EVAW calls for Ofcom to be bolder in protecting women and girls online

Today we submit to Ofcom’s consultation on their draft Violence Against Women and Girls Guidance. Ofcom has made clear efforts to produce draft guidance that sets out a range of measures that tech companies could, and should, choose to take on preventing harm, taking responsibility, and supporting women and girls. 

But Ofcom must be bolder. The current guidance falls short in its ambition to prevent online violence against women and girls. We are calling for:

• Stronger interventions rooted in prevention and safety by design, 
• Greater transparency and accountability from tech platforms, and 
• An upgrade of the guidance to a statutory Code of Practice, to ensure it is enforceable and taken seriously by industry.

You can read our joint sector briefing here and our full joint response here. 

In a landscape where protections for users are being eroded, with a general trend of tech providers delivering the bare minimum when it comes to safety, any next steps from the new government in securing an internet that is safer and freer for women and girls must be to introduce these recommendations into a Code of Practice. This would give Ofcom the power to insist that measures are introduced, and the ability to enforce against bad actor tech companies who continue to prioritise profits over people.

We will respond to the finalised Guidance when published by Ofcom. We anticipate this being some time in the Winter 2025. 

Background

EVAW, alongside partners from Carnegie UK, Refuge, Glitch, NSPCC, 5 Rights Foundation, Professor Lorna Woods and Professor Clare McGlynn campaigned for the Online Safety Act to better serve women and girls, and in response, the previous government committed to the regulator Ofcom producing guidance for tech companies on violence against women and girls. This was instead of a stronger code of practice that we and a coalition of experts strongly recommended. 

ENDS

Media Contact

Sinéad Geoghegan, Head of Communications, media@evaw.org.uk 07960 744 502