By Sara Ali
Introduction:
In the 16 Days of Activism campaign for the elimination of violence against women and girls (VAWG) around the world, is it time to develop a TFGBV response framework in Sudan? This article aims to shed light on these lived experiences, highlight emerging themes, and present actionable, collective recommendations for Sudanese feminist groups to build safer, more inclusive digital environments for Sudanese women.
In Sudan today, digital spaces have become both a lifeline and a battleground for politically active women who are standing at the forefront. For many Sudanese women, the internet remains one of the few remaining spaces where they can share their experiences, express their views, and bear witness to unfolding events. The conflict that erupted in April 2023 further restricted the already limited civic spaces. Amid violence, displacement, famine, and uncertainty, Sudanese women continue to rely on digital platforms to document realities, connect with communities, and sustain political participation.
The same digital platforms that offer visibility also expose women to significant risks. Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) is defined as “any act of gender-based violence committed, assisted, or aggravated through information and communication technologies such as the internet, social media, messaging apps, or email”. This form of violence has become a widespread barrier to women’s political participation. It includes acts such as harassment, stalking, non-consensual sharing or creating of intimate images using deepfakes or AI, sexualized threats, doxxing, impersonation, gendered disinformation, and hate speech.
This article draws on insights from a focus group discussion (FGD) with 12 Sudanese women, including activists, women in politics, journalists, and Emergency Response Room members, who are either displaced within Sudan or to neighboring countries. The FGD explored women’s experiences and perceptions of navigating digital spaces during the conflict, the evolving nature of TFGBV in these spaces, and their collective ideas about protection, solidarity, and feminist digital activism.
Understanding the Evolving Nature of TFGBV and Gendered Disinformation in Sudan
For many participants in our FGDs, the digital space feels unpredictable, hostile, and punishing toward those who dare to speak. What should be a space for connection and civic engagement has, instead, become for many a source of fear and exhaustion. Many women who discuss politics nowadays, share documentation, or challenge dominant narratives, are often targets of brutal online attacks.
TFGBV of a sexualized nature has become increasingly used against women’s voices online, amid the ongoing war. It takes the form of coordinated insults, smear campaigns, and deliberate character assassination aimed at undermining credibility and silencing dissent. Participants mentioned that Coordinated groups of online users, predominantly men, often use multiple accounts (a tactic known as “dogpiling”) to amplify attacks and isolate their victims. Since the war began, these patterns have intensified, as online platforms have evolved into both a vital source of information and a battleground for propaganda.
Participants also highlighted that the consequences extend beyond the digital world. Harassment campaigns are often designed to reach victims’ families and communities, weaponizing social shame and cultural pressure to intimidate women into silence. This leads to exclusion from political discourse and erodes trust in women’s documentation and testimony.
Disinformation as Digital Warfare
Gendered disinformation, which targets women through false or distorted narratives, operates as an intentional strategy to delegitimize their voices and undermine their credibility in public discourse. Participants reflected that women are targeted by fabricated stories, recycled footage, and misleading captions circulate widely, twisting facts and undermining the credibility of women who document human rights violations or share their opinions on political events, amid this war. These campaigns are coordinated efforts that undermine feminist movements and influence public trust.
More Than a Gender Issue
The discussion made it clear that TFGBV is not only a gender issue; it’s a political strategy employed by perpetrators to undermine women’s voices. FGD participants reached a consensus that by attacking women who challenge the political narratives, perpetrators seek to weaken collective feminist organizing and restrict political participation. The digital sphere, once a space for mobilization and expression, is increasingly weaponized to control who gets to participate in shaping the future of Sudan’s post-war.
In the current climate, women’s presence online is both an act of courage and a form of resistance. It’s also a reminder that protecting digital participation is not just about safety, but about defending meaningful visibility, truth, and political agency.
Responding to TFGBV: From Individual to Institutional Action
In the face of the relentless online attacks, Sudanese women have developed their own survival strategies, which participants described as “small but powerful acts of resistance”. Many retreat into private or “safe” online spaces, using Facebook groups or WhatsApp chats to express themselves without fear of exposure. Others rely on pseudonyms, limit their online engagement, or document abuse through screenshots and archives. These personal tactics, though vital, often feel like temporary solutions to systemic discrimination that demands stronger collective defense.
Participants emphasized that individual coping alone is insufficient. Without structured protection systems, survivors remain isolated and vulnerable. To move from reaction to resilience, combating TFGBV must be supported by coordinated institutional action that connects feminist movements, political parties, and civil society.
At the movement level, women called for scaling up digital security and digital literacy programs, not as one-time workshops, but as continuous support systems that reach grassroots movements and marginalized groups. Participants working on documenting human rights violations emphasized the need for secure documentation software, as well as training on documenting human rights violations, including those related to TFGBV, alongside ethics, content verification, and online safety. This training, along with software protection tools, can protect them at checkpoints if their devices are inspected, thereby safeguarding both victims’ data and their own privacy.
At the movement level, participants envisioned stronger protection and solidarity networks, as well as mechanisms that go beyond awareness-raising to provide practical support. These include prompt support teams, clear reporting and escalation procedures, trauma-informed peer support, and accessible legal aid. Building these systems can turn fragmented efforts into an ecosystem of care and accountability.
Ultimately, addressing TFGBV requires more than security measures; it calls for a cultural shift. Women’s rights organizations and the feminist movement must challenge the social norms that legitimize harassment and victim-blaming. While ensuring that survivors’ voices are centered in advocacy and policymaking. Participants’ vision is to transform the digital sphere from a place of fear into one of solidarity, where women’s political participation is recognized as a right, not a risk.
Gaps and Challenges in the Current Response
Creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces for Sudanese women involves addressing the gaps that hinder effective action. While awareness of the TFGBV is increasing, the capacity to respond collectively remains limited.
A key challenge lies in the fragmentation of feminist and political movements. Divisions across ideological and political lines, limited coordination, and a lack of a shared narrative weaken solidarity. The absence of a “common minimum charter” – a collective framework that outlines who to defend, how, and why- makes it difficult to respond quickly when women are attacked online.
The lack of infrastructure and limited technical capacity compounds this fragmentation. Many activists lack access to secure communication tools, verification methods, and wider documentation systems. Limited digital literacy and awareness of reporting systems leave survivors feeling isolated and vulnerable. Accessibility gaps persist for displaced women, refugees, people with disabilities, and those in rural areas with low connectivity, who are often excluded from protection and capacity strengthening efforts.
Another critical gap is the lack of accountability. Perpetrators of TFGBV rarely face consequences. Even within online political spaces that advocate for justice, responses to gendered abuse are inconsistent or absent, reinforcing a culture of impunity. On the other hand, Sudanese women’s stories of courage and resistance often go untold or are drowned out by hate and disinformation.
To bridge these gaps, participants called for coordinated, inclusive, and accountable action tailored to the realities of Sudan. Establishing shared principles, standard operating procedures, and clear response mechanisms can transform fragmented efforts into a united front capable of defending women’s right to participate safely online.
Building a Framework for Feminist Digital Resilience
A key outcome of the discussion was the shared belief that Sudanese women need a collective safety infrastructure — a foundation to protect, support, and increase meaningful participation. Participants emphasized the importance of developing clear policies and feminist guidelines to steer the movement toward coordinated and sustained action. These frameworks must remain sensitive to both the realities of the offline context and the unique digital risks faced by Sudanese women, ensuring that protection and participation advance in tandem.
Digital literacy is central to this vision. It not only enhances safety but also builds confidence, enabling women to engage and lead without fear. These capacity-strengthening efforts should be continuous, accessible, and rooted in local contexts.
For the feminist movement to grow stronger, it must also strengthen internal accountability measures, confront gendered disinformation, and promote ethical campaigning. Political parties, civic organizations, and women’s rights organizations should adopt safeguarding policies grounded in information integrity and TFGBV responses that protect both staff and stakeholders, to ensure that digital safety and online information become institutional norms and practices. Sustainable progress requires both swift interventions, such as mentorship programs and emergency support channels, as well as long-term policy reforms that embed care and accountability into organizational practices. Moderated forums, mentorship spaces, and solidarity networks can support women, share knowledge, build resilience, and advocate collectively for safer digital participation.
This discussion represents a step toward developing a contextual and comprehensive TFGBV response framework grounded in the lived experiences of Sudanese women. By centering protection, solidarity, and accountability, feminist movements can reclaim digital spaces as platforms for connection, community building, leadership development, and transformative change.
Conclusion: From Awareness to Collective Action
This blog is more than a reflection; it’s a call for action. The urgency to address Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence grows as digital platforms remain among the few remaining spaces where Sudanese women can express themselves, document realities, and connect across borders. Protecting these spaces means safeguarding not only individual safety but also the future of feminist organizing and civic engagement in Sudan.
This analysis aims to shed light on women’s experiences, challenges, and ideas for building digital resilience in conflict contexts. The vision ahead is clear: to create safe and inclusive digital environments where women can express themselves, document their experiences, resist oppression, and exist freely. Achieving this will require shared responsibility between activists, institutions, and communities to strengthen collective safety and wellbeing, ensure accountability, and amplify women-led solutions.
By transforming awareness into coordinated action, Sudanese women can turn fragmentation into solidarity. Their continued digital presence, against all odds, remains a powerful act of resistance and a testament to their unwavering right to shape Sudan’s narrative and future.