CUHK
News Centre
CUHK Gender Research Centre hosts international conference on technology, intimacy and violence prevention
Event advances cross-sector collaboration on tech-facilitated violence
The Gender Research Centre (GRC) of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) recently hosted the international conference “Technology, Intimacy and Violence: Education and Prevention”, with support from the University’s Gender Studies Programme. Focusing on technology-facilitated violence, the conference facilitated in-depth discussions on education, prevention and intervention strategies. It attracted nearly 260 participants, including local and overseas scholars, and representatives from the Hong Kong Police Force, the Equal Opportunities Commission, non-governmental organisations and the legal, technological and academic sectors.
The conference was built on two Research Grants Council (RGC)-funded projects led by Susanne Choi Yuk-ping, Co-Director of the GRC and Professor in the Department of Sociology at CUHK: “Gender, Power and Online Sexual Harrassment: A Comparative Study of Four Cities in East Asia” and “Cyber Dating Abuse Among Young Adults in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei: A Technofeminist Analysis”. The research focuses on the growing global prevalence of technology-facilitated violence, including online sexual harassment, cyber dating abuse and image-based abuse.
Professor Choi said: “Technology-facilitated violence is highly concealed yet spreads rapidly. These forms of violence have become an increasingly urgent social issue, disproportionately affecting young people and reshaping the dynamics of intimate relationships in the digital age. We need cross-sector collaboration to formulate forward-looking prevention and intervention strategies, and enhance the digital literacy and self-protection capabilities of the next generation.”
Professor Jessica Ringrose, Professor of Sociology of Gender and Education at the UCL Institute of Education in the UK, gave one of the two keynote speeches, on “Understanding and Preventing Tech-facilitated Gender-based Violence”. The other, by Professor Shin Ki-young from the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences and Institute for Gender Studies at Ochanomizu University in Japan, was on “From #MeToo to Digital Misogyny: Sexual Harassment and Women’s Public Visibility in Japan and South Korea”.
Through those speeches, panel discussions and interactive sessions, the conference fostered dialogue on translating academic research into practical responses. To enhance public awareness of the issue, the research team have also produced a bilingual booklet, Digital Safety and Challenges – Comparative Studies of Four East Asian Cities: Cyber Dating Abuse and Online Sexual Harassment, aiming to empower the public to proactively prevent and address the challenges of technology-facilitated violence.
For more details, please visit the event website.
The Gender Research Centre (GRC) of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at CUHK hosted the international conference “Technology, Intimacy and Violence: Education and Prevention”. The conference was built around two RGC-funded projects led by Professor Susanne Choi Yuk-ping (sixth from left).
Professor Jessica Ringrose delivers a keynote speech on “Understanding and Preventing Tech-facilitated Gender-based Violence”.
Professor Shin Ki-young delivers a keynote speech on “From #MeToo to Digital Misogyny: Sexual Harassment and Women’s Public Visibility in Japan and South Korea”.
Through keynote speeches, panel discussions and interactive sessions, the conference fostered dialogue on translating academic research into practical responses.
