Contribution short abstract:

We explore to what extent online gender-based violence (OGBV) is addressed by the state apparatus and rights-based organizations in Bangladesh as a legitimate form of violence and how youth activists are engaging with these actors and navigating the contentious solidarity to ensure women’s rights.

Contribution long abstract:

In Bangladesh, a range of gender justice organizations mostly led by urban youth have been working on mitigating online gender-based violence (OGBV) over the years. As the state apparatus and traditional rights-based organizations tend to trivialize OGBV, gender justice organizations are compelled to navigate various challenges to sustain their activism and safeguard women’s rights. We conducted a longitudinal case study on their activism in Bangladesh from 2020 to 2024 to explore the question: How do youth-led gender justice organizations in Bangladesh engage with the state apparatus and rights-based organizations to legitimize OGBV as a serious form of violence? In answering this question, we collected longitudinal data through a panel-based participatory approach called the ‘observatory method’, conducted policy maps to review the key current areas of legal contention, interviewed key informants and gender justice activists, and continuously tracked the print and online media. Our findings suggest that while rights-based organizations prioritise ensuring freedom of speech and other fundamental rights in the online sphere, youth gender justice activists emphasize addressing OGBV in cyber laws. We argue that differences in how gender justice activists and rights-based organizations perceive OGBV contributed to intergenerational tensions and limited the formation of formal alliances, which hinders the scope to negotiate with the state apparatus to reform the cyber laws to address OGBV. We also argue that although informal networks exist between these organizations, it is characterized by cooption, distrust, and backtracking on politically sensitive issues—leading to a form of solidarity that is contentious