What it’s all about #

What is the connection between sex and the internet?

How important is the internet for activists in their work of advancing sexual rights?

Why is the first step in limiting access to information and communication online regularly linked to regulating pornography?

What are the security and privacy risks that sexual rights activists face online, and how can we better defend ourselves and our right to use this space?

EROTICS is a project that explores some of the connections and questions raised above. It understands the internet as an important and emerging public and democratic space, especially for the advancement of sexual rights which are heavily regulated in all aspects of social, cultural and political life.

We invite key activists in the field of feminism, sexual rights and women’s rights to participate in the first EROTICS India Workshop. The workshop aims to build our individual, organizational, and collective capacities as advocates to respond more effectively both to the opportunities and the challenges of working in online spaces. We aim to strengthen the capacity of sexual rights and women’s rights advocates in the country to respond to digital security threats, and to resist internet regulation that threatens to narrow down this important democratic space.

The EROTICS India Workshop is hosted by Point of View, in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Internet Democracy Project.

Background #

Even as the Internet opens up new spaces for marginalised and excluded groups to engage and participate in shaping their lives, communities and societies, it is increasingly being regulated and limited – usually accompanied by arguments of morality and the need to police sexual speech, identities, interaction and information.

All over the world, sexual rights activists are increasingly under attack. Our websites are being blocked, our accounts are being hacked, and our online spaces are being defaced by hate speech and hostile comments. Many of us are not well equipped to respond to this situation. We also find it hard to engage with policy or legal debates when increasing internet regulation is proposed.

Against this backdrop, we are organising the EROTICS India Workshop from 25 to 28 February 2013 in New Delhi. The workshop aims to:

• Explore the connections between regulation of sexuality and regulation of the Internet in India, and to identify key areas and priorities for engagement

• Build a network of sexual rights, feminist, women’s rights and internet rights activist who will share information, provide support and take collective action

• Build the capacity of sexual rights, feminist and women’s rights activists working in different areas related to sexual rights from different regions in India on digital security and privacy.

The workshop, which will be conducted in English, will:

• Share knowledge and research findings about the issue area

• Facilitate conversation between participants on opportunities, challenges and risks faced in using the Internet for activism

• Provide hands-­‐on training on the area of digital security

• Initiate strategising discussions on potential follow-­‐up EROTICS India activities

Please visit the following links for a better sense of EROTICS:

• Executive summary of EROTICS 1 research

• Full research paper

• Media brief about sexuality and the Internet

Participants #

The EROTICSIndia Workshop is a closed door, by invitation only event.