Today KICTAnet began a Digital Security Training of Trainers for women training at the Ngong Hills Hotel. 20 women participants from journalists, human rights, and fintech networks will go through a 3-days practical course on safeguarding data privacy to reduce women’s vulnerability to cybersecurity.
The course is fashioned to equip women with knowledge on how they can protect their digital privacy during their work and personal interactions. It covers modules on how women can assess their digital security landscape, protect themselves against data breaches, and how to recover from attacks. The participants were drawn from networks of media organizations and human rights organizations including the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK), Kenya Union of Journalists, (KUJ) Article 19, Siasa Place, FEMNET, and the International Association for Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT). After the training, the participants are expected to be able to train women in their communities on data privacy and how they can protect themselves.
The training began with participants expressing their learning expectations. The ones from human rights and journalist networks expect to know how they can impart knowledge on digital security to other network members. Some are keen on learning the most common digital security threats and how to protect themselves from them.
“As a journalist, we are so afraid of who we contact. Especially during these times of elections, we are prone to frequent cybersecurity threats originating from our communities. Sometimes I get threat calls when my reporting questions the accountability of a politician with strong local support.” participant.
The training is part of KICTANet’s women strengthening program supported by the GIZ and its Digital Transformation Centre in Kenya. Through this program, KICTANet is also developing a module on gender violence for the GIZ’s Digital Enquirer KIT. The training participants will also form part of a community of practice that will work towards strengthening the module for use by users across the country.
