Gender Equality
  • 5.1.1 Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex
  • 5.1.2 Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earning
  • 5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age
  • 5.2.2 Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence
  • 5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18
  • 5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15–49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age
  • 5.4.1 Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
  • 5.5.1 Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments
  • 5.5.2 Proportion of women in managerial positions
  • 5.6.1 Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care
  • 5.6.2 Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education
  • 5.a.1 (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
  • 5.a.2 Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control
  • 5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex
  • 5.c.1 Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment

    • 5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex

     

    The Role of Digital Civility and SDG 5: Protecting Women and Girls Online

    As global communication relies increasingly on the internet, it is now more relevant than ever to analyze the existence of digital civility, specifically as it relates to race and gender. Digital civility, a concept spearheaded by Microsoft, promotes making the internet a safer place through the following four principles: embracing the golden rule, respecting differences, thinking before posting, and standing up for oneself and others. Beginning in 2016, Microsoft created the Digital Civility Index, a yearly report that showcases data on internet risk and safety for specific groups of people, with an emphasis on gender analysis. 

    In 2021, Microsoft released the 2021 Digital Civility Index Data Wave on International Safer Internet Day, February 8, 2022. The study’s primary takeaway showed that while online civility in general improved, when aggregated by gender, teen girls and women experienced the all time high of online risk and negative experiences since the beginning of the Digital Civility Index project. The 2021 study polled survey participants on 21 online risks in the categories of reputational, behavioral, sexual, and personal/intrusive, as well as general experiences online, the impacts of COVID-19, and how experiencing online risk shapes their perceptions of life. Data was aggregated by age and gender (note: the study only differentiates between men and women), with a yearly average of 23 countries participating in the collection. 

    2021’s data showcased that teen girls and women experienced 60% of all risks online, with only 42% of females indicating that they felt they could manage these risks effectively, 11% lower than males. On average, females of all age groups were 8% more likely to experience severe or unbearable pain from online risks compared to males, and were therefore more likely to lose trust in other online users, experience low self esteem and less sleep. This was most pronounced in teen age groups. Females experienced more misogyny, unwanted sexual attention, unwanted contact, online harassment, and sexual solicitaition, compared to males who experienced more trolling and hoaxes, scams, or frauds. A unique component of the 2021 data set included a section on COVID-19, which indicated that 9% more females stated that online risks were worse since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, receiving more unwanted sexual attention and experiencing damage to personal reputation. This is compared to only a 3% increase in online risks reported by males. 

    The implication that women and girls experience increased online risk grows increasingly relevant as more of a person’s life is spent online. When considering development policy that achieves gender equity and empowerment, the online sphere must be incorporated into the conversation. Sustainable Development Goal 5 stipulates in target 5.2 the goal to, “Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.” Further, 5.b outlines the necessity to “enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.” In order for women to be protected against violence in both the private and public sector, and to be enabled to use technology in all forms, there must be an emphasis on digital protections to prevent against gender-based violence and harassment. This includes increasing and promoting digital civility online for all age groups. 

    This being said, there is a distinct lack of digital civility initiatives at the government level, and even more so a lack of digital protections based on gender identity, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity. While companies like Microsoft and Roblox have incorporated digital civility initiatives into their terms of service and operations planning, there must be more community and government-led effort to protect disproportionately affected groups from online violence. As discussed in Microsoft’s 2021 data, females in particular were more inclined to support actions that limited online violence, specifically increased education, bans on anonymous posting, and increased policing of social media platforms. Microsoft called on US policymakers in 2018 to promote the Digital Civility Initiative campaign, but as of yet there has been no major movement to implement protections against online violence. 

    In order to understand and promote the importance of digital civility, advocates and policy makers alike must fully grasp the increased risk of women and girls online compared to men through increased data collection and analysis. Additional attention must also be given to violence based on race, regligoin, and sexual orientation, as there is even less data available on the disproportionate impact of online violence on these groups. These analyses must be intersectional and account for the heightened risks experienced by women of color and people of color in the LGBTQ+ community. Without accounting for how online violence affects these groups, gender equity as laid out in SDG 5 cannot be holistically achieved, especially as more of people’s time is spent online (particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic). Digital civility must become a more active component of gender equity movements, specifically in the form of support for policies to increase education on the impact of online violence, and to encourage online protections for disproportionately affected groups through  increased policing of social media platforms to prevent harmful actions and limits on anonymous posting. As the global community continues down an increased path of digitalization, so too must the focus of sustainable development policies regarding accessibility and security for all.