Greeting in Language
As a First Nations woman from the Northern Territory and Australia, I extend my respect and acknowledgement of the Lenape people whose traditional lands we come together on. As leaders, we have the ability to expand the futures and opportunities of women and girls all over the world and share our experiences to progress gender equality and expand human rights in the digital sphere.
Access to technology and the digital sphere is a human right, and the opportunities of the digital age should be available to all women and girls, safely. Australia believes in this gender equal future and understands that access to digital technology and an inclusive, intersectional approach to innovation and closing the digital gender divide is necessary to make this a reality. All women and girls have the right to access technology.
As we have heard from others, it provides access to information, to education and to online business, and its necessity has never been more evident than during the recent global COVID-19 lockdowns. For all it's good, technology has the power not only to exacerbate existing inequalities, but to be used as a vehicle to extend the gender bias and gender based violence that already exists in our societies.
Cyber bullying, online harassment and image-based abuse are far too common in digital spaces for women and girls, and it hinders and harms their full participation in the uses of digital technology.
In 2015, Australia achieved a world first for gender equality, creating the world's first E-Safety Commission, responsible for keeping all Australians safe online and setting standards for online safety. The Commission advocates for a broad, inclusive and intersectional understanding of safety online. E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant who joins me here and also Commissioner June Oscar are part of the Australian delegation here this week.
A 2022 survey from the Commission has found that 75% of Australian adults have had at least one negative online experience in the past 12 months, an increase of 30% compared to 2019. The data is even worse for our First Nations women.
While Indigenous women can have greater difficulty accessing technology, research shows Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are at increased risk of online hate and serious online harm when they do have access with digital devices like phones being used as part of family violence at even higher rates than the broader population, the research shows that online abuse is most likely to be inflicted by a current or former male partner.