Interview with Virginia Bolatti and Laura Porrini, from the team behind the Women’s and Feminist Funds Solutions initiative

As the 16 Days of Activism call global attention to gender-based violence, this interview turns to a pressing and fast-evolving challenge: technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). The Latin American Alliance of Women’s and Feminist Funds is implementing a regional initiative under the Digital Democracy Initiative to protect and strengthen democratic civic space in the digital era. In this conversation, Virginia Bolatti and Laura Porrini, representatives from Fondo de Mujeres del Sur discuss the project’s aims, the forms of violence they are witnessing, and why locally anchored responses are vital for safeguarding women human rights defenders and women decision makers across the region. 

The Digital Democracy Initiative is a flagship Team Europe programme aimed at reinforcing the digital protection and capacity of civil society in the Global South, particularly in countries undergoing democratic regression and where civic space is under pressure. It is co-funded by Denmark, the European Union, and Norway. 

In this edition, our interviewees are Virginia Bolatti, Deputy Director, and Laura Porrini, Head of Knowledge for Advocacy.

For those who are not familiar with the project, how would you briefly describe its main objective and what makes it stand out from other initiatives addressing gender-based violence? 

The project is called Women’s and Feminist Funds Solutions for a Life Free of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Latin America. Its objective is to promote and protect inclusive local democratic space in the digital era by addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence affecting women, girls and gender-diverse individuals across the region (*). 

Several aspects distinguish this initiative. First, it focuses specifically on violence that is enabled, aggravated or amplified through digital technologies. As online spaces have expanded, these forms of violence have grown dramatically and become increasingly sophisticated, so addressing them directly is essential. 

Second, the initiative has a clear focus on the digital attacks experienced by activists and their organisations. This is part of a broader pattern of technology-facilitated gender-based political violence, which undermines participation and democratic life at scale. 

A third distinguishing feature is that the initiative is implemented by the Latin American Alliance of Women’s and Feminist Funds, a network of eight funds with deep roots across the region. Our collective reach, combined with strong local knowledge and long-standing relationships with movements, allows us to respond in ways that are both strategic and grounded in reality. 

Finally, the initiative takes a comprehensive ecosystem approach. It strengthens the preparedness of women’s funds as key intermediaries and reinforces the long-term resilience of movements by combining grant-making, capacity-building, security support and other interconnected strategies. This allows us to address both immediate vulnerabilities and the structural causes of digital violence. 

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is on the rise in the region. What types of online attacks are women human rights defenders facing, and how does this affect their democratic participation? 

Across the consortium we currently support about 1,600 organisations. In recent years we have seen a sharp intensification of digital violence against them. This occurs through social media, messaging applications, online forums, websites, emails and other digital channels. 

In 2018, organisations identified 13 types of online violence. Today, that number has risen to 29. To better understand the trend, the eight women’s funds conducted a survey in 2024 with 242 organisations from 18 countries. 62%pf the surveyed organisations reported experiencing some form of technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the past two years. 

The most frequent attacks include defamation and reputational harm (23%), recurrent trolling (22%), and online harassment, cyberstalking and threats directed at both organisations and their members (21%). Digital violence often spills into offline life, with severe emotional, physical and security consequences. 

When activists and their organisations are targeted, this violence must be re-signified as political violence. It aims to silence dissenting voices, shrink civic space and deter participation. This results in less diversity of perspectives, weaker representation, reduced freedom of expression and ultimately a decline in democratic quality. 

What key elements of the project’s strategy would you highlight as particularly relevant for EU Delegations interested in supporting similar actions, whether in Latin America or other regions? 

Our approach works across three interconnected levels. 

At the macro level, both through supporting the advocacy efforts of women human rights defenders and through direct action, we seek to shape positive change in law, public policy and institutional practice-locally, nationally and internationally. The aim here is to amplify and protect democratic space so that activism can be exercised safely. 

At the meso level, we focus on strengthening the collective action of women’s organisations, women human rights defenders and women decision makers. Their interconnections are essential for fostering joint action and building shared strategies. 

At the micro level, we work directly with organisations and activists to reinforce their capacities to prevent and respond to technology-facilitated violence. This includes financial support, tailored capacity-building, digital security training, emotional and psychosocial support, and close accompaniment. The purpose at this level is to protect, defend and prepare. 

Furthermore, we combine technical training with personal and collective protection strategies. Digital violence affects systems and devices, but it also affects people emotionally and physically, often with consequences for their participation in civic life. So our approach is holistic. 

Likewise, many organisations we support are the “first responders” to attacks against individual activists. They accompany cases directly and help mitigate the impact on both the person and the organisation. This micro-level work is indispensable when addressing such complex forms of violence. 

The project operates through women’s funds with strong local roots. What advantages does this model offer in reaching informal or hard-to-reach actors that traditional cooperation might struggle to engage with? 

Women’s funds were created precisely to reach grassroots actors who are often excluded from traditional cooperation. This is our founding mandate. 

Because we are based in the region and have been working for many years in the countries where the project operates, we have deep ecosystem knowledge: of local agendas, actors, risks and rapidly shifting contexts. Across the consortium, we support around 1,600 organisations, and this accumulated experience shapes everything we do. 

Our funding systems are agile, flexible and politically grounded. We can reach informal groups, emerging collectives and actors operating in high-risk environments. We work with multi-year core support, flexible funds and collaboration grants. The Urgent Action Fund-Latin America and the Caribbean, part of our consortium, also provides rapid response grants, which are crucial when dealing with gender-based violence. 

Importantly, we go beyond funding. We accompany organisations closely, create opportunities for connection and collective reflection, and help strengthen movements across 14 countries. This movement-centred approach is one of our strongest assets. 

As we approach the 16 Days of Activism and in light of the EU Delegations’ ongoing work, what types of partnerships, support or actions would you recommend prioritising to strengthen the digital protection of women human rights defenders and community leaders? 

We would highlight two broad priorities. 

First, there is an urgent need to strengthen the preparedness of activists and organisations. Digital attacks frequently have consequences beyond the online sphere, including threats that materialise in physical settings. Building preparedness therefore requires sustained investment in digital security training, psychosocial support, organisational protocols and resilience-building. These measures help prevent, manage and mitigate technology facilitated violence and reduce the risks of burnout, silencing and withdrawal from public life. 

Within this broader effort, reinforcing alliances is essential. We often refer to this as strengthening “the net within the net”. Many organisations do not know where to turn when an attack occurs, or how to respond effectively. Stronger networks make it possible to react collectively, share knowledge and support one another across different contexts. 

Second, preparedness must be accompanied by structural efforts to protect democratic space. Lasting solutions depend on strengthening the foundations of democracy, which are under strain in many of our countries. Collaboration across different sectors - including governments, civil society and technology specialists - is vital to shaping responsive regulatory measures and safeguarding digital civic participation at both national and regional levels. 

Finally, it is crucial to influence the funding landscape. Activists and organisations can only sustain their efforts if resources are stable and adequate. This is a central focus of our advocacy with multilateral bodies and donors.

Is there anything important that we have not covered that you would like to add? 

One final point. For initiatives of this kind to succeed, they must be rooted in movements while also building strong bridges among them. This means bringing together those most exposed to digital violence with those able to offer specialised technical or political support. 

Activists working daily in digital spaces have critical insights into the problem, while organisations specialising in gender and technology bring technical knowledge that strengthens collective responses. When these actors work together, they develop shared perspectives and tools that make the entire ecosystem more resilient. 

This combination (movement-rooted action and cross-movement collaboration) is, in our view, one of the most effective approaches for addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the region. 

(*) Currently, the initiative is supporting 132 organisations/network/consortia of women human rights defenders and women decision makers around 14 countries in Latin America. Additionally, Rapid Respond Grants are being allocated to address urgent issues related to TFGBV, and complementary capacity building, communications and research strategies are in place within the framework of the project.