As the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) continues, the Ethiopian Network of Women Shelters (ENWS) marks Day 4 by spotlighting the critical role individuals, families, and communities play in preventing violence, both online and offline. This year’s 2025 campaign places a strong emphasis on ending digital violence against women and girls, a rapidly growing form of abuse that affects millions globally and within Ethiopia.
Girls Belong Online Safely
ENWS echoes the global call to ensure that digital spaces uplift and empower women and girls rather than expose them to harmful content, misogyny, or discrimination. Online platforms must become spaces where girls can learn, create, and express themselves without fear of harassment or abuse.
Stronger Regulations for Safer Digital Platforms
A key message for Day 4 urges governments, technology companies, and digital service providers to establish and enforce stronger safety standards. ENWS joins partners in advocating for effective digital policies that protect users, curb harmful content, and promote accountability within the tech sector.
Building Digital Literacy for Adolescents and Communities
Digital safety begins with knowledge. ENWS highlights the need for parents, educators, community leaders, and mentors to engage young people in conversations about online consent, respectful behavior, critical thinking, and responsible digital citizenship. Empowering adolescents with these skills helps prevent online harassment, cyberbullying, and other forms of digital GBV.
Everyone Has a Role: Be an Active Bystander
Preventing violence is a shared responsibility. ENWS encourages community members to learn how to intervene safely when they witness violence or harmful behavior , whether in physical spaces or online communities. Being an active bystander can save lives, disrupt patterns of abuse, and protect potential victims.
Listen, Believe, Support Survivors
The message remains clear and consistent: survivors are never to blame. ENWS urges all individuals to adopt the “Listen, Believe, Support” approach, offering empathy, trust, and pathways to trauma-informed services. Shifting stigma away from survivors and placing accountability on perpetrators is essential in strengthening justice and protection.
Challenge Harmful Gender Norms
Ending GBV requires transforming the social norms and attitudes that enable it. ENWS calls on the public to challenge discriminatory beliefs, sexist jokes, victim-blaming, and unequal power dynamics in homes, social circles, workplaces, and online platforms. Change begins with everyday actions.
Collective Responsibility for a Safer Future
ENWS emphasizes that creating a society free from violence is a collective effort. Every person has a role in shaping safer homes, safer streets, and safer digital spaces for women and girls. Day 4 serves as a powerful reminder that combating GBV requires unity, awareness, and proactive community engagement.
ENWS remains committed to amplifying these messages throughout the 16 Days of Activism and beyond, working with partners, advocates, and communities to build a world where women and girls live free from all forms of violence, including digital abuse.
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