Partnership between Egypt's NCW, Facebook to spread awareness of means of women protection on Facebook platform

Facebook has announced the partnership and cooperation with the National Council for Women in Egypt, in support of the protection of women on the Facebook platform by launching "Women’s Safety Resources," including materials such as  GIFs, cartoons and videos that aim to educate women and girls using Facebook on how to manage and adjust their privacy settings on the platform, as well as the ability to prohibit anyone from practicing any form of violence against women on social media.

 

 

Speaking about the partnership, Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the National Council for Women, stated: "The National Council for Women pays great attention to the issue of combating all forms of violence against women. Social media has become an available platform for practicing violence in various forms such as harassment, bullying, blackmail, along with others. Therefore, we are delighted with this partnership that aims to spread awareness among women about how to protect themselves from all forms of violence practiced against them through Facebook."

 

Highlighting the importance of this partnership in ensuring safety mechanisms to protect women while using Facebook and educating them  on the importance of its privacy features and enabling them to use it, she added: "It is crucial for women to  exercise their rights in controlling the situation when exposed to any form of violence via the Internet, and we are working on  spreading awareness of how to activate these abilities."

 

 

Commenting on the importance of “Women's Safety Resources,” Joelle Awwad, Policy Programs Manager at Facebook in the Middle East and North Africa, said: “The safety of all our users is of paramount importance to us here at Facebook, and we are committed to continuously providing meticulously designed tools and resources that keep all our users safe, as well as working  dedicatedly on developing them so that we can be able to support enjoyable experiences in an ever-changing digital environment. We are particularly pleased to offer these resources in cooperation with the National Council for Women in Egypt, which will allow us to reach and interact with a wider  group of women.”

 

She added, "We are committed to continue supporting and enabling individuals around the world to communicate via our platform in a safe way. Our platform puts the power of control in the user's hands. They decide what they share and with whom they share it, and this is the vision through which we will continue our work."

 

 

It is noteworthy that "Women’s Safety Resources" includes defining the procedures that must be followed by any woman and girl exposed to any form of violence on  Facebook. Among these procedures is contacting the women complaints office of the National Council for Women by contacting 01007525600 or the hotline at 15115. Moreover, the resources include a four-step guide to help women assess their level of privacy and safety on the platform, including a privacy check-up on Facebook, connections' management, reviewing users' personal privacy settings, and reviewing users’ activity timeline to understand what your contacts see when they visit your profile.

 

 

The National Council for Women has previously launched several awareness campaigns on social media platforms to combat cyber violence and cyber crimes against  women and  girls, in cooperation with various local and international partners, to raise awareness of ways to prevent negative practices on the Internet, increase the use of safety and protection programs, in addition to  identifying the support services and means available.