Online Ambulance – Empowering Women and Girls Against Technologically-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) in Myanmar

Gender-based violence has long been weaponised in conflict settings; today, the widespread availability of digital technology has made this issue even more pervasive and its consequences for victims more severe. We propose to pilot both a scalable intervention and outcome measurement in preparation for a randomized control trial (RCT) of Online Ambulance, an activist and survivor founded support platform for survivors of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) in conflict-affected Myanmar. Since the 2021 coup d’état and ongoing civil conflict, women and girls in Myanmar face pervasive TFGBV. TFGBV includes doxxing, non-consensual image circulation (NCII) of real and deep-fake sexually explicit imagery, threats, and coordinated smear campaigns. TFGBV is designed to force women and girls to withdraw from leadership, activism, school, or public engagement because of their political views and their gender. There are no formal mechanisms for support or redress in Myanmar and very limited resources globally. 

Our pilot will assess which Online Ambulance services—such as digital safety support and psychosocial support can be scaled and rigorously evaluated, and the modalities for measuring impact. Practically it will address a fundamental legal and service failure to support women and girls who are targeted because of their gender and political beliefs. Conceptually it will enable us to design a full-scale study that identifies the microfoundations that make TFGBV so pervasive, including shame, silence and isolation and identify ways to counteract them. Ultimately, this pilot aims to improve protection outcomes for highly marginalized women and girls living through conflict and targeted by online violence.