MENA Women: From Online Harm to Hopeful Responses

One of our trusted partners recently profiled our joint efforts to combat gender-based violence across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Digital violence against women is rising across the MENA region, and the harms are becoming more complex and harder to confront. That’s why we’ve been honoured to partner with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), which recently profiled regional efforts to understand these threats and strengthen practical responses.

IDRC’s support has been pivotal for The SecDev Foundation’s work in MENA:

• Region-wide research is shedding light on how women experience technology-facilitated abuse—from doxing and harassment to extortion schemes that escalate into offline harm. This evidence base is essential: it gives advocates, policymakers and frontline groups insights they need to support women and push for change.

• Supportive-ecosystem pilots in Jordan and Iraq are helping build coordinated, survivor-centred responses. Working with local partners, we’re bringing together researchers, legal experts, civil-society organizations, psychologists and digital-safety practitioners to close the gap between insight and action.

For us, IDRC is more than a funder. They are a genuine partner and a model for how research can and should inform real-world solutions. Their support has consistently prioritized evidence that leads somewhere: research that strengthens frontline responders, shapes better policy, and gives women practical tools to stay safer online.

Read IDRC’s recent article:
From online harm to hopeful responses in the Middle East and North Africa