The Committee of Women in Security and Intelligence of IOSI will be focusing on Gender-Based Violence (Violence Against Women and Girls) as the leading topic of discussion for 2021. Considering the ever-growing situation on this matter, it is timely to mainly focus on this subject; violence against women and girls continues to be one of the most pervasive manifestations of discrimination and violations of human rights.

The Committee of Women in Security and Intelligence of IOSI (CWSI), alongside with a helping hand of technology, will aim to bring progress and solutions, on any scale, to combat Gender-Based Violence. 

This issue should be considered a global pandemic given that it affects 1 out of 3 women in their lifetime.

Indeed, the numbers are staggering. It is estimated that 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner sexual violence.

Globally, 7% of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner.

Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.

As shocking as it may sound, 200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting.

This issue is not only devastating for survivors of violence and their families, but it also entails significant social and economic costs. In some countries, violence against women is estimated to cost countries up to 3.7% of their GDP – more than double of what most governments spend on education.

Failure to address this issue also entails a significant cost for the future. Numerous studies have shown that having children growing up in violent environments make them more likely to become survivors themselves or indeed perpetrators of violence in the future.

One characteristic of Gender-Based Violence: no social or economic boundaries restrain the issue. It affects women and girls of all socio-economic backgrounds. In this sense, this issue must be addressed in both developing and developed countries. To do so, a community-based and multi-pronged approach is required a sustained engagement as well with multiple stakeholders. The most effective initiatives address underlying risk factors that lead to violence, including social norms regarding gender roles and tolerance levels of violence.

The Committee of Women in Security and Intelligence (CWSI) not only encourages the sharing of intelligence; it encourages the victims of Gender-Based Violence to participate anonymously in the “Speak Up” project, if desired. For such purposes, we have the IOSI PLATFORM for members; stay safe by taking advantage of the anonymous posting feature!

Modern Problems require Modern Solutions.

IOSI steps in to help combating Gender-Based Violence in the following ways:

OSINT:

OSINT is an Open Source Intelligence methodology that is used to collect and analyze data from publicly accessible sources. The IOSI – the Gender-Based Violence project and its members can use OSINT to access relevant data related to Gender-Based Violence. Such data can assist law enforcement in identifying perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence and locating victims.

IOSI enjoys a strong connection to a wealth of OSINT experts around the world. The use of OSINT for Gender-Based Violence cases can, and will, increase the number of found and saved victims; it will also decrease the time that it takes to find them.  

OSINT Training:

IOSI experts provide OSINT training. This training is available to first responders as well as to members of the general public; the newly acquired knowledge can be used for a wide variety of things, including the collection of important data related to the fight against Gender-Based Violence.

Education, Awareness and Communication:

The new IOSI PLATFORM for members has been created to combat the changing nature of global crime. The platform acts as a virtual safe space that connects all members, allowing free and unfiltered communication between them. Given our anonymous option to communicate, members can publish articles regarding Gender-Based Violence and connect with experts, express opinions, convey their views, and develop strategies to tackle Gender-Based Violence. 

A Future without Gender-Based Violence.

The future of Gender-Based Violence is dependent on our ability to create and sustain effective instruments to combat it. Neither communities nor countries will be able to abolish Gender-Based Violence alone. This effort requires the push of a global community to tackle such a pandemic – we need people with specialized training, subject matter experts, professionals with years of experience, and concerned citizens that want to make a change as well. 

If the general public turns a blind eye to Gender-Based Violence, it will continue to live and thrive.

1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence. How many more women need to go through this for us to react? 

IOSI INSTRUMENT

Anonymous POST

We cannot succeed without the active involvement of citizens IN BUILDING A BETTER SOCIETY. This applies to all of us – not just to people involved in politics, law enforcement or the field of law. Irrespective of our roles in society, we continue to face security threats even when they are not blatantly obvious. Consequences from Gender-Based Violence compromise all of us. 

Here, IOSI comes into play. The IOSI PLATFORM for members strives to serve as a virtual safe space for all citizens involved in SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE. Hence, our members can express themselves; accordingly, our members can freely share their views and opinions. To offer a trustworthy and safe space, our platform allows our members to publish articles anonymously, if they so desire. In this way, issues related to Gender-Based Violence, among other critical matters in our society, can be exposed confidently. It is important to emphasize that IOSI neither censors nor spies, and harassment is not tolerated as per our platform rules (which can be found at https://dev.iosi.global/platform-rules).

Fundamentally, our platform respects freedom of expression and the right of individuals to live in a secure society. Our team knows what it is like to be at the center of risk. The ability to post anonymously opens doors to victims as well as to other individuals caught up in the criminal world of narcotics. Given the option to post anonymously, they can share sensitive and critical information that they would otherwise be unable to – due to realistic safety fears.

The purpose of posting anonymously is not, as it might seem, to break rules. The objective is to protect a level of freedom that is important to our community. Our professional experience has shown us that this danger is not unrealistic.  

Global Organization for Security and Intelligence – IOSI

2020