Katie Anderson, Lauren Becker
Staff Writers
and Lucy Hansen
Assistant Features Editor
Photo caption: Mona Cho continues her work with the DOSE initiative at the annual AAUW’s tri-branch meeting. She gave a flawless presentation on the signs of online harassment. (Photo credit Mona Cho)
According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, about 67% of individuals who report harassment and intimidation online are women and girls. Mona Cho, the founder of the Digital Online Safety and Empowerment (DOSE) Initiative, is determined to spread awareness on this pressing issue of Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence (TFGBV).
According to Cho, her experience struggling with mental health as a young woman online emphasized her commitment to the problem. Watching the increasing number of youth have similar struggles to her own made Cho realize the importance of the issue. Through her DOSE Initiative, Cho brings awareness to the dangers that the online environment holds.
“I started DOSE Initiative to raise awareness about Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence (TFGBV). There is a lack of emphasis and attention put on digital injustices, which amplify and fuel physical and real life injustice, hate, and inequality,” Cho said. “I want to stand up for the women who have been victims of this problem and educate the young girls who are susceptible to it.”
Cho’s powerful advocacy reaches both adults and youth nationwide with her discussions of TFGBV and the need for federal regulations in order to protect kids in the digital age. Through speaking at different seminars, non-profit organizations, workshops, and school sponsored events, she is able to shed light on a topic that impacts many daily.
“Each and every day, more and more young girls who are my age or younger are being targeted with deep fake nudes. At events where I’ve spoken about this topic, I’ve met several survivors and their family. They tell me that they feel isolated and helpless.” Cho said. “Lack of regulations on AI technology, lack of education on this problem, and lack of youth and gender-centered policy are what keep me fighting for change.”
Cho was recently a panelist on the USAID 2024 Protecting Children and Youth from Digital Harm meeting on February 6th. As a youth representative for PlanUSA speaking in the virtual conference, Cho discussed her ideas on how governments should refrain from swaying towards Big Tech businesses such as popular social media companies, to ensure the protection of individuals is of top priority.
“The USAID panel gave me an opportunity to speak about online harms to adults at government agencies and companies.” Cho said. “Up until then I was used to speaking to teens and parents in my local community but being able to talk to authority positions about the issue was very meaningful to DOSE’s cause.”
A presentation at AAUW’s annual tri-branch meeting, was yet another of Cho’s successful demonstrations. With so much possibility for threat online, Cho believes strongly in emphasizing the types of threats young girls are facing. Although the sometimes touchy topics are hard to discuss, Cho worked thoroughly to ensure the information was easily understood and instructive.
“I talked about types of Technology-Facilitated Gender Based Violence including image based abuse and online harassment. I gave a presentation at AAUW’s tri-branch on February 24. After going to the White House for my activism AAUW reached out to me to speak about online harms at their tri-branch meeting in February,” said Cho.
In addition to Cho’s hard work at her conferences, she collaborates closely with a dedicated team of directors who support her efforts. Explaining to the parents the threats the younger generation face is particularly difficult, however, Cho does it precisely and with caution.
“I worked with one of AAUW’s directors on formulating a presentation suitable for the audience of the meeting, who were mostly of the older generation,” Cho said. “I gave a comprehensive presentation on the types of tech facilitated gender based violence. This opportunity allowed me to educate parents and grandparents who didn’t know about specific online harms that impact youth.”
Cho believes in the importance of learning about dangers online as technology continues to grow. Her participation in different workshops and summits where she is able to spread awareness about such important topics, emphasizes her influential impact. According to Cho, she feels that these events give her the opportunity to speak to adults about these issues from a younger point of view.
“I wanted to do both opportunities because they allowed me to educate adults who may not know as much about technology and gender violence from the youth perspective.” Cho said. “Being able to reach all age demographics in raising awareness is one of DOSE Initiative’s key pillars, and both opportunities helped me fulfill that.”
With this being only the start of Cho’s activism, she plans to continue her work on DOSE initiatives. Places like Costa are home to many people who have fallen victim to online harassment, and Cho has made it her mission to let everyone know.
“My goals are to continue advocating for digital justice in the community and school. I am exploring opportunities to put on an event raising awareness about technology facilitated violence at Costa. From seeing my peers’ experience at school, I believe it is vital for students to be aware of how digital harms play their roles in our lives. In this day and age, perpetrators do not require anything but their phone to commit deepfake pornography, sextortion, revenge porn, and other digital harms. These can happen to anyone regardless of how clean your digital footprint is.”
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