Gender-based Violence and Politics Online: the Realities of Sierra Leone 5. März 2025 | 16:00 Uhr - 17:30 Uhr

Makalay Sonda’s research centres on gendered aspects of online violence and hate speech against female politicians in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has a literacy rate of about 50% (38% of women and 60% of men) and only 20% have regular access to the internet. This means that online and offline communication, written and spoken language, are interwoven in a variety of ways and cannot be seen separate from each other. Gender-based violence is often experienced as a private rather than a structural problem and there are few support structures for those affected. Makalay Sonda will talk about the gender-specific effects of online violence and its negative consequences for the public participation of women and for democracy. She will show how structural social issues such as gender stereotypes and misogyny on the one hand and technical systems such as the various forms of digitalised communication interact and create or reinforce previously unresolved problems for the participation of women in political processes.

Makalay Sonda is a sociologist and media scientist by specialising in Gender Studies. She works as a lecturer at Njala University in Sierra Leone. She is also an activist founder of Moonteen, a community organisation that works on reproductive health and sex education for teenage girls. Her research stay in Braunschweig is made possible through the GeDiMINT Researchers in Residence programme.

The lecture will be held in English. It will take place in PK 4.117.

Referent*in

Makalay Saidiatu Sonda, Njala University (Sierra Leone)

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