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| Photo by Walls.io on Unsplash |
Hashtags like #EndDigitalViolence and #UniteAgainstAbuse fill our feeds during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. We share posts, re-tweet powerful messages, and voice our support. But what happens after we hit “post”? Does the conversation stop when the hashtags fade from our timelines? The reality is that real change starts beyond the hashtags.
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| Photo by Adem AY on Unsplash |
Ever heard the saying “evil evolves”? It is painfully true. No matter how far humanity travels, no matter how many breakthroughs we celebrate or hard-won agreements we reach, those determined to harm always find new terrain. The internet and the smartphone — two of the most transformative inventions of our age — should have been pure gifts, widening opportunity, shrinking distance, expanding possibility. Yet in the hands of the worst among us, they have become megaphones for the kind of venom that used to hide in locker rooms, dim parlors, and back-alley whispers.
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| Photo by mulugeta wolde on Unsplash |
Vee was only 24 when she walked into a radio station, asking for help; all she needed was for someone to listen to her. She met someone on a social media platform. He was nice, handsome, and romantic, so she thought she had met the man of her dreams. He wasn’t rich, but he was comfortable and had great ideas for the future, and their conversations were focused on career and growth. Indeed, she had met her soulmate, or so she thought.
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| Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash |
By Ramatu Ada Ochekliye
Every year, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women forces us to pause and take stock of how far we have come and how much work still lies ahead. This year’s theme, “UNiTE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls,” feels especially urgent. The online world has become an extension of our lives, and with all its promise has come new kinds of harm. For many women and girls in Nigeria, that harm is constant, unrelenting, and deeply personal.