Women are not safe online. Will you stand with us and demand change?

Every day, women are abused, stalked, intimidated and harassed online.

The government has an opportunity to act now and prioritise women's safety by ensuring the Online Safety Bill protects women online.

Let's urge the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to protect women and girls.

Campaign statistics sources.

Let's make them take notice.

Send a message to government directly and join us in calling for greater protections for women and girls online.

Suella

Braverman

UK Parliament

Suella

Braverman

UK Parliament

Michelle

Donelan

UK Parliament

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I am writing to urge you to include a violence against woman and girls Code of Practice in the Online Safety Bill.

Social media remains unsafe for women and girls, and without regulation, that is unlikely to change. The recent changes announced by the government to the legislation are welcome, including the addition of controlling or coercive behaviour to the priority offences list. The Bill provides an opportunity for the government to go further in protecting women and girls online, and to ensure their safety is a priority. A straight-forward way to do this is to amend the Bill to require Ofcom to develop a violence against women and girls (VAWG) Code of Practice.

This is a really important issue to me. Being online should be a safe experience for everyone. But domestic abuse is increasingly taking place online, and online misogyny is rife, and it is dangerous.    
 
Research by Refuge revealed that more than 1 in 3 women in the UK (36%) has experienced online abuse or harassment on an online platform, rising to a staggering 62% of young women. 1 in 6 women experienced this abuse from a current or former partner.

The effects of online domestic abuse on mental health and physical safety are severe. 1 in 10 survivors said they felt suicidal as a result.  
 
Yet many survivors are left waiting weeks, months, or years for a response when they report to social media companies, often only to be told that no action will be taken. A recent report by Refuge found that over half (53%) of survivors did not receive a response when they reported domestic abuse content to social media platforms.  
 
The Bill is a unique opportunity to protect women and girls online, but it must do more. Amending clause 36 of the Bill to mandate Ofcom to produce a specific Code of Practice on VAWG will give tech companies clear guidance on preventing and responding to domestic abuse and other forms of harm and harassment. It will also align the legislation with the new strategic policing requirement and ensure Ofcom do not delay in holding tech giants to account.

A coalition of specialist VAWG and tech organisations has already drafted a Code of Practice, which could be taken off the shelf by Ofcom. You can read the draft code of practice here: https://bit.ly/3CcmANW

Will you act now to protect women and girls from online abuse?

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

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{user_data~Address 1}
{user_data~Address 2}
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