Talk:Advancing Gender Equality in the Digital Public Sphere: Tackling Online Violence and AI-Discrimination – WS 04 2026

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Meeting, 24.03.2026
Attendees: Ella Cancara, Grit Lange, Oona Kurppa, Yrjö Länsipuro, Charlotte Gilmartin

Session Outcomes: recommendations/key messages formulated at the end of the session World Cafe -method: key speakers would start the session with 3min opening statements Potential speakers (not more than 4pax, diversity of stakeholders - age, gender, geographics): Youth: Ella Cancara Tech Community: Civil Society: International Organization: either Charlotte or Florina from the Council of Europe → everyone gives a 3min “punchy” statement, shares their concerns/perspective Moderator: Oona Kurppa


Meeting 04.05.2026
Attendees: Oona, Grit

  • Breakout rooms would be given 3-4 guiding questions.
  • What is the current most pressing problem/barrier you face in terms of gender-based violence online?
  • The answers from the breakout rooms are being shared afterwards

Line up: Youth voice, response from the public sector, hate aid, former Snapchat head of European public policy

Online breakout room coordinator: Charlotte (Council of Europe) / Senja (GE youths)

Documentation of the session: Oona will ask Yrjö if flip charts are available. Flurina could bring post-it notes. If not, Oona suggested the online platform. It could at least be used with the online participants. One more meeting, in week 21? Key speakers may also be included in the meeting. Flurina proposed the 20th of May. Key messages are derived from the session. EuroDIG will provide personnel to write down meeting notes.


Meeting 20.05.2026
Attendees: Oona, Ella, Nico, Flurina, Minda

  • 4 breakout groups, online discussion only focuses on the private sector; on-site participants won’t participate in this discussion.
  • Questions from the discussions should be shown on a screen during the discussion.
  • Check with Reiner if there could be slides included during the speaker 3min pitch.
  • Speaker bios to Oona for the introductions.
  • There should be about 3 key messages formulated during the workshop
  • The Google document is being shared in the meeting room and with the EuroDIG organizers

Minda will present the key messages at the end of the session.


TIME TABLE 11:30-12:30

11:30

  • Welcome and Topic Introduction, Session Format (Breakout Groups, Guiding Questions), Quick Introduction of Speakers – 5 min (Oona)

11:35

  • 3-minute Statements by Key Speakers Speaker – 15 min
  • Ella Cancara (Game Changer Project, Generation Equality -Youth)
  • Flurina Frei (Gender Equality Policy Advisor, Council of Europe)
  • Nico Schmidt (EU Policy Advisor, HateAid)
  • Christian Mogensen (Tech Advisor and Former Head of Nordic Public Policy of Snapchat)

11:50

  • Discussion Segment (Working Groups)
  • Introductions of Guiding Questions – 2 min
  • What is the current most pressing issue you face in terms of GBOV?
  • What would the ideal internet look like without GBOV?
  • How can youth/international organizations/ the private sector/ NGO’s perspectives help to shape a more inclusive digital sphere?
  • (Online discussion only focuses on the private sector; on-site participants won’t participate in this discussion.)

FLINGA (Online participants' post-it note platform)

Conclusion:
Each breakout group shares its key concerns and 1-2 recommendations
11:28

  • Final Remarks – 2min (Oona)
  • Key Messages – 3min (Minda)



Event concept paper, 24 April Ella Cancara + Council of Europe


Youth, Gender and Technology: Tackling Online Violence and AI Discrimination

Session description
Youth are reporting increased feelings of extreme pessimism in relation to the internet. This is due to many reasons, such as content designed to produce cover-consumption, the data market, but also the overflow of AI content on social media platforms and technology facilitated violence. These attitudes towards the internet are reflected in, ironically, social media trends such as the analogue bag, self-sufficiency inspiration, trad-wife-content and viewing the possibility of being offline as a luxury only reserved for the rich.

When new forms of technology are developed, they are advertised to investors and consumers as essential tools to make life easier and better. The internet was thought to be the great equaliser, giving people of diverse backgrounds and from all corners of the world equal access to knowledge and connection to other people. Yet the relationship between new technologies and equality is ambivalent: while they have opened new opportunities, they have also deepened existing inequalities. Structural inequalities shape who benefits from technology and who does not. The digital gender gap is one of the most persistent expressions of this dynamic. Women and girls face unique barriers to equal participation online: artificial intelligence increasingly encodes and amplifies discrimination, while technology-facilitated violence against women and girls drives many to withdraw from public spaces altogether.

Age plays a crucial role in how women and girls experience technology-facilitated violence. Young women and girls are particularly likely to encounter such violence due to the significant role that technology plays in their daily lives, influencing how they communicate, socialise and access information. This is reflected in the numbers: in the 2024 Building Digital Resilience report by Plan International, 75% of girls and young women (13–24) reported experiencing online harm, with around 40% facing harassment at least monthly and 11% daily or almost daily. Sexualised abuse is prominent, with 44% encountering unwanted sexual images and 37% receiving inappropriate sexual messages.[1]The evaluation reports of GREVIO, the monitoring body of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, reveal an increasing prevalence of technology-facilitated violence among young people, including image-based abuse, as well as growing anti-gender narratives in online spaces.

The rise of artificial intelligence is transforming how discrimination manifests, particularly in the ways young women and girls are seen, treated and included in online and offline spaces. The rise of digital forgeries (“deepfakes”) exposes young women and girls to new and serious forms of online exploitation and abuse. In addition, misogynistic online communities, such as the “manosphere,” further fuel harmful narratives and violence against women and girls. Algorithms can amplify gender-based violence and misogynistic narratives, as they are designed to maximise user engagement and therefore tend to promote content that provokes strong emotional reactions.

In addition to causing serious psychological and social harm, the rising prevalence of discrimination and technology-facilitated violence often leads young women and girls to self-censor and withdraw from public debate. In a world where online spaces and social media have become the modern town square, young women removing themselves from online spaces leads to them being further underrepresented in the political conversation.
Particularly in a political context where youth are already less likely to participate, youth deciding to remove themselves from the sphere of mobilisation might lead them to step back from political activities altogether. This makes these issues a threat to democracy from the perspective of youth and especially young women and girls.


[1] Plan International (2024), Building Digital Resilience


Format

The session will be organised in an interactive breakout format combining short panel inputs and group discussions. First, a panel of four speakers representing youth organisations, international organisations, the private sector and civil society will provide brief 3-minute introductory remarks. The session will then move into four breakout discussions reflecting these perspectives: 1) youth experiences and participation; 2) policy and institutional responses; 3) platform design and industry responsibility; and 4) civil society approaches. The outcomes of the breakout groups will be shared in the concluding segment, highlighting key concerns and identifying recommendations to strengthen accountability, inclusivity and trust in digital environments. A dedicated online breakout discussion group will discuss cross-cutting elements, ensuring that remote participants can actively contribute and that their inputs are fully integrated into the plenary feedback and overall outcomes of the session.


[1] Plan International (2020), Free to Be Online.

Proposed speakers

  • Youth perspective: Ella Cancara, Generation Equality -youth
  • International
  • organisations perspective: Flurina Frei, Council of Europe
  • CSO: Nico Schmidt, EU Policy Advisor, HateAid
  • Private sector: Christian Mogensen, Tech Advisor and Former Head of Nordic Public Policy of Snapchat
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