gisw13_chapters

huge online following. Known as an apt advocate forcivil rights, she is considered fearless, and while thishas attracted numerous fans it has also attracted severallawsuits by politicians, as well as online abuse.She is known to involve her fans in developing topicsfor her daily show and solicits ideas using severalsocial networks, including Facebook. It is against thisbackdrop that in December 2012, some fans wrote onher Facebook wall requesting her to host the Safaricom4 CEO, Bob Collymore, so that he could addressa few pressing consumer issues, including quality ofservice and high charges. Mutoko did not oblige herfans on this request, and this resulted in online abusethat lasted several weeks.Safaricom is the leading mobile service providerin Kenya, with a 69.9% 5 market share andwith nearly as many subscribers as Kenya hasadults. 6 According to the Communications Commissionof Kenya’s (CCK) quality of service report, 7Safaricom only complies with six out of the eightparameters set by the CCK key performance indicatorsfor cellular mobile service providers.Mutoko’s refusal to engage listeners in a discussionwith the Safaricom CEO was therefore seenas “arrogance” and “ignoring average citizens”.She was accused of defending Safaricom, which isone of the largest advertising clients on the radiostation. Thousands of hate messages were postedon her Facebook page and several new Facebookpages were set up targeting her. One titled “RIPCaroline Mutoko” went viral. Below is an excerptfrom the Facebook page:Not even the President. The Kiss 100 brandsuffers when its brand leader wears the veil ofcockiness and speaks in corrosive tongues ofspite and disdain. No business will survive forlong with such verbal indiscretion and harlotry.She is no longer average or idle...she is an angry,hormonal wreck and has lost all emotionalthere [sic]. Radio Africa and their advertisersmust sanction her rudeness and hold her onshorter leash.As this case study demonstrates, online harassmentmost often invokes women’s sexuality and genderin ways that interfere with their dignity, wellbeing,4 Safaricom Ltd is the most dominant mobile network operator inKenya by market share. www.safaricom.co.ke5 www.cck.go.ke/links/consultations/current_consultations/Regulated_Services.pdf6 www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21574520-safaricom-widens-its-banking-services-payments-savings-andloans-it7 www.cck.go.ke/consumers/other_info/downloads/QoS_Report_2011-12.pdflivelihood and identity. In some cases it may takea more indirect form of professional sabotage bydiscrediting women’s competence in their careers.Some of the ensuing injuries are unique to womenbecause men do not typically experience demeaningcomments and sexual threats suggesting theirinferiority due to their gender.Cyber crimes against women go largely unreporteddue to feelings of embarrassment, shame,and the belief that nothing will be done by thepolice or other authorities. This suggests existingstatistical evidence on cyber crime against womenis likely to be underestimated and the scope is stillquite difficult to ascertain. A 2005 study by AzyBarak, “Sexual Harassment on the Internet”, 8 suggestedthat approximately 40% of women internetusers had experienced online harassment. Anotherstudy by Francesca Philips and Gabrielle Morrissey,“Cyberstalking and Cyberpredators: A Threat toSafe Sexuality on the Internet”, 9 estimated that onethird of women internet users have been harassedonline.Online violence against women has a profoundeffect on the women targeted. It interferes with theirpersonal and professional lives, causing considerableemotional distress. It also raises vulnerability tooffline harassment, in some cases branding victimsas incompetent and inferior sexual objects. This canresult in women getting discouraged from engagingin online activities including learning and socialconnections.While online violence impacts the most on thetargeted individuals, according to Philips and Morrisey,“it also harms society by entrenching malehierarchy online.” 10 While Mutoko did not abandonthe use of online spaces, several women would findit difficult to continue maintaining social networks,blogs or websites after such experiences.A 2010 KICTANet study found that some internetservice providers (ISPs) were “advising Internet usersto stay away from social networks as a possiblesocial strategy against cyber crime.” ISPs need tobe discouraged from this approach, as women whomaintain an active online presence, including onsocial networks, should not be required to forgo itto escape harassment and violence. And disengagingfrom online communities does come at a cost,with women missing opportunities to advance theirprofessional reputations through networking effectivelyonline, participating and contributing topolicy-related discussions, and blogging, among8 construct.haifa.ac.il/~azy/SexualHarassmentBarak.pdf9 con.sagepub.com/content/10/1/66.full.pdf+html10 Ibid.161 / Global Information Society Watch