08
Dec 2020
Background
In 2013, Lindsey Kukunda the Founder of Her Empire (Not
Your Body), a feminist organization in Uganda called out a popular bar in
Kampala, for being racist on social media. She received mixed reactions from
the public for having stood up against the bar’s racist culture. However, on
one occasion while she was hanging out with friends, a random person, without
her consent took a picture of her and posted it on social media. In his caption,
he stated that “Can you imagine this chic
without boobs (breasts) is the one who called out the bar?” This is only
one of the many instances or stories you would get to know from the public if
you conducted a survey about victim/survivor’s experiences with body
shaming.
Just like the remarks made about Lindsey Kukunda, any
practice or act that tends to humiliate a person or people by making sexist statements
basing on their physical appearances like body size, shape or weight amounts to
body shaming. Most women online are always bombarded by a culture of misogyny
that often includes offensive and sexualized remarks or comments. It is a common sight for various people or societies in Uganda to fantasize about people
especially women who are “slim” in terms of size while they demonize or
dehumanize those that seem to be “overweight”. This is because most of the
societies we live in are hinged on patriarchal settings where women’s bodies
are often sexualized or viewed as sexual objects hence the “need” for them to
maintain “slim” bodies that most men tend to find sexually attractive.
A survey conducted by the World Wide Web Foundation in February 2020 indicated that 52% of the female
respondents have faced online Gender-Based Violence as compared to the men who
stood at 50%. The same survey shows that 17% of the female respondents were
emotionally and psychologically affected by online gender-based violence as
compared to 13% for the males. Additionally, research carried
out by Bullying Statistics, an organization founded to provide Anti-Bullying
Help and data show that 94% of teenage girls and 65% of teenage boys have been
body shamed before. These comparisons clearly indicate that more women than men
have faced or are likely to be body-shamed as compared to men. However, it is
important to note that body shaming has always existed although the increase or
surge in the use of the internet especially on the social media platforms due
to the COVID-19 disease outbreak has only made the situation worse and this has
come into attention. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) reports that the proportion of women using the internet
is 12% lower than the proportion of men. This only points to the fact that
furthering online abuse through body shaming will widen the already existing
gender divide in terms of internet usage hence violating women’s constitutional
right of access to information, freedom of speech, expression, press, privacy, and data protection.
Why Online
Body Shaming Cases are on the Rise?
The furtherance or growth in the number of body
shaming in Uganda is partly attributed to the fact that the government or its
enforcement agencies have not made very significant efforts towards eliminating
body shaming as a form of violence against women. Cases of body shaming or any
other forms of online Gender-Based Violence are rarely investigated and
prosecuted yet the Uganda Police Force has the Cyber Crimes Unit that is
mandated to investigate such matters. Instead, victims of online harassment
have on several occasions been arrested and charged under laws that seem to
target the victims of abuse but not the perpetrators as seen when Police
summoned and ordered for the arrest of Martha Kemigisha Kagimba alias Martha
Kay, a popular Ugandan comedian, and actress after her sexually explicit
pictures and videos were leaked anonymously online. A survey
conducted by Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) shows that 74% of the respondents prefer to report
cases about online violence against women to the Police. However, trust in
the Police Force and Justice System could fade away if they continue to
apprehend victims instead of perpetrators of such abuse. Due to this common
practice by the Uganda Police Force, Lindsey in an interview with WOUGNET on
December 2nd, 2020 argued that the government is actually the
biggest perpetrator.
Additionally, Religion and Education have equally played
a big role in the increase in cases of online violence against women. Most
religions if not all preach and uphold the subordination of women to men
instead of equality between the two genders. A quick example is 1Timothy
2:11-12 which states that “Let a woman
learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to
exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” This
clearly Justified Lindsey’s opinion when she said that Religion is not a safe
space for women during her interview with WOUGNET. Similarly, our Education
system has equally been put on the spot for failing to check academic
institutions that sexually objectify their students’ dress code especially that
of women by advancing the argument that dressing “indecently” lures men into
sexually harassing women both physically and online. We contend that when
children are raised under such principles that sexually objectify women’s
bodies, there will be a surge in the number of body shaming amongst especially
against women as a form of online harassment.
What are the Possible
Impacts of Online Body Shaming?
Research
has shown that body shaming has both physical and mental impacts upon victims
and survivors like anorexia, clinical depression, anxiety, low self-esteem,
eating disorders, and mental distress hence the need to address it urgently. The
World Wide Web’s survey, indicates that 17% of the female and 13% of the male
respondents faced emotional or physical effects of online abuse. Therefore,
more women than men are at a risk of facing the physical and emotional side
effects of body shaming like anorexia, anxiety, and depression. These side effects in some cases may even
prompt victims of body shaming into acts and thoughts of self-harm or suicidal
tendencies hence the need to effectively address this issue. It is upon this basis that WOUGNET in partnership with Encrypt Uganda,
DefendDefenders, African Defenders, Digital Literacy Initiative, and Digital
Human Rights Lab is conducting the #SayNoToOnlineGBV campaign as the world
commemorates the #16DaysOfActivism this year, 2020. The purpose of this
campaign is to highlight the various issues on online violence against women
especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic and provide a platform for
victims/survivors of online abuse like body shaming to share their stories and
experiences. A clear example is Elena’s story who on several occasions had to
skip school because her classmates often referred to her as an “Elephant” due
to the size of her legs. In fact, this very insult was repeated by one of her
former classmates sometime later on Facebook which brought back the
traumatizing memories of her childhood experience with body shaming. This
therefore campaign enabled the victims and survivors to speak up about online
violence against women.
How Can We Tackle Body Shaming?
Uganda has laws like the Computer Misuse Act of 2011 under Section 24 which expressly prohibits any form
of cyber harassment including any act or statement of an indecent nature using
electronic communication devices. Additionally, Section 25 of the same Act
provides for the crime of offensive communication and thereunder criminalizes
all willful and repeated acts or statements made through the use of electronic
communication devices that tend to disturb or attempt to disturb the peace,
quietness or right of privacy of any person with no purpose of legitimate
communication. This clearly shows that Uganda’s legal framework in regards to
body-shaming is not lacking but rather its enforcement through the Cyber Crimes
Unit of the Uganda Police Force. Therefore, the Cyber Crimes Unit, Office of
the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) and the Judiciary should expedite the
investigation and dispensation of justice in cases of online harassment such as
those that involve body shaming. Similarly, Lindsey Kukunda suggests civil society
organizations should work with the government especially Parliament to eradicate
all laws that sexualize bodies and target victims of online abuse like the Anti-Pornography Act of 2014.
As Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), it is our
position that victims and survivors of online body-shaming ought to take the
necessary steps to report such indecent posts to the social media platforms on
which they are posted and these platforms, on the other hand, are mandated to
investigate, take down such posts and suspend accounts found in violation of
internet safety rules and regulations.
WOUGNET whose mandate is to advocate for women’s
rights online propose that both the state and non-state actors should invest
in the accessibility and availability of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support
(M.H.P.S.) to victims and survivors of body shaming as a means of restoration
to victims/survivors and mitigation of its possible side effects like
suicidal tendencies.
Conclusion
The right of access to the internet is a paramount and
fundamental human right that every individual in society is entitled to and
should be enjoyed by all, irrespective of gender, race, religion, geographical
location. However, if efforts are not made towards ending online Gender-Based
Violence like body shaming, this right will only remain in our law books but shall
not be enjoyed by vulnerable groups such as women who are also governed by the
laws and often left out (excluded).
Written by Iribagiza David
Communications Intern.
