Take Back The Tech!

@takebackthetech.bsky.social

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Take control of technology to end violence against women! An @apc.bsky.social campaign working with grassroots movements around the world since 2007.

On a wall is text “The media is complicit in everything” and another poster that says “Stilfontein is now. Stop the sacrifice” with a few words below scratched/blurred out. There is a figure in the middle.
On a black background, there is the Take Back The Tech! Logo on the bottom right corner and illustrations of code language running through the middle. Text: "When something breaks here, it hits hard. You might not [be able to] afford another one. You might not be able to charge it. You might not even know what went wrong." Nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa don't have steady electricity. In West Africa, heat kills battery life faster, humidity eats away at circuits, power surges fry routers and chargers, floods soak radios, phones, solar gear.
On a white background, there is the Take Back The Tech! Logo on the top right corner and an illustration of a typhoon with a house and tree on the bottom right side. Text: When Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines in 2013, it tore through the country. It was the most powerful typhoon ever recorded to make landfall anywhere in the world. Cell towers collapsed alongside homes, and survivors walked for days just to send a single message to relatives: “Buhay pa kami” We are still alive.
On a black background, text: The digital divide is a political divide. Because in an emergency, it matters if you can... Receive accurate information when fires force communities to evacuate. Send a message to loved ones in times of crisis. Share details of affected persons on the ground when storms disintegrate already fragile infrastructure. Access emergency services when floods cut through villages. There is a visual element of a glitchy error message on the top right corner and the Take Back The Tech! logo on the bottom right corner.
Wage fluctuation in “ten minute delivery apps” is a feature; not a bug. Wage fluctuation pushes and pull workers into a dynamic labour pool — to meet supply and demand. In these apps, wage fluctuation is also gamified and incentivised. This keeps workers perpetually “playing” for more — as base pay constitutes only a minor share of the total income in most cases, it’s not a real choice. Seeding change: A feminist action research project addressing wage disparities and platform power in India Association for Progressive Communications
#WorldPressFreedomDay Illustration of a woman journalist laughing and using a video camera. Text: We don’t just fear surveillance for political reasons — it feels intensely personal, intrusive in ways men may not fully grasp. Our private lives become ammunition. Source - Weaponised Surveillance: Ethiopia’s Digital War on Women Human Rights Defenders GenderIT.org
Where are we now? What have we learned? Reflecting on 20 years of research and activism on tech-facilitated gender-based violence. CSW70 Parallel Event Wednesday March 18 12-13:30 UTC Registration: https://s.apc.org/7F52aG Feminists have been naming, resisting and documenting technology-facilitated violence since before it had a name. This session asks the hard questions: Where are we now? What have we learned? Where do we stand from impunity to justice? Digital safety |Feminist research | Policy advocacy | Gender Justice | Collective action | 20 years
"I want a safe and equitable internet" two people on the side with one asking the other: Your opinion on our digital futures? On the bottom is event information: 4 - 5 March 2026, virtual event Fourth Global Symposium on Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence (TFGBV) Join global advocates, technologists and practitioners in shaping a safe and equitable digital future for all.
A translucent image of a woman holding up a sign. On a browser tab is text: Report VASW is a website, not an app — nothing needs to be downloaded. Plus: using a website is safer than an app for people whose phones may be surveilled — it is harder to find on a device. On a phone screen is text: It works like a form, and asks whether the violence was online (e.g. sharing personal information) or in real life (e.g. physical violence), what happened, where, and whether the survivor would like to be contacted by Nawara. On the top right corner is text: Source: A new tool to help sex workers who experience violence https://www.apc.org/en/news/new-tool-help-sex-workers-who-experience-violence-2 On the bottom right corner is text: #InternationalDayToEndViolenceAgainstSexWorkers
Image of a woman looking at a computer with hate speech and surveillance eyes. Text: The name of the digital stalkers army working at the behest of the Zimbabwe regime is called ‘Varakashi’. When translated from Zimbabwe’s vernacular Shona language, this means ‘Digital Destroyers’. ‘Varakashi: Here and abroad, Zimbabwe´s state online-stalkers brigade hunts female prey’ Narratives of Power on GenderIT
An outlined illustration of a women’s protest in Guam (Hawaii), with the banners revolving around Indigenous women’s (Famalao’an) rights. Text: “To experience colonisation as an Indigenous woman is to reckon with subjugation on multiple fronts, a compounding pressure that is unfortunately neglected or disregarded when addressing decolonisation and social justice.”
An illustration of a butterfly net catching butterflies in trans colours, while mouse cursors point to the catching. Text: Trans activists who support extreme right-wing ideologies become allies of the very system that marginalises them, perpetuating their own oppression.
Image of people mobilising for Palestine. In the backdrop is a large wall or fort-like structure which is outlined. Text: “From childhood, we learn that Palestinians live a different reality from other people.”
An illustration of a woman on a stage speaking into a mic. Text: “I don’t think anyone noticed when I disappeared. I stopped performing stand-up, stopped using my voice. No one asked me why I had stopped showing up at open mics.” “I keep receipts” Vickie Wang
An outlined illustration of a protest with barbed wire graphics. Text: “State crackdowns on digital spaces often attempt to fracture the collective by isolating and punishing visible individuals.”
An illustration of a distressed woman behind a checkout counter going through a very long list of unsolicited messages and images. Text: “I would be fired on the spot to tell male store managers to redesign the checkout tech. On any day in my store, there are 100 other desperate women with CVs in the books of labor brokers, waiting to take up my cashier’s job anytime.” Agnes Ndaba Former checkout cashier Currently a trade union gender activist with the National Union of Retail Workers of South Africa You look cute: How electronic checkout slips became a stalking nightmare for South Africa’s women (in smaller text)
Illustration of a long-haired person holding up a signboard: We the people of India. Behind them is a fire.
An outlined illustration of three women photographed together, close to each other. Text: “We have experienced repression and harassment from the Hierarchical Church, from large landholders and from the government, who for decades accused our struggle of [being communist].”
Outlined illustration of a tunnel that has two figures at the end. Text: “For an hour, he pulled up photos of women activists with their full names and questioned our ideals, our motives, and the way we dressed and held ourselves.”
Feminist Learning Circle 5 Dec 13 - 14.30 UTC Your ex is not a hacker but you can be! with Martu and Amarelu <3 Main body text: How does spyware ACTUALLY get on a device? Small text: Can your partner or ex install stalkerware on your phone without you knowing about it?
An outlined illustration of a woman with a tape over her mouth. Text: “I first became a target in 2016, during what would become one of the most polarising elections in Philippine history.” Peek into the brutal, blunt and unapologetically macho campaign of Rodrigo Duterte.
Feminist Learning Circle: 5 Dec, 13 - 14.30 UTC Your ex is not a hacker but you can be! with Martu and Amarelu You just broke up with your partner. He set up your devices and accounts when you were together. You feel unsure, worried and scared. Is it really that easy for an ex to hack your phone?
Outlined illustration of a woman speaking on a mic. Text: “I was only 21 when I learned the military government could be watching me even in my bedroom, not through a person but through my phone.”
On a dark blue background are icons of low battery, computers, phones, and broken hearts. Text: Feminist Learning Circle 5 Dec 13 - 14.30 UTC Your ex is not a hacker, but you can be! With Martu and Amarelu <3 Take Back The Tech logo on the bottom left corner.
In spiky text bubbles: “Mujerzuela,” “Sayona,” “Loca,” and “Qué buena que estás” with social media icons around them. Text: “In politics, words are used to disqualify women’s capacities and devalue them as people in the eyes of the public.” Venezuela’s election processes display layered forms of violence combining gender, ethnicity, and political repression.
Illustration of a group of women looking at their phones together. Text: 1,428 acts of aggression Against land defenders In the last 5 years.
Illustration of two figures having a conversation. One says: Bye bye gender ideology. The other, while looking at their phone, says: Western propaganda. Text: In August 2022, amidst political unrest and a worsening cost-of-living crisis, Pakistani influencers launched an anti-trans moral panic.
Illustration of a pair of canvas shoes with flowers blooming out of it. Text: On one of the days of continuous protests in a suburban area of Yangon[...] two military trucks entered recklessly while I was singing the protest song and leading the chants.
Illustration of a woman working on a computer. In the background are windows opening up to a warscape. Text: “What we saw during the last war, particularly the escalation, was that there were warning signs for people who work on documenting violence, that if you’re documenting what’s going on in the ground, you may become a target.” — Ramzi Kaiss, a researcher with Human Rights Watch (on the war in Lebanon)
Image of a woman cycling. Text: How Ayesha’s cycling group in Pakistan started with a bike commute… and a Facebook post! More than 50 girls signed up within the first hour, but nobody had a bike.
Image of a group of security officials looking at multiple screens showing civilian footage. Text: “Security officials treat people of my gender as if it’s a weak spot to shut us down”. How gender is weaponised against Women Human Rights Defenders in Kashmir
Image of women sitting around a table and talking. Text: People imagine activism is glamorous, the hashtags and panels. But we cry in matatus. We skip meals. We stretch stipends whenever they find us. We attend funerals of girls we couldn’t save.
Central image of a woman speaking on a phone with a mass of people around her. Text: “It’s not just about politics. It’s about humiliation. They turn our private lives into weapons.” How surveillance became a political strategy in Ethiopia
On a dark purple background are surveillance icons and "16 Days of Activism" is on the top left corner. The central image is of diverse women holding glowing tech devices, surrounded by flowers. Text in the middle: Networking resistance #NoTechForWar
"Big Tech almost demands our silence in exchange for the use of their services." PART 1: Interview with DJ Outvertigo Featuring an illustration of the interviewee by Laura Ibanez
Text: Call for Pitches Power Narratives - Unmasking Digital Stalkers If you think the term "stalking" has expanded to include new technological tactics and dynamics, we want to hear your perspective. Each contributor will be paid 500 USD upon submission of final entries. Deadline: March 27, 2025 https://genderit.org/resources/call-pitches-power-narratives-unmasking-digital-stalkers On the left are icons of a keyboard and a pen, as well as a computer with the Take Back The Tech! logo on it.
Blood stain on the bottom left of the image. Text: Attacking the “honour” or reputation of women human rights defenders puts their lives at risk.
Illustrations of a computer setup and a keyboard on the left and right side of the image respectively. Text: [Anti-GBV laws] are used to legitimise disproportionate censorship and surveillance measures, and in some cases are even used against those who invoke them for their protection. When protection becomes an excuse for criminalisation: Gender considerations on cybercrime frameworks Derechos Digitales and APC
Text with illustrations of women in media at the bottom and a surveillance eye on the right: “Dozens of women journalists and human rights defenders in Bahrain and Jordan have had their phones hacked using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.” https://theintercept.com/2022/01/18/pegasus-spyware-nso-group-women-activists-journalists/
A.I. needs to be transparent, diverse, representative, inclusive
Artificial intelligence is a feminist issue.
Text with icons of social engagement on the side and a switch off button at the top: “Facebook could do much more and shut these pages down but so long as they continue to profit from the reach and engagement, they don’t seem to be interested in decisive action.” - Mehreen Faruqi, Australia’s first female Muslim senator 'Inside the hate factory: how Facebook fuels far-right profit' (The Guardian, 2019)
An illustration about gendered disinformation is in the outline of a computer screen. Text: State-led gendered disinformation campaigns have been used to silence and deter women in politics from speaking out all over the world, “in some cases with the aid of a “cyber militia,” in addition to ordinary internet users. Undermining Democracy: Gendered Disinformation as an Early Warning System Take Back The Tech!
Text with an illustration of eyes looking sideways: “The perpetrators are well aware of the effects on women. Their aim is to discredit, discourage and silence women, to “frame them as untrustworthy, unintelligent, emotional/angry/crazy, or sexual.” - Marie Lamnech (Centre for International Governance Innovation)
Text with a Twitter logo: On average, women receive abusive or problematic tweets once every 30 seconds. Women of colour are more impacted than their white counterparts, and Black women are disproportionately targeted. - Charting the Future: Revisiting Beijing's Commitments in the Digital Era Hija Kamran
Text along with an image of an arm rising up with tattoos around women and visibility: Both states and private corporations need to be more attentive to providing access that enhances the human rights to privacy, confidentiality, security and safety.
Text along with an image of a computer and a cursor: Community networks are computer-based systems organised in a grassroots fashion to provide a viable alternative to, or support, government and corporate-owned internet networks for consumers.
Image of a South Asian woman looking at her phone. Text: Only 24% of leadership roles in technology are filled by women. - World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report of 2022 (data collected from 155 countries)
Image with FPI Access logo and text: “A feminist internet starts with enabling more women and queer persons to enjoy universal, acceptable, affordable, unconditional, open, meaningful and equal access to the internet."
An illustration of DJ Outvertigo, decorated with olive branches, kuffiyeh patterns and elements of the sea
A person holding a red umbrella, facing away from the viewer. Text: A client was being really violent and the studio just told me to continue. I kept saying ‘I don't want to’ and they kept saying ‘you have to stay connected.’ I pointed the camera to my lap so I could cry. Maria, a webcam model in Bogotá, February 2024 “I Learned How to Say No” Labor Abuses & Sexual Exploitation in Colombian Webcam Studios Human Rights Watch December 17: International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers
The board 'A Pluriverse of Joyful Digital Futures' in the Feminist Tech Garden - festival space.
Feminist Tech Gardens - festival space holding - many feminists coming together within it.
Spanish pamphlet about our multiple resistances and feminist solidarities.
Feminist Tech Garden - fishbowl while folks are participating in a session