[governance] Take Back the Tech! to End Violence Against Women - Small grants: Call for applications

[Shahzad Ahmad]

Bytes for All and P at SHA seeking proposals for projects that address the
intersection between Violence Against Women (VAW) and Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs). A project supported by the MDG3 Fund and
implemented by the Association for Progressive Communications Women's
Networking and Support Programme (APC-WNSP).

 

As part of our work in Pakistan the APC WNSP, through P at SHA and Bytes for
All, are calling for proposals for projects that seek to address the
intersection between violence against women and girls, and/or to stop
violence against women and girls through the strategic use of information
and communication technologies (ICTs).

 

What kind of proposals will be considered for the small grant?

 

- Development of tools and platforms that will facilitate women and girls'
access, use and development of ICTs, with a particular focus on secure
online communications

- Implementation of strategies that strengthen women's participation in ICT
policy processes

- Projects that promote the strategic use of ICT tools in projects and
programmes that address violence against women

- Projects that improve sexual assault survivors access to ICTs to assist in
access to information and resources

- Projects that use ICTs to support the collection of data and statistics

- Research projects that contribute to knowledge about the interconnections
of violence against women and  ICTs

- Building the ICT capacities of providers of services to sexual violence
survivors

- Empowerment and self-healing methodologies through strategic use of ICTs
for women and adolescent girl survivors of violence

- Capacity-building workshops that aim to build the skills of women and
girls in the strategic use of ICTs to end violence against women and girls

- Advocacy campaigns to lobby for policy changes that increase access to
information and communication resources and expand communication rights for
women and girls

- Awareness raising campaigns to build common knowledge, establish and
amplify context-specific discourses on the issue of violence against women
and girls and ICTs

 

Here are some examples of proposals that would be considered:

 

- Training for volunteers and staff at counseling and women's support
centres in how to use a secure online database to collect data about
survivors of violence who seek counseling and support

- Mapping projects related to the collection of statistics about the
incidences of violence against women, where they occur, and what forms of
support are available

- Creating online support networks for example for survivors of violence,
etc

 

Please note that proposals that aim to only buy equipment and hardware
cannot be supported. A reasonable portion of the budget can be set aside for
equipment but we need to see how people will benefit. 

 

Who is eligible to apply for a small grant?

 

Proposals will be accepted from any organisation, network, group or
collective operating from a not-for-profit framework. Individual developers
or techies with proposals for tools and platforms must have a relationship
with an organisation / network with whom they will work, or who will benefit
from and the proposal should demonstrate this.

 

What are the criteria for selection?

 

- Innovativeness

- Clearly outlines and addresses useful preventing violence against women
initiatives 

- ICT-enabled

- Projects that directly engage with the concerns of marginalised women and
girls and contribute to securing their safety and strengthening their agency

- Activity contributes to the priority issues identified during the National
Strategy Workshop:

- Awareness regarding privacy & security issues online & how to handle them

- Monitoring & tracking of VAW

- Training of women activists

- Activity/project could be replicated

- Proposal clearly states objectives, includes a methodology/implementation
strategy, identifies outputs, partners/stakeholders and includes a time line
and budget

- Realistic within budgetary and time constraints

- Use of Free and Open Source (FOSS) applications is greatly encouraged

- Candidates must be available for capacity building workshop to be held
during the implementation phase of the  project 

 

How to apply for a small grant?

 

Your proposal should be a maximum of 6 pages including budget and include
the following sections: 

 

- Description of the problem or issue the proposal will respond to

- Description of the activity including objectives

- Duration of the activity

- Who are the beneficiaries?

- How does the activity relate to the project's overall objectives in
Pakistan

- Capacity to implement

- Budget

 

Application process:

 

Email to: grants at takebackthetech.pk

Apply by: September 10

Results out by: September 25

 

Reporting requirements

 

Successful grantees will be required to submit narrative and financial
report to illustrate how funds have been spent

 

To download the flyer, click here: http://pakistanictpolicy.bytesforall.net/
or  http://jehanara.wordpress.com/

 

Background

 

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international
network of civil society organisations (CSOs) dedicated to empowering and
supporting people working for peace, human rights, development and
protection of the environment through the strategic use of information and
communication technologies (ICTs).

 

APC's work in women's rights and gender equality is done through its Women's
Networking Support Programme (WNSP), a global network of women that has
supported women's networking for social change and empowerment since 1993.
APC WNSP is an international facilitator of civil society's engagement with
ICT and its related concerns in policies and practices. Contributions have
been made at global, regional and national levels, and particularly in
developing countries through raising awareness, technical training for
women, developing tools and information resources, building capacity in
gender evaluation and influencing policies to ensure that ICT benefit women
in transformative and empowering ways.

 

We see the intersection of violence against women and girls and ICTs as a
critical area for engagement in which only a handful of women's rights
activists are active. This means that as a political space for engagement,
control of the internet and telecommunications-and related issues of
exploitation, filtering and surveillance-remain the domain of men. Women and
girls are facing increasing challenges to their right to safety and privacy
when entering online spaces and when using mobile technology. To APC, their
empowerment through skills, knowledge and community-building is the most
realistic and sustainable solution. We also recognise that women's rights
organisations working to address violence against women and girls have not
been able to use ICT in a more strategic manner.

 

The APC WNSP received a grant through the MDG3 Fund: Investing in Equality
to implement the 'Strengthening Women's Strategic Use of Information and
Communications Technologies to Combat Violence against Women and Girls'
project - simply titled: Take Back the Tech! to End Violence Against Women.

 

"Take Back the Tech! to End violence against women and girls" exposes the
connections between violence against women and ICTs in practice and policy
12 countries. It has three main objectives:

 

- to build and strengthen the capacity of women, girls and women's rights
organisations to use, reclaim and shape ICTs to stop violence against women
and girls

 

- to create platforms and opportunities for women and girls to critically
engage with ICTs to combat violence, and as survivors of violence, to
contribute towards self and collective healing

 

- to build feminist analysis, particularly around the intersections of
violence against women and ICT into global, regional and national ICT policy
processes

__._,_.___

 

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