>By Sanmi Falobi<

In the already saturated social environment of dealing with patriarchal contexts that limits and hinder the communication rights of girls and women, the emerging manifestation of Misogynistic actions and Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) is a growing subject of concern. This is so because these acts have been found to infringe on the communication rights of women and girls, online and offline. Indeed, this emerging trend has become increasingly visible as more Nigerians turn to digital platforms for communication, business, and social interaction.

According to a recent report, which entailed perspectives from expert discourse, social media monitoring and focus group sessions, it was revealed from the monitoring of social media platforms, that the advancement in the use of technology and digital devices, has translated the manifestation of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) from the physical/social realms to technological and social communication platforms.

Indeed, while technology has opened doors to new opportunities, it has also created avenues for abuse, particularly of women and marginalised groups. As the digital spaces for communication expanded across social media platforms, so has the infringement, repression and oppression of the communication rights of women and girls translated from the traditional forms of physical violence to digital spaces as Online Gender Based Violence (OGBV), otherwise known as Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV).

According to the report entitled, ‘Trends & contexts of Misogyny and Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria’, “many women face daily harassment on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.”

The report, produced by Journalists For Christ International Outreach (JFC), the organisation for Christian Journalists and allied professionals in Nigeria, under a project, entitled ‘countering misogyny and online gender-based violence through monitoring, digital counter-narratives and advocacy actions’ is with the support of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and Bread for The World – German Protestant Agency for Diaconia and Development.

Misogyny and TFGBV: twin evil of same coin

In Nigeria, girls and women often bear the brunt of acts that stems from patriarchal ideologies. Indeed, Misogyny and TFGBV have emerged as common manifestations that inhibits and repressed the communication rights of girls and women in digital spaces, as perpetrators now use social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram, among others, as platforms to perpetuate forms of violence against women.

These acts includes cyberbullying: bullying with the use of digital technologies; Doxing: revealing or publishing private information about a person online; Sexting: the act of sending sexual text messages, including nude, seminude, or suggestive photos; Online sexual harassment: Sharing of unwanted, online sexual messages, photos, or videos, with the intent to make victims feel threatened, exploited or humiliated; Trolling: deliberately upsetting other people by posting inflammatory content, including making dehumanising and derogatory statements or name-calling, body shamming, use of derogatory statement and spreading false information to create confusion or controversy about an issue that relates to the target, among others,

Case studies: Misogyny, TFGBF and denigration of women

It would be recalled that when Zenith Bank Plc, one of the leading commercial banks in Nigeria, announced the appointment of Dr Adaora Umeoji as its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective June 1, 2024, the announcement was hailed and widely celebrated as a significant landmark. The significance Dr Umeoji’s appointment, which was made public by the bank’s Company Secretary, Mr Michael Otu, is hinged on the fact that Umeoji is the first female GMD/CEO in the bank’s 35 years of existence.

However, the release of the official picture of the new CEO was to become a subject of misogynistic statements by some persons online, among which was a post by a Facebook account holder by the name Azolike Nonso Afamefuna. The crux of the matter and the grouse of the Facebook post made by Afamefuna, on March 20, 2024, sequel to the announcement of Umeoji as the CEO of Zenith Bank was that she was ‘too beautiful’ to be a professional banker. Discarding her professional qualifications and experience, the post had insinuated that Dr Adaora Umeoji’s emergence as the bank’s CEO was because of her beauty and sexual escapades, rather than her professional qualifications or achievements. In the post, which was widely condemned, and which the account holder, later deleted with an apology, Afamefuna had stated that Umeoji looked like a ‘hook-up girl’, (a terminology which generally refers to a lady who is involved in casual sexual relationships).

The analysis of the post, which was one of the case studies referenced in the JFC report, was meant to objectify and demean her, disregarding all her qualifications and hard-earned positions through the management cadre of Zenith Bank to becoming CEO. The post according to the analysis in the report is a misogynistic statement that trivialises her career success and qualifications and as such was meant to reinforce harmful stereotypes that women, regardless of their achievements, are judged by their looks and not their professional competence. Ultimately, the post exemplifies how Misogyny undermines women in positions of power, portraying their presence as diminishing rather than empowering.

In a related post on X, a post by @olabode_ifeanyi had inadvertently stated that the “new Zenith Bank CEO’s profile gives me orgasm”. Though the content of the post was positive and celebrated the achievement of Dr Umeoji, the sexualisation of the title by the writer was interpreted to have a ‘mysogynistic intent’ by viewing her professional achievements through a sexual lens.

Though he later apologised and deleted the post, claiming that he was excited by the achievements of the newly appointed CEO, some social media users had reacted that the writer would not have used the word ‘orgasm’, if a man with a similar profile were to be appointed as the bank’s CEO.

In responding to the emerging indicators, Blessing Oladunjoye, the project officer for JFC Nigeria, under the #EndMisogynyNG campaign initiative noted that Misogyny and tech-facilitated harassment and prejudice against women are becoming prevalent on social media platforms, though unknown by some perpetrators who just see it as catching fun.

According to her, “some of the comments and expressions on social media including sexual remarks, non-consensual posting of sexual images or videos, and related snide posts to demean women, were intentional, and stem from personal ideologies and background”. She lamented that keeping silent or overlooking such acts will continue to fuel the prevalence of Misogyny and TFGBV.

Giving further insight, she stated that the report, which entailed a social media monitoring exercise conducted between January and September 2024 on the trend of misogyny and tech-based GBV revealed that misogynistic content and cyberbullying are majorly spread on Facebook  (74.2%), followed by X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram (12.1% each), while TikTok only takes 1.5%.

According to her, the study examined 500 social media posts and identified 66 instances of cyberbullying, online harassment, and misogynistic content directed at women. Additionally, the study found that while some female genders were not exempted from the act, males were the most that posted misogynistic content.

“This makes it clear that misogyny/OGBV are perpetrated largely by the male gender with a representative value of 60.6%, females also participated, representing 16.7%, the undetermined is 9 representing 13.6% and a combination of both males and females was 9.1%”.

She highlighted the widespread discrimination against women in society, especially those who are at the highest levels of their professions and fields of practice, as a serious issue that must be addressed to propel sanity in society, noting the importance of educating the general public about the dangers posed by misogynistic content in society.

In another inference as contained in the report, Toyin Abraham (a Nollywood actress), in a demeaning and disrespectful manner was objectified with her legs described as ‘a yam that has been forcibly uprooted.’ While the original post which was viral on Facebook and Instagram was that of a short video with the headline, ‘Toyin Abraham shows off her amazing dance steps’ and ‘Actress Toyin Abraham Flaunts her Amazing Dancing Moves!’, the headline used by an X user @reigncoker on the short (7seconds) video post was a headline which was a derisive and deliberate statement to belittle and degrade her, reflecting an underlying attitude of Misogyny and disrespect for her achievements. The choice of words, expressed in indigenous pidgin language objectifies the actress, who was dancing, during what appears to be a work-out/exercise session.

According to the analysis, comparing her leg to ‘yam’, a staple food, is “an unflattering metaphor which is misogynistic and also reinforcing negative stereotypes”.

Other referenced case studies, beyond that of Dr Adaora Umeoji and Toyin Abraham include misogynistic statements against Funke Akindele another Nollywood Actress, and other persons, of the female gender.

Understanding and mitigating Misogyny and TFGBV

There are several general definitions and explanations about Misogyny. While the Collins dictionary defined it as ‘a strong dislike of women’, the Cambridge dictionary defined it as ‘feelings of hating women or the belief that men are much better than women’ and Merriam Webster dictionary defined Misogyny to mean ‘hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women’.

Referencing internetmatters.org, the report alluded that misogyny in the online space is largely found in videos, images and forums or comment sections. It includes name-calling or use of slur language suggesting women are lesser than men, or use of vulgar images or photos and content that puts down women.

While Misogyny is generally defined as the dislike, hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls, typically exhibited by men, or acts and actions showing feelings of dislike for women, an adaptation of the broad 5 statement of definitions by london.gov.uk explained Misogyny to include acts or attitudes that “objectify women, such as to treat a person like a tool or toy, as if they have no feelings, opinions, or rights of their own; belittle women or girls in conversation, such as using sexist nicknames or using derogatory remarks; seek to control women’s behaviour; use intimidating or humiliating behaviour to destroy a woman’s self-confidence and undermine her; treat women differently from men in social and professional settings; and pursue/express unwanted sexual comments or advances on women.

Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) on the other hand is described as “the form of gender-based violence which is predominantly carried out online, on digital spaces/platforms. It can be described as targeted harassment and prejudice against women through technology-based, online channels or platforms.”

According to Mrs Ugonma Cokey, the Vice President of JFC and the focal lead of the #EndMisogynyNG Project, cyberbullying of women as a form of tech-based gender-based violence is on the rise. She noted that data from research and  Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with about 100 people, including female journalists, students from tertiary institutions, professionals and men, has exposed that there are syndicates of online predators whose mission is to cyberbully women, noting that this validates general perspectives that women are often harassed and objectified in their lines of profession and through sexual text messages, and social media posts/contents to misrepresent and dehumanise the female gender.

“Women seeking leadership positions in their career advancement are frequently stigmatised as a result of societal male dominance. Women with disabilities are also the victims of online gender-based violence as they encounter profiling by the members of the public while they also receive sexual advances from the opposite gender”, she noted.

Mrs Cokey emphasised the importance of collaborating with men for strategic role-playing to combat misogyny and tech-based gender-based violence against women, as the majority of the content is perpetuated by the male gender.

Impact of Misogyny, TFGBV and need for collaborative actions

The increasing attacks on women on social media and other platforms are taking a psychological and emotional toll on the victims, as “it tends to force women to conform to societal pressures, often against their will,” Mrs Funmi Falobi, a mass communication lecturer and gender advocate, lamented.

“Mysogyny and TFGBV often targets women and this breaks the willpower of women and reduces women’s participation and contribution in society.It causes psychological harm, leading to a defeatist attitude and stalled ambitions. It limits the potential of women and can destroy ambition, conforming women to societal stereotypes. It also leads to depression, suicidal thoughts, and stigmatisation”.

Suggesting the mitigation strategy to challenge tech-based gender-based Violence, Mrs Falobi, who is the coordinator of the Initiative for social Impact and Sustainable Development (ISISD) as well the gender expert for the JFC #EndmisigynyNG movement called for increasing awareness and more collaboration among civil society stakeholders to stem all forms of attack against female gender across the social strata

She noted that everyone, including the media, has a key role to play.

“Promoting responsible social media practices and collaborating with institutions to create awareness are essential steps in mitigating misogyny and TFGBV. Increased media reporting on the issues and encouraging storytelling to educate others are vital in the fight against misogyny, TFGBV and indeed any form of repression of the rights of women/girls.”

She also urged journalists and the media to report on women’s issues with an inclusive mindset and without prejudice, and to refrain from using sexist language when disseminating information, as this could further encourage misogyny in society.

Mr Lekan Otufodunrin, JFC President and the Project Coordinator, also urged journalists to maintain professionalism while doing their jobs and prioritise peace consciousness when reporting issues around gender-based violence.

He noted that journalists have powerful roles to play to reshape perspectives in society, both online and offline and as such, it is imperative for them to focus on the narratives that will create positive impacts on society generally.

He noted that the issues around Misogyny and TFGBV are of global concern and as such, the initiative by JFC Nigeria as a member of the WACC Africa membership network is a pilot scheme that calls for broader stakeholders’ involvement in focusing on achieving the priority purpose of providing information, assessing trends in manifestation and taking mitigation actions to address emerging incidences of gender discrimination and rights repression within the online/digital space.