The Elle Active Forum is a one-day event that traditionally brings together thought leaders, representatives of the civil society sector, and the business community to seek solutions to key social challenges. As part of the event, with the support of the Council of Europe, a panel discussion titled “Social Media and the Challenges of Discrimination in the Digital Environment” was held.
Among the participants were Oleksandr Demenko, head of the NGO “LGBTI Military for Equal Rights,” Vira Dranoy, lawyer and director of the NGO “Roma Human Rights Center,” Anastasia Chebotariova, director of the NGO “Ukrainian Feminist Network for Freedom and Democracy,” and Yulia Melnichuk, coordinator of a joint EU-Council of Europe project.
The key topics of discussion were discrimination and online safety, types of cyberbullying, and its root causes—in particular, misogyny, sexism, and homophobia. In her speech, Anastasia Chebotarova explained that:
“…Such comments [ugly, scary, fat] are still easy to find. This is a method of humiliating women. And the reason here is precisely sexism, which still exists in the world. In Ukraine, we see this too, because good looks are still considered one of the most important traits for a woman—and to a much lesser extent for a man. Men are more often accused of being “not a real man,” and homophobic comments and other forms of sexism are directed at men.”
The main idea of the panel discussion was that “freedom of speech does not equate to the right to humiliate.” Anastasia Chebotarova explored this topic further, noting that “some people believe that since social media is a public space and a person posts something, they must be prepared for negative comments as well.” An important question arises here: where is that line, that red line, regarding how we, as a society, consider it acceptable to interact with other people’s content?”
One of the main problems with cyberviolence is that even now there is little information about it in Ukrainian, so women who have experienced it often don’t even know how to describe their experience or where to file a complaint.
During the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the Ukrainian Feminist Network prepared a series of educational materials in collaboration with lawyers, human rights defenders, and psychologists from the organizations La Strada, YurFem, and the Center for Women’s Perspectives. The materials provided a detailed explanation of what cyberviolence looks like, how to protect oneself from it, and how to respond appropriately if it has already occurred.
Vira Dranhoi, a lawyer and director of the NGO “Roma Human Rights Center” and a member of the Network, summarized:
“Social media today is an important space for the voices of diverse communities. However, they can also become a place for the spread of stereotypes and hate speech. That is why it is so important to foster a culture of respect and responsibility in the online space.”