The fight against digital violence took centre stage as Raise Your Voice Saint Lucia capped the UN’s 16 Days of Activism on Wednesday with a Youth Awareness Fair at Derek Walcott Square to mark Human Rights Day. On Tuesday, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force’s Vulnerable Persons Team rolled out a TikTok challenge to spark conversations about online abuse.
These local actions echoed a global call: this year’s campaign, running from November 25 to December 10, adopted the theme No Excuse for Online Abuse to highlight the growing dangers women and girls face in digital spaces – from harassment and coercion to surveillance and deepfake exploitation.
According to UN data, one in three women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. Between 16 and 58 per cent of women and girls encounter digital violence, and an estimated 90-98 per cent of deepfake videos circulating online are sexual images of women or girls.
“The harm may happen online, but its impact is painfully real, seeping into homes, workplaces, and communities,” the UN reflected. “Journalists who stop writing after death threats, activists who delete their accounts to protect their families, girls who lose confidence before they’ve even found their voices, women who are stalked, raped, or even killed.”
The urgency is compounded by sweeping aid cuts that have forced women’s organisations worldwide to shut down or scale back programmes to end violence against women.
Against this backdrop, Saint Lucia’s grassroots initiatives illustrate how communities are stepping up to fill the gap.
The TikTok challenge encourages the public to create 30 to 60-second videos promoting awareness, prevention and reporting of digital violence. Participants under 18 stand a chance to win a laptop, while those 18 and older can win a $500 cash.
The UN has also published a comprehensive online guide, Explainer: Online Safety 101 – What Every Woman and Girl Should Know, outlining forms of digital abuse, warning signs, consequences and steps individuals can take to protect themselves. It is available at unwomen.org.
