Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are co-hosting a campaign called #STOP Digital Violence which aims to eradicate online violence against women and girls. It will run for the UNFPA’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which began on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 and will last until Human Rights Day on December 10.

On Thursday, November 25, the first day of the campaign, we hosted makeup artist and Buddhist monk Mr. Kodo Nishimura and Associate Professor Shinichi Yamaguchi of the International University of Japan’s Global Communication Center (GLOCOM) for a talk event for eliminating online harassment, a form of gender-based violence.

The event featured video messages from experts Ms. Karen Makishima (Digital Minister), Mr. Hitoshi Kikawada (Member, House of Representatives; Secretary-General, Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP)), and Ms. Tomoko Hayashi (Director-General, Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office). There were also presentations of messages from campaign supporters Ms. Yoko Kamikawa (Member, House of Representatives; Chairperson, JPFP), Mr. Keiichi Ono (Director-General / Assistant Minister (Ambassador), Global Issues, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and Ms. Kyoko Kimura (Representative, NPO RememberHANA and mother of Ms. Hana Kimura). Finally, we encouraged the audience, especially the young people in attendance, to make statements using the campaign hashtag.

To close the event, HGPI Manager Ms. Yuko Imamura introduced Youth Terrace, HGPI’s reproductive health platform which is promoting this campaign and is engaged in efforts to address social issues facing young people from the perspective of reproductive health and rights.

To read more about the #StopDigitalViolence campaign, please click here for details.

To view a recording of the talk event, please click here.

For details regarding Youth Terrace, please visit the Youth Terrace website.

*Please note that for the time being, these website are available in Japanese only.