Date: 14-15 November 2024
Venue: TBC
Participation: Invite-only event
Introduction
KICTANet in partnership with Expertise France, will be hosting a two-day technical workshop on Cyber Threats Awareness for women with disabilities. The workshop will target 30 participants, including representatives of Organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), county government representatives, and persons with disabilities. The workshop will take place in Rift Valley from 14th to 15th November 2024.
Background and Context
In Kenya, women with disabilities make up 57% of the population with disabilities, yet only 9.8% have access to the Internet, compared to 13.5% of men with disabilities. This digital divide is particularly pronounced in rural areas, where internet access is just 13.7%, compared to 42.5% in urban regions. Barriers such as poor infrastructure, low digital literacy, economic challenges, and societal inequalities like poverty and traditional gender roles further isolate WWDs online.
While digital platforms offer opportunities for empowerment, they also expose WWDs to cyber threats, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and online fraud. These threats are exacerbated by the lack of cybersecurity awareness and protective measures, leaving WWDs vulnerable.
These cyber threats are compounded by poverty and gender inequalities for women with disabilities. Their participation online is further hampered by societal inequalities such as poverty, gender-based violence, and outdated cultural norms that limit the mobility and autonomy of women with disabilities. A case study by the Gender, Climate Change, and Nutrition Integration Initiative (GCAN) highlights that many women with disabilities in rural areas assume primary caregiver responsibilities for family members, particularly children and the elderly. These roles, often tied to traditional gender norms, limit the time available to use the Internet.
Moreover, a study by KICTANet on Unmasking the Trolls and Trends of Online Violence Against Women in Politics During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya revealed that most training and empowerment initiatives focus on individuals and organisations in high positions of visibility and urban areas. As such, people in rural areas, in this case, women with disabilities, are shadowed and miss out on training incentives on cybersecurity and online safety.
Most training and empowerment initiatives focus on urban areas, neglecting rural women with disabilities. To address these disparities, KICTANet is hosting a targeted cybersecurity training and awareness program for women with disabilities. This workshop will equip them with the necessary skills that will not only protect their rights and safety online but also enable them to participate in Kenya’s growing digital economy.
Workshop Objectives
- Promote a safe, inclusive, and secure digital space for women with disabilities in rural areas of Kenya through targeted and customised training and capacity building.
- To reduce vulnerabilities and exposure of women with disabilities and disability champion representatives from rural Kenya.
Expected Outcomes
- Increased awareness of women with disability and key stakeholders in Kenya cyber threats and online safety.
- Documented discussions and recommendations
Format of the Event
The event shall be a two-day on-site training workshop, with each day dedicated to a mix of the three main topics of the training (cybersecurity, digital accessibility, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). The event shall be officially launched with a keynote speech followed by expert presentations, group work, and question-and-answer sessions.
Accessibility
To ensure full and active participation of persons with disabilities in the workshop, we shall ensure that the workshop venue is accessible to all and provide reasonable accommodations, including sign language translators and extra time considerations for participants with disabilities.
About KICTANet
KICTANet is a multistakeholder ICT policy think tank that aims to catalyse reforms in the ICT sector. KICTANet’s overall mission is to promote an enabling environment in the ICT sector that is robust, open, accessible, and rights-based through multistakeholderism. KICTANet conducts advocacy, research, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement through its various platforms.
Since its inception, KICTANet has been running initiatives to promote women’s rights (in all their diversity, including minority groups such as LGBTQ+, sex workers, and women with disabilities, to highlight unique challenges faced by women in society, including at the intersection with technology. KICTANet has built the capacity of women politicians, journalists, bloggers, and students on how to safely use digital technology to advance political participation, women’s rights, freedom of expression, media, and assembly. Particularly, the capacity-building activities focus on tackling cybersecurity, disinformation, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and content creation.
Workshop Program
Day 1: 14 November 2024
Introduction to Cyber Hygiene
| Time | Session | Facilitators |
| 08:30–9:00 am | Arrival and Registration | KICTANet |
| 09:00–09:30 am | Welcome and Introductions | Nicodemus Nyakundi, KICTANet |
| 09:30–09:45 am | Objective and Overview of Session | Nicodemus Nyakundi, KICTANet |
| 09:45–10:00 am | Welcome Remarks / Keynote Speech | Florence A. Ouma |
| Session 1 | ||
| 10:00–10:30 am | How to Safely Navigate Online I:
|
Nicodemus Nyakundi |
| 10:30–11:00 am | How to Safely Navigate Online II:
|
Nicodemus Nyakundi |
| 11:00 am-11:30 am | Tea Break | |
| 11:30 am-12:30 pm | Group Work: Common Internet Scams and How to Identify them | KICTANet |
| 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm | Group work Presentations and Plenary | Nicodemus Nyakundi |
| 01:00–02:00 pm | LUNCH BREAK | |
| 02:00–02:30 pm | Digital Inclusion for Women with Disabilities I: Case Studies from KICTANet Research | Florence A. Ouma, KICTANet |
| 02:30–03:00 pm | Digital Inclusion for Women with Disabilities II: Digital Accessibility Best Practices | Nicodemus Nyakundi, KICTANet |
| 03:00–3:30 pm | Plenary | Accessibility Team KICTANet |
| 3:30–4:00 pm | Closing Remarks and Evaluation Forms | KICTANet |
| 04:00–4:30 pm | TEA BREAK/END OF DAY 1 |
Day 2: 15 November 2024
Introduction to TFGBV and Incident Reporting
| Time | Session | Facilitators |
| 08:30–9:00 am | Arrival and Registration | KICTANet |
| 09:00–09:30 am | Recap of the previous day | Florence A. Ouma, KICTANet |
| 09:30–09:45 am | Introduction to Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) | Florence A. Ouma, KICTANet |
| 09:45–10:00 am | How to Identify and Report/Respond to TFGBV | Florence A. Ouma, KICTANet |
| TEA BREAK | ||
| 10:30–11:00 am | Plenary | Florence A. Ouma |
| 11:00–11:30 am | Dangers of cybersecurity threats and the impact on women with disabilities | Nicodemus Nyakundi, Tatua |
| 11:30 am-12:00 pm | Cyber Threat Incident Reporting Best practices | Nicodemus Nyakundi, Tatua |
| LUNCH BREAK | ||
| 02:00–02:30 pm | Information exchange on key cybersecurity issues facing women with disabilities in rural areas | All |
| 3:00–3:30 pm | Presentation of Participant Feedback and Recommendations | All |
| 3:30–4:00 pm | Closing Remarks and Evaluation Forms | KICTANet |
| 4:00–4:30 pm | TEA BREAK/END OF DAY 2 |
