gisw13_chapters

kenyaWomen and cyber crime in KenyaKenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet)Alice Munyuawww.kitctanet.or.keIntroductionThe internet continues to provide secure tools andspaces where women can enjoy their freedom ofexpression, information and privacy of communication,but the same benefits of anonymity andprivacy also extend to those who employ it for committingviolence against women.Emerging online crimes threaten to take awaythe safe and secure spaces, denying women’s abilityto use the internet for their empowerment anddevelopment due to safety concerns. It is estimatedthat 95% of aggressive behaviour, harassment,abusive language and denigrating images in onlinespaces are aimed at women and come from malepartners or former partners. 1 Many information andcommunications technology (ICT) tools such as spyware,wireless technology and webcams are used toperpetrate violence against women.According to a 2012 study conducted by the KenyaICT Action Network (KICTANet), cyber crime againstwomen is becoming a widespread and destructiveproblem involving stalking, sexual harassment,digital manipulation of photographic images,fraudulent postings and advertisements, persistentabusive mobile messages, sex trafficking, humiliatingcomments that reinforce gender-constructedstereotypes, professional sabotage, identity theft,and intimate photos and videos used for blackmailingwomen in violent relationships, among others. 2While both men and women are affected by cyberstalking, victims aged between 18 and 32 were predominantlyfemale. The report notes that women areaffected differently, and cyber crime against womenis a uniquely gendered phenomenon. Most of thecriminals invoke humiliating, gendered stereotypesmaking it clear that women are targeted due to theirgender. It has a profound impact on the womentargeted, interfering with their full participation inonline activities and impacting negatively on theirpersonal and professional lives, sometimes raising1 www.kictanet.or.ke/?page_id=572 Ibid.vulnerability to possible offline harassment. This canresult in women getting discouraged from engagingin internet-related activities including learning, socialconnections and economic activities.Policy and legislationCyber security/crime legal and regulatory frameworkslack consideration of the social and genderimpact of cyber crime. Despite several legal andregulatory provisions, including the new constitutionin Kenya, none begin to specifically address onlineharassment against women. The new constitutionof Kenya, promulgated in August 2010, contains the“Bill of Rights”, which provides for various rights andfundamental freedoms to be enjoyed by all persons,including women. They include the right to life; theright to equality and equal protection and benefitof the law; the right to respect and protection of humandignity; the right to freedom and security of theperson, including the right not to be subjected toany form of violence, torture or treatment in a cruel,inhuman or degrading manner; the right to privacy,including the right not to have information relatingto family or private affairs unnecessarily required orrevealed, or the privacy of communication infringed;the right of access to information required for theexercise or protection of any right or fundamentalfreedom; protection of the right to property; theright to access justice; and the right to a fair hearing.Other relevant pieces of national legislation include:• The Sexual Offences Act, No. 3 of 2006, PenalCode, Cap. 63 (Rev. 2009)• The Children Act, No. 8 of 2001• The Kenya Information and Communication Act,Cap. 411A (Rev. 2012), which provides the frameworkfor the regulation of the ICT sector. Apartfrom section 84D on pornography, the act doesnot explicitly deal with conduct which wouldamount to online violence against women. However,the cyber crimes provided for in the statutedeal with activities whose commission could resultin or facilitate the commission of online offencesagainst women.• The National Cohesion and Integration Act, No.12 of 2008, which seeks to encourage national159 / Global Information Society Watch