New Delhi, December 3, 2025
The Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, organised an Extension Lecture on Gender-Based Violence in the Digital Age on 29 November 2025 as part of the 16 Days of Activism commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. The event was held in collaboration with CWDS and 16 universities across India and coordinated by Dr. Amina Hussain.
Prof. Nishat Zaidi, Director, SNCWS delivered the Welcome Address, underscoring the urgency of recognising how digital spaces have reshaped the landscapes of harm, safety, visibility and justice. She highlighted the Centre’s commitment to examining emerging forms of gendered violence and the necessity of institutional engagement with fast-shifting technological terrains.
The session took the form of a panel discussion moderated by Chaitali Pant, PhD Scholar, SNCWS who situated the conversation within contemporary feminist debates and the lived experiences of communities most affected by digital vulnerabilities. Drawing from the grounded underpinnings, she noted that violence today transcends physical environments and extends into digital platforms where algorithmic inequalities, deepfakes, coordinated harassment, data exploitation, and blurred public-private boundaries intensify existing caste, class, gender and labour hierarchies.
The panel deliberated upon how global transformations, legal gaps, and everyday digital experiences intersect, and what inclusion, agency and safety mean in AI-driven environments. It brought together Pallavi Mahajan, Consultant with Whitesheild, UAE and Advocate Ayesha Jamal, practitioner at the Supreme and the High Courts of India, who engaged with these questions from complementary global and grounded perspectives. The discussion highlighted the rise of platform-enabled harms, the need for accountability mechanisms, survivor-centred safety features, and the role of collectivisation and rights-based tech ecosystems. Speakers addressed issues such as ad-hoc legal responses, digital evidence challenges, policing practices, deconstruction of humour and meme cultures in the contemporary times, mental health impacts, the need for improved legal awareness, accessible redress systems, and the necessity of survivor-centered approaches. Notes from the conversation underlined the importance of gender-aware AI systems, clearer legal frameworks, SHG-based digital literacy, preventive safety models, and stronger community support structures.
The session concluded with an interactive audience discussion and a Vote of Thanks by Dr. Amina Hussain. The event reaffirmed that gender-based violence in cyberspace requires coordinated efforts across law, policy, technology and community practice to build safer and more accountable digital futures.
