What: Documentary screening on tech-facilitated violence against human rights defenders.
When: Friday, April 10th, 05:30 pm -08.00pm/EAT
Where: Physical/ Virtual
Registration Required
Background
This year’s commemoration comes at a time when Kenya is still reckoning with the escalating repression faced by young activists both online and offline. Between 2024 and 2025, the country witnessed an unprecedented wave of youth-led digital and street protests against corruption, economic exclusion, and state violence. As highlighted in Amnesty International’s 2025 report “This Fear, Everyone is Feeling It”, state and pro-government actors extended their crackdown into digital spaces through online harassment, coordinated troll campaigns, doxing, illegal surveillance, and tech‑facilitated gender-based violence (TfGBV).
Many of the young human rights defenders we engaged described living with fear, threats, mental health strain, and constant self-censorship. Yet they continue to speak out. Our 10‑minute documentary honours their courage and documents the lived experiences of survivors of online abuse, abductions, enforced disappearances, gender‑based harassment, and targeted smear campaigns.
This year’s screening seeks to amplify their voices, deepen public understanding of the rapidly growing threat of Tech‑Facilitated Violence (TFV), and strengthen solidarity with Kenya’s youth movement. A panel discussion will further explore how digital repression intersects with offline violence, state surveillance, and ongoing gaps in corporate and government accountability.