 am (New York) / 2–3 pm (Geneva) Participants must register in advance: http://bit.ly/3ivxfNu  See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland