Dharamshala: The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November with awareness presentations delivered by Additional Secretary Tsering Youdon of the Department of Home and Digital Security Ambassador Tenzin Gyal from the Tibet Action Institute at the Sikyong Auditorium in Gangchen Kyishong.

Organised by the Women’s Empowerment Desk (WED) of the Department of Finance and led by its Head, Tsering Kyi and the event aimed to raise awareness about gender-based violence within the Tibetan community.

The programme was attended by CTA staff members, including Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering, Public Service Commissioner Karma Yeshi, Parliamentarian Tsering Yangchen, and secretaries of various departments.

During the session, Women Empowerment Desk staff Tenzin Tsetan read out a message from Sikyong Penpa Tsering, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to speak up, raise awareness, and take collective action to end all forms of violence against women and girls—both online and offline.

In her address, WED head Tsering Kyi highlighted the global importance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed annually on 25 November to launch the worldwide 16-Day Activism Campaign. She explained that the campaign serves as a call to action to unite against gender-based violence, promote survivor support, and strengthen prevention measures.

Chief guest, Additional Secretary Tsering Youdon, emphasised the importance of recognising and preventing all forms of violence against women, noting that creating safe and supportive communities requires collective responsibility at every level. She presented a few cases illustrating the increasing incidents of digital violence affecting members of the Tibetan community, including child pornography, online harassment and exploitation, urging attendees to remain vigilant about digital safety.

In addition, she introduced several personal safety mobile applications—such as Smart24x7, the Delhi Police–supported Himmat Plus app, and MySafetipin, which uses crowd-sourced data to rate the safety of public spaces. She encouraged staff and community members to familiarise themselves with these tools as part of proactive measures to improve personal and community safety.

Following her address, Digital Security Ambassador Tenzin Gyal from the Tibet Action Institute delivered an informative presentation on digital gender-based violence. Through a detailed PowerPoint presentation, he explained digital gender-based violence, outlined common forms of digital violence, including online harassment, stalking, non-consensual sharing of images, impersonation, blackmail, and the spread of abusive content.

He further highlighted how digital spaces—while offering connectivity and communication—can also expose women and girls to serious risks if safeguards are not understood or practised.

Tenzin Gyal further emphasised the importance of digital literacy, privacy protection, and responsible online behaviour, encouraging staff to adopt safer online practices such as strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and cautious sharing of personal information. He urged the community to take digital threats seriously and to support victims by reporting harmful content and seeking assistance.

The programme concluded with an inter-departmental debate held at the Sikyong Auditorium. Staff from various departments engaged in discussions on themes related to women’s empowerment and end digital violence against women and girls.

The debate featured four topics on the role of digital spaces in shaping gender norms and safety: “Social media empowers women more than it harms them”, “Digital violence is not a private issue; it is a community concern”, “Bystanders online can be as powerful as perpetrators or protectors” and final “Should schools teach digital consent and online ethics?”

Women Empowerment Desk staff, Dickey Choedon delivered the concluding remarks, underscoring the need for continued community engagement and vigilance to prevent gender-based violence in all its forms. She thanked the participating departments for their active involvement.

This year’s theme is “End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls. The observance also marked the continuation of WED’s 16-Day Activism Campaign against gender-based violence.