Reflections on African Women in Media (AWiM) Conference 2025

The recent AWiM25 conference in Addis Ababa, themed “Beyond Commitments: Advancing Gender Policies for Gender-Safe Media”, focused primarily on gender-safety issues with a recurring emphasis on the need for concrete action.  Many sessions focused on the digital ecosystem, specifically on how online platforms have increasingly become environments for abuse. The scale and impact of digital gender-based violence (GBV) in Africa demand equal attention and intervention as its physical counterpart. Conference sessions addressed numerous challenges, including the policy and ethics of artificial intelligence; the use of AI-generated disinformation to intimidate, discredit, and silence women; and the lack of algorithmic transparency from major technology platforms, highlighting the need for increased platform accountability. To ensure user safety online, stronger regulation, more effective content moderation, and enhanced digital media literacy are urgently needed. Two key frameworks - AWiM’s Kigali Declaration and the AU Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG) were a key focus.  The conference also addressed the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Resolutions 620, 630, and 631, which provide a strong foundation for regulating technology companies. Civil society was urged to continue advocacy, pressing for stronger accountability and cultural transformation alongside legal and technological interventions. The recognition that digital violence is real violence reinforced the urgency of coordinated action.