AFD will allocate €811,000 to strengthen locally led efforts addressing digital and technology-enabled forms of gender-based violence in Kenya./PHOTO; AFD
Kenyan feminist civil society organisations working to prevent and respond to technology-facilitated gender-based violence are set to receive new support under an initiative launched by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
Through its Feminist Organizations Support Fund (FSOF), AFD is allocating €811,000 to strengthen locally led efforts addressing digital and technology-enabled forms of gender-based violence in Kenya.
Digital technologies have significantly expanded opportunities for communication, civic participation, and activism.
Online platforms allow individuals and organisations to mobilise support, share ideas, and advocate for social change.
However, these same tools have also created new avenues for abuse, particularly targeting women, girls, and gender minorities.
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence includes online harassment, cyberstalking, non-consensual sharing of images, and coordinated digital attacks aimed at silencing voices and limiting participation in public life.
Experts say such forms of abuse often have far-reaching consequences, affecting victims’ safety, mental health, and ability to engage freely in social and political discourse.
In Kenya, feminist civil society organisations have emerged as key actors in confronting these challenges. Many provide direct support to survivors while advocating for stronger policies and protections aimed at creating safer digital spaces.
The new programme seeks to reinforce these grassroots efforts by supporting organisations already working on the frontlines of digital safety and gender justice.
“By investing in locally led initiatives, the programme seeks to ensure that responses to digital violence are grounded in the realities and needs of affected communities while reinforcing the capacity of feminist organisations to drive lasting change,” AFD said in a statement.
Through the initiative, supported organisations will be able to expand activities focused on preventing technology-facilitated gender-based violence while providing comprehensive assistance to survivors.
“The programme will support initiatives that provide comprehensive and survivor-centred assistance to individuals affected by digital violence,” the statement notes.
This support may include legal and psychosocial services for survivors, digital security training for activists and community members, as well as advocacy initiatives designed to strengthen accountability and protections in online spaces.
“This includes legal support, psychosocial services, digital security training and advocacy aimed at improving accountability and protections online,” the statement adds.
The programme is being implemented in partnership with Urgent Action Fund–Africa (UAF-Africa), a regional organisation that works with feminist movements and women’s human rights defenders across the continent.
The Feminist Organizations Support Fund is designed to support grassroots feminist organisations and movements working to advance gender equality and defend the rights of women, girls and gender minorities.
The Kenya allocation forms part of a broader €5 million regional initiative implemented across several African countries, including Benin, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Togo and Zimbabwe.
Of the total funding, €4 million will support a consortium of feminist civil society organisations led by UAF-Africa, while a €900,000 component implemented by Expertise France will focus on strengthening public policy dialogue and institutional engagement on online gender-based violence.
Across the seven participating countries, the initiative will support more than 55 feminist civil society organisations working to promote safer digital environments and strengthen protections for women, girls, and gender minorities.
Advocates say the initiative comes at a time when digital platforms are playing an increasingly important role in shaping civic engagement, activism, and public debate across Africa.
While these platforms provide new opportunities for participation and expression, they also expose users, particularly women and gender minorities, to harassment and coordinated abuse campaigns.
By supporting locally led feminist organisations, AFD and its partners aim to strengthen community-based responses to digital violence while contributing to safer and more inclusive digital spaces across the region.
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