(November 21, 2024 – Brussels)
Speakers:
- Maria Koomen, Governance Director, International Center for Future Generations (ICFG)
- Maria Rosaria Mollica, Team Leader, DG JUST’s Violence against women, European Commission
- Katarina Wallin Bureau, General Manager, Strategic Relations, Microsoft
Moderator:
- Maja Bobic, European Movement International
At the beginning of the panel, Maria Rosaria Mollica expressed her satisfaction with the first von der Leyen Commission, as promises were kept. Namely, new rules on pay transparency were adopted in 2023, then a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence in 2024, and there was also improvement in gender balance and work-life balance. Although there are two more deliverables: a recommendation on preventing and combating harmful practices against women and girls, and engagement to facilitate the cooperation between Internet platforms.
The first von der Leyen Commission had a very ambitious agenda, but the work is not over, especially since gender-based violence is somewhat ‘backed’ by the far-right. According to Mollica, the key is the full implementation of the directive which criminalises gender-based violence both online and offline. The only issue with the directive was the inclusion of rape which unfortunately did not happen because of a blocking minority. Now implementation workshops will take place with the Member States.
Katarina Wallin Bureau talked about Microsoft’s white paper on protecting the public against AI-generated content which has a gender-based dimension, as women are disproportionately impacted. She emphasized that AI can be a transformational opportunity and a challenge, but manipulated content should be labelled. The white paper is a recognition of responsibility. It actually originates from the 2024 European Parliament elections, even though deepfakes did not cause too much disruption, but women were disproportionately targeted once again. By protecting women online, we safeguard democracy, stated Wallin Bureau, who is working on placing the paper into the EU regulatory context.
When it was Maria Koomen’s turn, she told a personal anecdote: she posted a statement in a group chat the week before the event based on facts about gender pay gap saying that from that day on until the end of the year, women work for free. The first response almost immediately came from a man saying that it is a bit more nuanced than that. Koomen underlined that this may seem harmless, but actually instead of engaging in a conversation, her statement based on facts was considered polemic. Needless to say, that a quite heated debate followed. The truth is that gender-based violence online is a growing issue which is either exacerbated or mitigated even though it can destroy the reputation of women in public roles.
According to Koomen, collective action is needed, and the key areas are the following. First, intersectional research, since there is a gap of knowledge, we do not understand gender-based violence online well enough to act. Second, legal frameworks with toolbox approach, because removing content is only part of the solution. Third, education as prevention with targeted programmes. And last, support for victims and accountability for perpetrators with a rights-based approach. Koomen thinks that we have to turn awareness into action.
Koomen also mentioned the long-term effects of gender-based violence on democracy. From a broad view, it has a silencing effect, as we can already see, the presence of women in public discourse is decreasing, women are shrinking away from public roles. That is another reason why we need to empower women leaders.
Wallin Bureau went a bit more into detail about the role of Microsoft. It is not only advancing technology, but also thinking through partnerships, and advocating for change, all through comprehensive policies. She considered the directive as an important step, but added that the technology is advancing visibly faster than the legislation.
Mollica highlighted that even if five Member States (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia) still have not ratified the Istanbul Convention, the European Union acceded to it, so all Member States are bound in areas where the organisation has exclusive competence, such as judicial cooperation in criminal matters. However, ideally the remaining Member States should ratify it as well, so that areas not covered by EU law would be included too, and to signal their commitment to EU values.
During the Q&A Koomen mentioned the problem of secondary victimisation (victim-blaming by criminal justice authorities) as a tough nut to crack, but she insisted that we have to do it, just like imposing consequences to aggressors. Wallin Bureau wondered about the hearings, where some female Commissioners-designate were asked if they were a token woman. She could not understand how that is an appropriate question.
Mollica talked about how to include men in the discussion. According to her, the focus should be put on the fact that stereotypes affect men too: fulfilling or failing their ‘roles’ have serious impacts. She confirmed that accountability will progress, as the directive determines crimes, and people can get prison for committing them. Mollica added that an open consultation will be launched by the European Union for NGOs next March.
Wallin Bureau emphasized that the menABLE project already works on including men in the discussion, and she recommended the Tools and Weapons podcast with Brad Smith. Koomen stated that gender-based violence is a social construct, and so is technology. AI is based on discrimination, and a shift is going to take a long time, but we need to think about it creatively (like game companies freezing accounts for violation). Koomen stressed that we have to set a vision and do not lose sight of it over the details.