Meta and National Commission for Women partner with Farhan Akhtar’s MARD to launch a reporting campaign for women safety

• Campaign “Don’t Hesitate, Do Report, Stay Safe” will be launched in 5 Indian languages

New Delhi, August 17, 2022 (GNI): Meta and the National Commission for Women, in partnership with Farhan Akhtar’s MARD, today announced the launch of a reporting campaign “Don’t Hesitate, Do Report, Stay Safe” to improve the online safety of women. The campaign will focus on increasing awareness and knowledge around tools and resources available to users to report online abuse, inappropriate content, or behaviour. 

Launched in English and five Indian languages – Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada and Tamil – ‘Don’t Hesitate, Do Report, Stay Safe’ will raise awareness amongst users on reporting the content that they find objectionable rather than sharing it further. 

Highlighting the efforts and initiatives to create a safer internet for users, Madhu Singh Sirohi, Head of Policy Programs and Outreach, Facebook India (Meta) said, “As per research, women contribute more to economic development when they are digitally empowered and that requires building an internet that is safe and spurs growth and impact. At Meta, we have always strived to build tools and resources that enable a safer and inclusive internet for women. With ‘Don’t Hesitate, Do Report, Stay Safe’ we are confident we will be able to encourage more people to report online harms they see against women and partner with us in creating an empowering experience for women across Facebook and Instagram.”  

Built in consultation with various leading CSOs in India, the ‘Don’t Hesitate, Do Report, Stay Safe’ campaign also aims to bust existing myths such as “If I report nothing will happen” or “If I report, it will not stay anonymous”. Further, the campaign will help users understand that when they report content they are in control of their experience on our apps – Facebook and Instagram.

Sharing her views on the partnership with Meta and the launch of the campaign, National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson, Rekha Sharma, said, “Meta has been a long-standing partner for the National Commission for Women (NCW) on driving digital literacy initiatives that have encouraged more women to be part of the online journey while staying safe on the internet. These include an online resource center to deal with topics like cyberbullying, cyberstalking and financial frauds and training to effectively use online resources and grievance redressal mechanisms available to women. To ensure greater safety of women on online platforms, users need to be sensitized  on how to safely report problematic content. We are furthering our efforts today with the launch of this campaign to encourage more and more users to come forward and help stop online abuse faced by women each day.”

Speaking on the collaboration with the campaign, Farhan Akhtar, Actor, Director, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador South Asia, & Founder MARD Initiative (Men against Rape & Discrimination)said, “At MARD we believe in ensuring gender parity and democratization of the internet, whereby dignity of all users is maintained. It is important to raise your voice against online abuse and reporting such content, which will help combat different forms of harassment. We are proud to join hands with Meta and NCW to build a safer online experience for more people. ”

Meta has always made efforts in creating an internet which is safer and inclusive for women. Last year, Meta launched StopNCII.org that empowers women across the world to combat and prevent the spread of non-consensual intimate images (NCII). Meta also launched a Safety Hub for Women in English and 12 Indian languages that hosts all the safety resources women need when navigating the platform. It includes specific resources for women leaders, journalists and survivors of abuse. Additionally, it also contains video-on-demand safety trainings and allows visitors to register for live safety training hosted in multiple languages, stated in the press release.

About Meta Platforms Inc. Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.

About National Commission for Women is a central, statutory body, whose mandate includes the reviewing of constitutional and legal safeguards for women, recommending remedial legislative measures, facilitating the redressal of grievances and advising the government on all policy matters affecting women.  

About MARD was founded by Farhan Akhtar in 2013. The MARD initiative was designed to instill gender equality values amongst younger boys and men. The campaigns led by MARD, in association with various NGOs such as the PFI, focus on equality, empowerment, ending violence against women and girls and fighting online abuse. MARD aims to work with content creators, artists and musicians around the world in a pledge to engage hearts and minds for a more gender equal world. Anurag Rao is co- Founder of the initiative.