Dr. Luna K C, Assistant Professor of Global International Studies at UNBC, is developing a women’s cyber self-defense toolkit with $50,000 in funding from the Department of National Defence (DND). This initiative addresses online gender-based violence, a critical issue often overlooked. Many victims don’t know where to seek help, and some perpetrators fail to grasp the harm they cause has real life consequences. Victims often resort to deleting their online presence, but Dr. K C warns, “Keeping women and girls away from these platforms will only disempower them.”
Instead, she advocates protecting women’s online presence by developing associated resources, while addressing harassment. This effort offers opportunities for locals to participate in providing input to inform the development of the toolkit as Dr. K C is hosting a number of workshops in our community. The research for the toolkit also includes input from national experts and aims to create practical strategies to address this issue.
