Edelman and UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, have launched a copyright for human bodies, bodyright. The campaign hopes to end sexualised abuse online, which includes cyberstalking, hate speech, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, deepfakes and upskirting.
“All are forms of digital violence, which is prevalent, repetitive, perpetual and pervasive. The consequences of these violations of a person’s privacy, dignity, autonomy and rights are devastating,” the UNFPA states on the campaign website, The Virtual Is Real.
The website also contains facts about sexualised digital violence, stories of victims and survivors of digital violence from around the world and work done by UNFPA to address what is a human rights violation.
The campaign highlights that corporate logos and copyrighted Intellectual Property (IP) are more highly valued and better protected than images of people’s bodies are online. Its ambition is for everyone to join the movement to hold policymakers, companies, and individuals to account.
“Relentless, borderless, and often anonymous – the online world is the new frontier for gender-based violence,” stated UNFPA executive director, Dr Natalia Kanem. “It’s time for technology companies and policymakers to take digital violence seriously. Right now, corporate logos and copyrighted IP receive greater protection online than we do as human beings.”
In many countries, there are no laws to make online violence illegal. Those who try to have exploitative images removed have few rights and must deal with a slow and difficult process with no guarantee of success. Infringements on music or film copyright are removed by digital platforms efficiently. Governments have passed laws making copyright infringement illegal and digital platforms have established ways to identify and prevent unauthorised use of copyrighted material.
The heart of the bodyright movement is the ⓑ symbol, which can be added to any image directly via Instagram stories using stickers, or by going to the campaign website to use the automatic bodyright tool or to download the symbol directly.
To launch the campaign UNFPA partnered with awarded poet and spoken-word artist, Rakaya Fetuga. Rakaya wrote and performs a spoken-word poetry describing the impact of online violence and the concept of bodyright.
UNFPA has also launched a petition, hosted by Global Citizen, demanding tangible action to end digital violence and abuse.
The social campaign launched during the 16 Days of Activism against Violence Against Women (25 November – 10 December 2021) with additional supporting activity taking place in 2022.
