Each year, to raise public awareness of gender-based violence across the world, the United Nations recognizes 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The day also begins the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which culminates with International Human Rights Day on 10 December.
This year the theme centers on a crucial part of our everyday life – the digital space – and the theme is Unite to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls, which is also the overarching theme for the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence campaign from November 25 to December 10, 2025.
Mr. George Wachiuri, Chairman of the Optiven Foundation [left] leads the ribbon cutting and official opening of Mama Nduku’s house handover in Ivovoani, Machakos County on 2/12/2022
The campaign focuses on combating online harassment, abuse, and control, and calls on governments, tech companies, donors, and individuals to take action. The 2025 campaign is a call to stakeholders to end impunity through laws that penalize it. It is also a call to the corporate sector stakeholders especially those in technology to ensure the safety of platforms and remove harmful content that violates women. For stakeholders in the donors sphere, their help is needed to provide funding for organizations working to eradicate this violence.
A beneficiary of the #KeepHOPEAlive initiative at her business in the informal settlement at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020.
Optiven has been a key supporter of women who have faced violence through offering psycho-social support. The company through it’s foundation has offered resources for businesses under the Keep Hope Alive initiative https://www.optivenfoundation.org/news-and-blogs/optiven-foundation-supports-over-100-families-amidst-covid-19-pandemic/
The Optiven Foundation has also donated land/houses to women who were in dire need, offered scholarship support for education of children from single parent homes. https://www.optivenfoundation.org/news-and-blogs/josephine-leshao-gets-the-1-5-million-shillings-plot-donated-by-the-optiven-group-foundation/
Mr. George Wachiuri (center) Chairman of the Optiven Group Foundation hands over the title deed for the 1.5 million shillings plot to Josephine Leshao, (right) winner in the Badilisha Life na Optiven Campaign on 15th October 2021.
Through partnering with organizations such as the Kenya Red Cross, the Optiven Foundation further taps into the opportunities to save the lives of women who find themselves in danger or dire need while facing challenges or disasters.
UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL ABUSE AND VIOLENCE
Digital tools are increasingly being used to stalk, harass, and abuse women and girls. This includes:
- Image-based abuse/ non-consensual sharing of intimate images – often called revenge porn or leaked nudes.
- Cyberbullying, trolling, and online threats.
- Online harassment and sexual harassment.
- AI-generated deepfakes such as sexually explicit images, deepfake pornography, and digitally manipulated images, videos or audio.
- Hate speech and disinformation on social media platforms.
- Doxxing – publishing private information.
- Online stalking or surveillance/tracking to monitor someone’s activities.
- Online grooming and sexual exploitation.
- Catfishing and impersonation.
- Misogynistic networks – e.g.manosphere, incel forums.
These acts don’t just happen online. They often lead to offline violence in real life (IRL), such as coercion, physical abuse, and even femicide – killing of women and girls. The harm can be long-lasting and affect survivors over a prolonged period of time. Digital violence targets women more than men, across all walks of life, but especially those with public or online visibility – such as activists, journalists, women in politics, human rights defenders, and young women. The impact is even worse for women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including race, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
A group of women from Ivovoani, Machakos County when they visited the Optiven offices and were supported with food rations by the Optiven Foundation. With them is one of the Directors of the Optiven Foundation Madam Mary Wacuka.
According to the United Nations, violence against women as, “any act of gender-based violence which can result to any sexual, early marriages, physical, mental and economic harm inflicted to women in public or in private. It also includes threats of violence, coercion and manipulation.” The objective behind the celebration of the day is to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls around the world, calling for global action to increase awareness, promote advocacy and create opportunities for discussion on challenges and solutions.
To partner with the Optiven Foundation
- Call us: 0718776033
- Email: info@optivenfoundation.org
