Forging a Path to Safer Digital Spaces: AMWIK Presents Research on TFGBV at TikTok Roundtable

In a significant step towards combating online abuse, the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) has issued a powerful call for collaborative action to tackle Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV). The call was made during the presentation of the research at the TikTok Multi-Stakeholder Safety Roundtable in partnership with the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) , a forum that brought together journalists, regulators, civil society, and digital safety experts.

The roundtable served as a platform for a unified dialogue, with one resounding conclusion: the urgent need to create safer online spaces, particularly for women in media, politics, and public life who disproportionately bear the brunt of coordinated online attacks.

The Kenyan Reality: Data Exposes a Coordinated Threat

At the heart of the discussion was AMWIK’s latest research, which sheds a light on the harmful impact of organized online harassment campaigns targeting women journalists and politicians in Kenya. The findings move beyond anecdotal evidence to provide a data-driven analysis of how these digital attacks are orchestrated, their psychological and professional toll, and their chilling effect on women’s participation in public discourse.

Presenting the findings, AMWIK Executive Director, Queenter Mbori underscored the critical pillars necessary for an effective response. “Our research confirms what many women experience daily: that online violence is real, it is damaging, and it is designed to silence voices. Combating this threat requires a deliberate, three-pronged approach built on data-driven insights, survivor-centred interventions, and robust multi-sector partnerships. We cannot solve this in silos.”

Addressing issues such as tech-facilitated gender-based violence requires more than just
policies; it demands deep listening, data-driven insights, and collaboration across sectors.” said Kim Thipe, Executive Director, Centre for Analytics & Behavioural Change (CABC).

“At TikTok, we believe that to truly understand our local community, we must first understand
their world. We recognise the diversity of our global community and the importance of
understanding what helps them feel safe, so that they are empowered to have their best
experience,” said Duduzile Mkhize, TikTok Outreach & Partnerships Manager, SubSaharan Africa.

A Unified Front: The Three Pillars for Change

The roundtable discussions crystallized the specific actions needed across these three pillars:

1. Data-Driven Insights: Moving from perception to evidence, AMWIK’s research provides a baseline to inform policy, guide platform design, and measure the scale of the problem. This evidence is crucial for advocating for targeted solutions and holding perpetrators accountable.
2. Survivor-Centred Interventions: The human cost of TFGBV must be at the forefront of our response. This means ensuring support systems, legal aid, mental health resources, and digital safety training are accessible to those targeted, prioritizing their dignity and agency.
3. Multi-Sector Partnerships: As the roundtable demonstrated, no single entity can solve this alone. Meaningful progress requires sustained collaboration between civil society, tech platforms like TikTok, government regulators, the media, and security agencies to create a cohesive ecosystem of safety.

The Way Forward: From Dialogue to Action

The dialogue culminated in a clear set of demands to translate discussion into tangible change. AMWIK, with the support of the roundtable stakeholders, calls for:

• Strengthened Policies: The development and rigorous implementation of clear legal and regulatory frameworks that recognize TFGBV as a serious offense.
• Capacity Building: Equipping women in public life, journalists, and law enforcement with the skills to prevent, identify, and respond to online abuse.
• Platform Accountability: Urging social media companies to enhance their reporting mechanisms, enforce their community guidelines transparently, and invest in smarter content moderation tools to dismantle coordinated harassment networks.

The TikTok Multi-Stakeholder Safety Roundtable was more than just a meeting; it was a commitment to collective action. The path to a safer digital world is complex, but by uniting behind data, empathy, and partnership, we can ensure that everyone, especially women, can participate in public life without fear.

We are truly #SaferTogether.