tardigrada

Research from the University of Westminster has identified a gender gap in accessing online safety advice and technology. We found that men are more likely than women to engage with and be informed about security and privacy technologies aimed at keeping people safe online.

A recent report includes the following recommendations for researchers, technology developers and providers, online safety advocates and policymakers to consider, if we are to make digital safety protection more inclusive of women’s needs.

(1) Encourage support in the community Some community NGOs that focus on protecting women and girls, such as End Violence Against Women, have in-depth, first-hand experience of safeguarding women’s online safety. They can offer specialised support to women who have encountered online abuse or cyber attacks. These types of support methods tend to be more effective for women, as our study shows women are about twice as likely as men to seek face-to-face advice.

[...]

(2) Make online advice more accessible Our research suggests that revamping online safety advice so it makes sense to people without technical backgrounds would be helpful. Jargon and technical explanations can put people off, and act as a barrier to the dissemination of sound advice.

[...]

(3) Tailor advice to scenarios faced by women Unfortunately, women disproportionately face many specific online threats such as intimate image abuse, cyberflashing and online harassment. Safety advice in response to such harms is usually provided on the websites of NGOs who support women. However, we need such advice, which is tailored to abuse, to be more widely distributed across the online sources mentioned above.

(4) Develop safe online spaces Safety advice in response to online violence against women and girls is often embedded in the support packages that are given to help victims recover from abuse and trauma, via NGOs. But it is also important to develop new online spaces for communities of women who’ve experienced abuse to share advice and support for digital safety.

[...]

(5) Empower women and girls with the right skills Our research suggests there should be greater focus on ensuring women and girls have the right digital skills to understand and take action regarding their online safety. This means making training courses available – these could be offered in schools and local community centres and libraries, via a national effort.

[...]

(6) Analyse risks before releasing new technology When a new technology or online platform is developed, it’s vital to gather different parties with a stake in the issue to assess whether it could contribute to gender-based online harm. Importantly, this should take place before the technology enters public use, rather than only after it has been misused to harm specific users, including women.

[...]

Archived version

The bill pushes the doctrine of “fetal personhood,” and makes religious references to “God’s image” within its text.

The South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act, which was introduced originally in 2023 but dropped from consideration in early 2024, has been refiled by state Rep. Rob Harris (R). The bill has seven other Republican co-sponsors, and is set to be considered by the state House Judiciary Committee early next year.

The bill defines fetuses and embryos at any stage of pregnancy as legal persons, thus defining any type of abortion — including those that happen before the state’s six-week abortion ban — as homicide, effectively creating a total abortion ban. Although the legislation’s language makes exceptions for cases where a person’s life is endangered due to their pregnancy or a miscarriage, critics of the original bill noted that the proposal requires a person to prove their own innocence in such cases, meaning that even those who meet the exception criteria could be subjected to criminal punishment.

Notably, exceptions for miscarriages or to save the life of a pregnant person are rarely granted, as these kinds of laws generally have ambiguous language regarding exceptions, leaving health professionals unsure of when a situation qualifies. The latest iteration of this bill’s life exception also requires “reasonable steps” to be taken before a life-saving abortion can occur, likely resulting in lengthier delays to such care, including in cases where immediate action is necessary to save a person’s life.

The authors of the legislation make no effort to hide their far right religious agenda, referring to life as being “created in the image of God” in the text of the bill in an attempt to justify its passage.

[...]

Canada's CBC chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault takes a closer look at the issue of foreign intimidation and speaks to the people being forced into the shadows in the very place they came to be safe.

For women from Central America and Mexico who suffer violence at the hands of a domestic partner or gang member, internal relocation to escape gang or domestic violence usually isn’t an option because of law enforcement corruption and ineffectiveness, as well as the widespread belief—often borne out of experience—that internal relocation won’t provide safety.

An application for asylum in the United States offers hope for survival and a future. Yet while a cliché dubbing the United States a “nation of immigrants” persists, most asylum seekers face a path fraught with legal obstacles.

Over the course of this century, research has probed how laws force migrants into spaces of limited rights and numerous social harms. As a result, there exists an extensive corpus of scholarship delineating how shifting statuses constrict life for those who do not have fully legal status.

[...]

Undocumented immigrants [...] exist outside the law while at the same time occupying a hyper-legalized space—one in which laws constrict and limit their life options as they enjoy minimal legal protections but abundant restrictions. Efforts to conform and abide by the law, including completing tax forms or obtaining a child’s birth certificate, expose people with tenuous legal status to risk and immigration enforcement, causing suffering and limiting opportunity.

[...]

Winning asylum is a fraught process, and women who seek asylum occupy a space of legal ambiguity and public opposition—a space we call compounded marginalization—as they await asylum hearings. For years, their lives are defined by uncertainty.

[...]

Women are subject to the choices of individual immigration judges, changing interpretations of the law, and decisions made by politicians more focused on appealing to their constituencies and winning elections rather than humane and effective policymaking. Critically [...] asylum globally exists not to protect large numbers of people from the Global South who need protection in Western nations. Instead, the asylum system seeks to sort a limited population that must run a legal gauntlet—if they can cross the border or survive a perilous marine crossing—to prove they are worthy of protection.

Sexual violence, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), includes any sexual act or attempt to obtain sex through coercion, regardless of the relationship between the parties. This encompasses rape, unwanted sexual touching, and non-contact forms of sexual violence.

One of the factors that differentiates healthy intimate partner sex from violent sexual encounters is consent: the voluntary, ongoing agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is essential in every sexual act, regardless of relationship status or prior interactions. And it can be withdrawn at any time.

Yet, deeply rooted cultural and societal beliefs continue to shape how consent is understood. A new wide-ranging study conducted by South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council sheds light on the scale of the issue. The results offer a sobering look at how South African women’s autonomy in sexual matters is often dismissed or undermined.

[...]

7.9% women had experienced sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime. That means an estimated 1.1 million women in South Africa have experienced sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime. And, 7.5% of male participants self-reported that they’d perpetrated sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime. This translates to an estimated 917, 395 men who have sexually violated a partner. These grim statistics cannot be ignored.

[...]

Here is tbe report: No Escape: The Weaponization of Gender for the Purposes of Digital Transnational Repression (pdf)

Exiled and diaspora women human rights defenders targeted through digital transnational repression face not only the same digital threats as men human rights defenders, but also gender-specific forms of online harassment, abuse, and intimidation, the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto says in a new report.

The focus of the research is on human rights defenders who identify as women (cis/trans), non-binary, and gender-diverse individuals. Drawing on the lived experiences of 85 women human rights defenders originating from 24 countries of origin and residing in 23 host countries, the report examines how gender and sexuality play a central role in digital transnational repression.

Key findings:

• Technologies and techniques used in digital targeting: Activists are digitally targeted using a range of tools and techniques including social media surveillance, hacking of electronic devices or social media accounts, online harassment and disin-formation, and the use of false or private information to discredit them.
• Profile of perpetrators: Perpetrators, as identified by respondents, included govern-ment actors, state-backed trolls, inauthentic accounts, regime supporters, and other diaspora members with chauvinist and misogynistic ideas.
• Gendered dimensions of online threats and attacks: Participants were exposed to gendered online attacks and threats that included sexual slurs, harassment, vulgar comments on social media platforms, messages with detailed sexual fantasies, rape threats, and attacks related to targets’ personal lives which reflected profoundly patri-archal ideas and attempted to deny women the ability to speak up on political and social issues.
• Motives and triggers of gender-based digital transnational repression: Threats typically targeted women human rights defenders who were in a position to mobilize international attention, causing authoritarian governments reputational damage and increased external scrutiny. Many research participants saw a direct connec-tion between the threats they experienced and their work on their home country government’s power abuse and human rights violations. Attacks were further directed against women who challenged state censorship and patriarchal norms in their country of origin with their online presence and expression.
• Impacts of gender-based digital transnational repression – mental health, wellbeing, and social relations: The digital attacks experienced by respondents impacted their mental health and wellbeing. Respondents described feelings of exhaustion, stress and anxiety, burnout, sleeplessness, and depression. The attacks profoundly altered women’s sense of security and their social relations. Relationships with family and partners deteriorated under the stress and uncer-tainty caused by such online harassment, attacks, and surveillance. The mistrust seeping into diaspora communities and online networks led research participants to isolate themselves and withdraw from others.
• Impacts of gender-based digital transnational repression – activism and profes-sional work: Research participants exposed to smear campaigns were anxious about the negative impacts of such targeting on their work, in particular in undermining their reputation and credibility. Many started doubting the costs of activism and whether it was worthwhile to continue. Their deteriorating mental health affected productivity and work routines. Some were forced to withdraw, at least temporarily. Other respondents, however, seemed undeterred. These research participants saw the attacks against them as a sign their work was having an effect on the regime and its affiliates. But, even when they persisted in their activism, research participants had to constantly evaluate and navigate the associated risks. Fearing spying and surveil-lance, some renounced the attendance of larger gatherings with other exiles. Instead of speaking out in public, others engaged in research and writing, behind-the-scenes organizing, or met within smaller, trusted circles.
• Managing security risks – securing practices and behavioural changes: Research participants took a number of steps to mitigate the harms of digital attacks. They adapted their online behaviour and relied on different tools and practices of digital hygiene. However, the burden of such “preventive labour” clearly lay on the shoul-ders of targeted research participants. They were constantly assessing the risks of their online environment and had to invest time and effort to seek out solutions to improve their digital security and other protective measures.
• Coping with gender-based digital transnational repression: To deal with the impact of attacks and mitigate psychological harm, research participants came up with different coping strategies. They tried to build mental resilience, took active care of their mental health and wellbeing, and sought support from family, friends, and peers. These responses carried emotional, social, and professional costs, requiring considerable effort and resources.
• Seeking support from host states: Host state authorities continue to provide insuf-ficient support to respondents. This protection gap is even larger for women targeted with gender-based threats from state actors in their countries of origin because law enforcement often lacks an understanding of the political motivation for such attacks and the necessary gender and racial sensitivity required to help victims of online abuse. As a result, many research participants doubted the benefits of reporting incidents to the police in their country of residence.
• Social media platforms and gender-based digital transnational repression: Research participants rely on large social media platforms for information sharing, advocacy, and activism. As a result, these platforms are also the primary sites of threats and attacks. Perpetrators exploited the technical affordances of platforms, manipulating crowd- and algorithm-driven news feeds for the viral distribution of harassment and defamation. The platforms’ content moderation often failed to detect and prevent online abuse, particularly outside the context of English-speaking communities. Some research respondents reported having their accounts taken over or blocked by false mass reports. They often felt left alone as platforms were unresponsive. Overall, activists experienced uncertainty and anxiety over how to safeguard accounts and their content, adding to the psycho-logical burden of digital threats.

The study also contains recommendations to address gender-based digital transnational repression.

Located on the western coast of Baja California Sur's peninsula, the Laguna San Ignacio is considered the last undisturbed breeding and calving lagoon of the Pacific gray whale. The protected whale sanctuary is also home to one of the world's most unusual wildlife encounters: here, curious whales regularly, and voluntarily, seek out contact with humans.

Every year from January to mid-April, thousands of gray whales arrive in the lagoon during a 19,300km journey from the icy waters of the Arctic to the warm waters of Baja California Sur to mate and give birth. While these are now safe waters for nursing and breeding, gray whales were once hunted here. Yet, the animals now seem to have learned to trust humans. In fact, during my recent whale-watching trip with Sanchez's eco-tourism company Pure Baja Travels, we witnessed mothers bringing their calves over to boats to present them like proud parents.

These unique encounters have influenced the conservation and protection of these gentle giants and spurred a thrilling – and responsible – whale-watching experience like nowhere else.

Archived version

According to recordings and documents, presidents at universities of McGill and Victoria made false claims about pro-Palestinian student actions and spread misinformation about violence that students were not responsible for. In another case, a professor at University of Toronto conferred with police after a student made a short presentation about the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in class.

In public statements that were frequently amplified by the media, university presidents accused encampments of being unsafe spaces and spreading hatred. But in spite of the heightened surveillance, administrators from Victoria to Toronto have still shared no evidence of their public claims.

Students say the misinformation spread by universities undermined public support for their demands—mainly, for universities to disclose and divest from companies that are arming Israeli aggression against Palestinians, and to cut academic ties with Israeli universities that are aiding the occupation of Palestinian territories. But students say setting up encampments and escalating their demands through office occupations did bring administrators to the table, after other forms of protest had fallen on deaf ears.

Archived version

One of the cornerstones in censorship circumvention is fully encrypted protocols, which encrypt every byte of the payload in an attempt to “look like nothing”. In early November 2021, the Great Firewall of China (GFW) deployed a new censorship technique that passively detects—and subsequently blocks—fully encrypted traffic in real time. The GFW’s new censorship capability affects a large set of popular censorship circumvention protocols, including but not limited to Shadowsocks, VMess, and Obfs4. Although China had long actively probed such protocols, this was the first report of purely passive detection, leading the anti-censorship community to ask how detection was possible.

The paper discloses findings and suggestions to the developers of different anti-censorship tools, helping millions of users successfully evade this new form of blocking.

Sexually explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift have been circulating on X (formerly Twitter) over the last day in the latest example of the proliferation of AI-generated fake pornography and the challenge of stopping it from spreading.

X’s policies regarding synthetic and manipulated media and nonconsensual nudity both explicitly ban this kind of content from being hosted on the platform.