Yesterday (3/9), on our second day in New York, GOH led lecturers who will speak at the Parallel event hosted by GOH on 3/10 to Sanctuary for Families and the New York Cyber Abuse Task Force’s CSW67 parallel conference.
Sanctuary for Families is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 in New York that helps survivors who face all forms of gender-based violence and their children. Years ago, they began providing legal, counseling, and protective services in light of the harm done to survivors of Technology-Facilitated Gender Violence.
They are also the co-chairs of the New York Cyber Abuse Task Force and lead several organizations, law firms, and stakeholders in anti-digital violence initiatives in New York.
The theme of this parallel event was to explore the global perspective of technology for sexual violence, challenges, prevention and treatment, and perspectives for survivor empowerment:
One of the lawyers from McAllister Olivarius offers three suggestions for the future:
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Internet companies need to make it easier for victims to collect evidence to win their court cases.
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Organizations and individuals need to become more aware of how to apply digital technologies to help victims, such as using AI to take down large numbers of photos.
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Governments from across the globe need to work together to develop a framework to combat digital sexual violence, as national laws often fail to provide any legal effect due to borders.
These three recommendations give participants a clearer picture of their responsibilities as an internet platform, themselves or their organizations, and internationally.
After the parallel meeting, GOH was invited to visit the headquarters office of Sanctuary for Families for a visit and exchange of experience. We were particularly interested in Sanctuary for Families’ survivor leadership program. Through such programs, many survivors can become anti-sexual violence advocates, and more people can understand the importance of anti-sexual violence campaigns.
The Clinical Director of Sanctuary for Families, Laura Fernandez led our team and the lecturers through Sanctuary for Families’ three main aspects for survivors. They are counseling, legal, and economic empowerment services. Through these three fronts, Sanctuary for Families empowers thousands of adults and children each year and helps them live free from fear and abuse.
A 14-hour flight away from each other, GOH and Sanctuary for Families share the same goal of serving and advocating for survivors. We believe that there will be more opportunities for exchange and collaboration between the two organizations in the future to contribute to a gender-just society!