Online Gender Based Violence: Bringing Partners Together in Southeast Asia

Our partners KRYSS Network (Malaysia), PurpleCode Collective (Indonesia) as well as the Foundation for Media Alternatives (Philippines) co-convened a Southeast Asia retreat on Online Gender Based Violence earlier this year.

The retreat was held in Penang, Malaysia and brought together 45 activists and human rights practitioners from Southeast Asia working on online gender-based violence (OGBV) for the first regional conversation on the subject.

“We designed the retreat carefully and worked with key collaborators on important considerations such as ‘whom to bring’, ‘where to host the convening’, ‘how we would spend our time together’ and ‘what were our collective goals and expectations’” said Serene Lim, one of the co-conveners.

During the retreat, participants collectively unpacked and discussed the following:

understanding and knowledge around OGBV; and
how their activism and resistance, despite differences, are interconnected and intersecting.

The retreat also discussed collective resistance and strategies around ending OGBV including:

policy advocacy;
digital safety training and intervention;
healing strategies for survivors;
legal redress including reporting to authorities;
dealing with platforms;
and campaigns.

Movement sustainability was a cross-cutting issue across all strategy discussion. Participants expressed that existing funding models and resource allocation can lead to groups taking on project work that may not completely align with local priorities but is necessary to obtain funding, while continuing to work on projects more relevant to the community on an unpaid basis. This impacts the value of local movements and can lead to overwork and burnout for those working in the Global South.

The retreat’s final day focused on building solidarity and networks across the region. Participants were given an open space to decide the topics important to them. This surfaced an important conversation on self- and collective-care within the movement. Participants reflected that thoughtful convenings are also a form of support system by bringing people together, and giving participants the space to be seen and heard by others who share the same struggles. 

The three-day retreat revealed a plethora of expertise and knowledge within the Southeast Asia region which, is often not acknowledged or documented. It seeded the dream for a more meaningful and intentional form of transnational collaboration – one that goes beyond project goals but is based on collective values and beliefs regardless of age, areas, and approaches to activism. 