Are you an expert on online violence against women with at least 3 years of experience in the field? Do you have experience in researching? Do you have the knowledge of the International and EU policy framework on the topic? Do you share EWL feminist values? If yes, this opportunity is for you!

The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is looking for a researcher to develop a study on the forms of online violence against women from February 2024 to July 2024.

Profile, essential skills and attributes

• Having at least 3 years of working experience in the field of online violence against women;
• Knowledgeable about the EU and international policy framework on the topic and able to provide policy recommendations to better tackle online violence against women;
• Familiar with EWL feminist values;
• Familiar and aligned with EWL HerNetHerRights Report;
• Proven experience with research, data collection, interviews with stakeholders including policy makers;
• Familiar with the most common used social media platforms (eg. Instagram, Facebook, X , Linked In, TikTok);
• Fluency in English (oral and written);
• Strong commitment to intersectional feminism, women’s rights and especially combating violence against women and girls;
• Being able to work efficiently and responsively within a multicultural environment and in working virtually.

As a feminist organisation, we are seeking to build a feminist Europe that represents Europe in all of its diversity.

Background and context

The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is the largest umbrella organisation of women’s associations in the European Union, gathering more than 2000 women’s associations. We have members in 32 countries and 17 EU wide organisations. We campaign for a feminist Europe, which promotes women’s rights and equality between women and men in the European Union in line with our organisational strategic framework “Together For A Feminist Europe!”.

The European Women’s Lobby is working towards a Europe free from all forms of violence against women and girls, in line with the EWL Charter of Principles adopted in 2007, reiterated in the EWL 2016 factsheet on violence against women, and aligned with the EWL Position paper “Towards a Europe Free from All Forms of Male Violence against Women” adopted in 2010. Since 2017, with the HerNetHerRights Resource Pack and a series of training provided to women in politics, we are raising awareness and advocating to prevent and address online violence against women. With the proposal of the Directive on violence against women and the proposal of the Digital Services Act, we have been active in advocating for a feminist vision aiming to have cyber violence recognized as a form of violence under the EU law and to have platforms contributing to the prevention of violence against women.

In the era of digitalization, the incidence of online violence against women and girls is surging. The advent of new technologies, particularly social media, has transformed the way we engage and communicate online. As our identity expresses itself also online and our life happens also online, online violence against women appears as a continuum of violence against women. The same gender stereotypes and misogyny which cause the already known forms of violence against women, manifest online with new forms and similar effects. This study delves into the various manifestations of cyber violence against women, including attacks aiming to undermine the reputation of women and their achievements (eg. cyber harassment against women in politics, journalists etc.), sexual violence aiming to control women’s sexuality and freedom through technology facilitated violence (eg. non-consensual sharing of intimate material) and organized digital misogyny. As digital platforms become integral to daily life, comprehending and addressing these forms of digital abuse is crucial for the creation of secure online spaces for all.

Scope

Building on the HerNetHerRights report published by the EWL back in 2017, this study will focus on the forms of online violence that appeared in recent years, taking into account especially the forms that the report from 2017 did not take into consideration (eg. cyber flashing, sealioning, deep fakes) or whose definitions are outdated (eg. revenge porn). See the Annex for more examples. Since the study should be limited to 35 pages, the scope should prioritize the most common forms of cyber violence and those which should be recognized as cybercrimes under the EU law. It is important to take into account the forms of violence happening in all the most common social media (eg. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, LinkedIn).

Is there legislation that could be reviewed to recognize these forms of violence as a crime under the EU law? Is there a legal basis for it? For example, an existing issue is the online recruitment for human trafficking to bring women and girls into prostitution. The Anti-trafficking Directive at EU level is under review therefore it could be worth focusing on such an aspect because we could concretely lobby on it.

The final goal of the study is to build solid arguments for an advocacy paper that would induce policy makers at recognizing certain forms of online violence in the EU law. What do you think should be recognized as a cybercrime in the EU law? What do you think the EU institutions should do to better tackle online violence? In case some countries have particularly good legislation or other best practices on these topics, you could consider including in the study a country case study. If the study is focused on online violence spread out on social media, please take into account all of the most commonly used social media platforms.

The Study should include updated data from EU countries and concrete examples of cases of online violence against women. If you include cases of survivors, bring in a victim centered approach (e.g. what was their experience? How was their experience with the policy? In the case of young women, did they find support at school?).

Purpose

The aim of the project is to publish a study on specific forms of online violence and preventive measures to be presented during an event. The study is meant to build solid arguments for an advocacy paper to influence EU policy makers to shape policies which better tackle online violence.

Objectives of the study

• Understanding the current state of online violence against women;
• Mapping legislations at International, EU level and national level that already tackle the issue;
• Identifying current good practices on protection and prevention;
• Mapping stakeholders already active on the topic;
• Assessing challenges and areas where regulatory intervention is needed;
• Providing recommendations on actions the EU institutions and Member States should take to improve the status quo.

Deliverables and timeline

The researcher is expected to produce a study about the impact of online VAWG in the EU of approximately 35 pages in English.

The researcher is going to be contracted to work on this project from the beginning of February 2024 to the end of July 2024.

8 January 2024 – Deadline for submitting the application
Week of 15 January – Roll out of interviews with shortlisted candidates
Week of 22 January – Selection of the researcher
February 2024 – Kick off of the study : data collection and mapping of stakeholders, including EWL members and externals
End of February 2024 – Table of content
March 2024 – Methodology and possibly roll out of interviews
April 2024 – First draft – intermediate milestone to be presented to EWL members mailing list on digital topics
June 2024 – Final draft
October 2024 – Publication of the study and event

The researcher will coordinate with and report to Veronica Zaboia at the European Women’s Lobby regularly.

How to apply

Interested candidates are requested to submit an application to the European Women’s Lobby via email to zaboia@womenlobby.org along with the following documents in pdf:

• Copy of your CV;
• Relevant publications related to the topic;
• 1-page proposal with a preliminary draft on suggestions of content for the study and its methodology;
• budget proposal explaining in detail the costs expected for the accomplishment of the study.

Please include in the e-mail the following subject line: “Researcher – Study on online VAWG – Surname”.

The closing date for applications is 8 January 2024 at noon Brussels time.

Applications not respecting the instructions will not be considered.

Interviews of shortlisted candidates will be conducted in the week of 15 January 2024.

Details of consultant fees and agreements

The details for entering into agreement for consultant fees, tasks and responsibilities, accountabilities and binding agreements will be discussed during the application process and are to be entered into contract between the European Women’s Lobby and the selected candidate with an attached Terms of Reference (ToR).