- "Women Lawyers to Address Digital Violence": A pioneering step to enhance legal protection for women in the digital space
- Bar Association Head: Women lawyers are at the forefront of defending the oppressed and confronting digital violence
- Maha Ali: Women lawyers are a key partner in protecting women and enhancing access to justice
- Al-Daghmi: An initiative led by women lawyers to raise awareness and combat digital violence
Khaberni - Yesterday, the Awareness Center for Human Rights Training launched the "Women Lawyers to Address Digital Violence Against Women" initiative, a first-of-its-kind step aimed at enhancing the capabilities of women lawyers in the fields of technology, safety, digital security, and legislation related to the digital space, in collaboration with the Bar Association.
The launch of the initiative under the patronage of the Bar Association head, Professor Yahya Abou Aboud, stems from the pivotal role that a female lawyer plays in protecting individual rights, especially women, and defending them before the law while providing various forms of legal support and assistance. The initiative also seeks to enable women lawyers to use technology safely and equip them with the skills and tools necessary to keep pace with the rapid digital transformations, particularly in areas of digital security and defense skills in cases related to digital violence, through a series of specialized training programs across all provinces of the kingdom.
Bar Association head Professor Yahya Abou Aboud expressed his pride and appreciation for the pioneering role played by women lawyers in championing the oppressed, affirming that they form a fundamental pillar in establishing principles of justice and rule of law, and carrying the torch of the sacred right to defense starting from their commitment to the defense of the presumption of innocence and ensuring individuals' legal rights.
He praised the initiative of women lawyers to address digital violence launched by the Awareness Center for Human Rights Training, confirming that launching specialized initiatives, especially in the field of combating digital violence, reflects the evolution of legal work and its adaptation to the rapid transformations witnessed globally, especially amidst the digital revolution and the widespread use of social media and artificial intelligence technologies.
He confirmed the Bar Association's full support of women lawyers in various challenges, needs, and professional requirements, considering them an integral and active partner whose mission is incomplete without their vital and distinguished role.
Abou Aboud also indicated that women lawyers are well-positioned to face the risks of digital violence, whether through arming themselves with digital knowledge and skills or by defending victims of this type of violence and contributing to raising community awareness of its risks and mechanisms for addressing it, urging them to continue excelling and leading, noting that women lawyers have demonstrated high efficiency and remarkable distinction in this field, providing an honorable model in legal work that reflects strong personality and professional commitment, and embodies noble meanings of defending rights and freedoms.
He added that women lawyers have proven their high competence in the job market where they have established their professional status through their own efforts and according to standards of quality and merit, free of any mediation or usurping of others' opportunities, reflecting a level of excellence and professionalism reached.
In concluding his statement, he clarified that technological advancement must be leveraged to serve humanity and enhance its stability, not exploited in violating privacy or achieving unlawful gains, emphasizing the importance of the role of the Bar Association in spreading legal awareness and providing legal support and assistance to deserving groups in addition to promoting a culture of safe and responsible use of technology.
The General Secretary of the Jordanian National Committee for Women's Affairs, Engineer Maha Ali, said that the committee strives to enhance women's participation in all aspects of life and empower them, and guarantee their rights enshrined by the Constitution and protect them from all forms of discrimination and violence through a collaborative and integrative approach with official and private entities.
She explained that such initiatives contribute to supporting national efforts to address violence against women and girls, which is one of the main pillars of Jordan's National Strategy for Women for the years 2020-2025, while at the same time enhancing the role of women lawyers in supporting the prevention and protection system from various forms of violence faced by women, particularly in light of the issuance of the Legal Aid System in the Bar Association, which is important and plays a role in enhancing women's access to justice.
Ali stressed the importance of providing legislative and institutional frameworks that keep pace with the rapid technological progress and support the reduction of digital violence and the development of effective response mechanisms to handle it and facilitate the access of women and girls who survived digital violence to justice, providing safe reporting channels and legal assistance for them.
In parallel, it is essential to work on raising community awareness about the consequences of digital violence against women and girls and the mechanisms of prevention from it, and to intensify efforts and integrate them among various entities, from government institutions, civil society, and the private sector, to ensure a digital environment that is safe for everyone and promotes a culture of safe and responsible use of technology.
In this context, lawyer Taghreed Al-Daghmi, founder of the initiative, confirmed that digital violence does not distinguish between women as a lawyer, like any other woman, may be exposed to it either because she is a woman or due to the nature of her work as a defender of rights. This necessitates strengthening the capabilities of women lawyers in protecting their data and their clients' data, especially in cases related to women and children.
Al-Daghmi added that the role of a lawyer is not limited to litigation before courts, but extends to include an active societal role in spreading legal awareness and providing guidance and support to women on how to deal with digital violence, pointing out that women lawyers are particularly capable of dealing with women's cases with sensitivity and humanity, placing them at the forefront of efforts to combat violence and enhance reporting about it and breaking the barrier of silence. The initiative included activities executed by women lawyers who conducted awareness sessions in associations and universities across different provinces of the kingdom, in addition to preparing specialized analytical studies about the reality of digital violence against women, contributing to building a safer and more just society where rights and freedoms are protected.
The Awareness Center announced during the event the results of the survey it conducted to assess the needs of women lawyers in the fields of technical and legal training, and the level of their exposure to risks of digital violence, targeting 921 women lawyers. The results showed that 90.88% of the participants expressed their desire to receive specialized training, while 73.62% indicated that they did not possess sufficient knowledge of digital safety and security tools.
The results also displayed that the highest levels of need were represented in the legal training on defense skills in cases of digital violence at 75.90%, followed by technical training at 73.29%, while 57.65% expressed their need for tech awareness.
The survey results indicated that "hacking" is one of the most common forms of digital violence among women lawyers, along with identity theft, telephone harassment, offensive messages, bullying, threats, online fraud, and extortion. The results also showed that most of these cases were individual and not repetitive, and that the majority of perpetrators were unknown or through fake accounts, reflecting the legal challenges associated with tracking criminals and holding them accountable in the open digital space.
The survey results also showed a relatively limited effect on the public participation of women lawyers through social networking platforms, yet not insignificant by (33.22%) and indicated (42.24%) the impact of digital violence on self-censorship on their posts or interaction with others and limiting engagement in digital discussions, against (57.76%) who did not feel any effect. Also, (15.80%) of the women lawyers took measures by deleting their accounts, and (15.03%) switched their accounts from public to private, and (10.60%) felt insecure and lost trust in technology, and (5.39%) tightened privacy and deleted pictures and blocked followers and friends.
It is noteworthy that digital violence is a modern and serious form of abuse facilitated by technology using digital tools (internet, social media, phones). Given the widespread reach of the internet, it makes women more susceptible to digital space risks and limits women's participation in public life, decision-making, and leading change.
