An Open Letter to the European Parliament: Addressing the needs of survivors of digitally facilitated gender-based violence
30 May 2023

NUM have signed an open letter from ESWA and other digital rights organisations about addressing the needs of survivors of digitally facilitated gender-based violence in the European Parliament. The letter is a response to the Directive on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, which in its current form does not adequately address the needs of survivors.

We support the five demands listed in the open letter:

• The need for key terms to be defined adequately and appropriately
• The need for intersectionality to be recognised within the Directive
• The need to move away from a criminalisation framework and towards an approach which centres the needs of victims/survivors
• The need to consider other tools as part of holistically addressing digitally facilitated gender-based violence
• The need to consider privacy concerns and legislation, such as GDPR, as part of addressing digitally facilitated gender-based violence and how these may impact victims/survivors

As part of our research, we have explored how sex workers have experienced Visual Violence. It is vital that any interventions in digital spaces account for the ways in which sex workers utilise these, and how they can experience harm within them.