Women represent half of the global population and better reflection of their views in the security debates would contribute to developing more holistic and effective security policies. Women’s active involvement in the security sector will also significantly contribute to solving some of the pressing gender-specific challenges.
With the increased trend of digitisation, cyber threats are simultaneously mounting. Whilst both men and women are being targeted and exposed to various kinds of threats in cyberspace, women’s perceptions and experiences are distinct and require thorough analysis in order to understand their challenges and come up with tailored solutions. There are various types of research conducted on women’s experiences in cyberspace and their perspectives on cybersecurity, however such overview and analysis does not exist in Georgia. Representatives of CSOs working on women’s rights have a wealth of practical insights on what type of challenges do women face online. Prior communication of the research team with the representatives of such CSOs demonstrated that in case of becoming cybercrime victims, women often prefer to address such CSOs, rather than report the crime to law enforcement agencies.
The goal of the project is to provide first comprehensive research about the perspectives of Georgian women on cybersecurity, with a special emphasis on women’s challenges that would help policymakers and law enforcement agencies to incorporate gender-specific approaches in the policy making process. The project also intends to encourage debates on this issue and involve civil society organizations to engage.