Women human rights defenders face rising tech-assisted violence
Source: Bulatlat
MANILA – When Filipino women human rights defenders (HRDs) step forward to demand accountability, they are met with a new kind of violence. Technology is now weaponized to silence, shame, and intimidate.
“The more we speak, the more they target us,” Sheerah Escudero, sister of drug war victim Ephraim Escudero, told Bulatlat in Filipino. “Even the dead were not spared. They tell me, ‘How about the victims of drug addicts like your brother?’”
Before and during the confirmation of charges hearing of former President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC), there were social media posts stating that Escudero’s brother deserved to die. Other posts made personal attacks, claiming that she was paid to present herself to the media.
A fabricated picture of Escudero and drug war mother Llore Pasco was posted by pro-Duterte vlogger Cathy Binag, flaunting expensive handbags at The Hague, together with Rise Up for Life and for Rights coordinator Rubilyn Litao. One News flagged the post, issuing an advisory that it is fake. Even if it is no longer available, Binag’s post reached more than 100,000 engagements.
MANILA – When Filipino women human rights defenders (HRDs) step forward to demand accountability, they are met with a new kind of violence. Technology is now weaponized to silence, shame, and intimidate.
“The more we speak, the more they target us,” Sheerah Escudero, sister of drug war victim Ephraim Escudero, told Bulatlat in Filipino. “Even the dead were not spared. They tell me, ‘How about the victims of drug addicts like your brother?’”
Before and during the confirmation of charges hearing of former President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC), there were social media posts stating that Escudero’s brother deserved to die. Other posts made personal attacks, claiming that she was paid to present herself to the media.
A fabricated picture of Escudero and drug war mother Llore Pasco was posted by pro-Duterte vlogger Cathy Binag, flaunting expensive handbags at The Hague, together with Rise Up for Life and for Rights coordinator Rubilyn Litao. One News flagged the post, issuing an advisory that it is fake. Even if it is no longer available, Binag’s post reached more than 100,000 engagements.