- Developed in consultation with various non-profit partners around the world, the safety hub, besides English, will also be available in Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, and Malayalam.
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, FEB 15
Meta, the rebranded parent company of Facebook and its apps, on Tuesday, announced several initiatives aimed towards online safety of women in Gujarat, including a project to prevent the spread of non-consensual intimate images.
These initiatives will equip women with tools and resources, in their native languages including in Gujarati, to better navigate the online world.
Understanding that women face a disproportionate amount of abuse online, the initiatives from Meta will include a new Women’s Safety Hub and a campaign called ‘Safe Stree’.
Madhu Singh Sirohi, Head of Policy Programs and Outreach, Facebook India, contextualizes these initiatives saying, “The safety and wellbeing of our community on Facebook and Instagram is a priority, and we’re continuously investing in it. We’ve launched a Women’s Safety Hub and a campaign, ‘Safe Stree on Instagram’, in that pursuit and are making it available in regional languages, like in Gujarati, for it to benefit all of India. We aim to continue with this effort, through our products, policies and programs.”
- Women’s Safety Hub: The portal contains video-on-demand safety trainings and allows visitors to register for live safety training. This will enable more female users in India to access information about tools and resources that can help them make the most of their social media experience. It was launched in Gujarati along with 11 other Indian languages, ensuring millions of women, especially non-English speakers do not face a language barrier in accessing information easily.
- Safe Stree on Instagram: This is an initiative by Instagram, with partners like Yuvaa, a youth media and insights company and Pink Legal, a platform to understand women’s rights and laws, to challenge gender stereotypes and create a safer and kinder online space for women. The campaign unfolded in two parts – first, a six part training program for creators on ways to build more inclusive spaces online, and second, a content series on Reels, highlighting safety features available for women on Instagram, made by a diverse set of 6 women creators in their own native languages.
- Meta also launched StopNCII.org in partnership with UK Revenge Porn Helpline. In India, the platform has partnered with organizations such as Social Media Matters, Centre for Social Research, and Red Dot Foundation and will empower women across the world to combat and prevent the spread of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII). In the past year, the company has also launched several safety features in the Facebook and Instagram app, such as Hidden Words, Limits, Comments Control, multi-block and the option to hide likes.
