Salam@ launches Jordan’s ‘first code of conduct’ against digital violence

AMMAN — The Salam@ programme for digital safety launched Jordan’s “first code of conduct” focused on the prevention of digital violence against women on Saturday.

This code of conduct will empower employees of the signatory civil society organisations to handle any digital violence-related violation they encounter in everyday work situations, Salam@ national coordinator Lina Momani told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

“This campaign serves as a valuable reference and a handbook that upholds signatory organisations’ confidentiality, financial databases and various other sources of information, as well as guarantees their right to report any violation through a clear process,” according to Momani.

Salam@ for women and youth in the MENA region, a multi-year programme implemented by the Canadian think tank SecDev, seeks to change perceptions and behaviours as well as increase awareness towards digital safety. 

The programme seeks to build the capacities of women, youth and civil society organisations to operate safely online.

Momani also highlighted that this initiative is part of a project implemented by the Salam@ programme in Jordan, in partnership with the Information and Research Centre (IRC) and King Hussein Foundation (KHF). 

The project includes a set of initiatives which aim to raise awareness of digital violence and to protect women and girls online.

The team is composed of four experienced female entrepreneurs of various backgrounds, she said.

In a phone interview with The Jordan Times, Hala Murad, a team member who worked on developing the code of conduct and the head of the Dibeen Association for Environmental Development, pointed out that a code of conduct relating to digital violence has never been implemented by any civil society organisation in Jordan. 

According to Murad, this necessitated the development of a code of conduct that could be considered a reference.

The idea was to create an initial draft and disseminate its objectives to the largest number of organisations, she said. 

“Our goal is not just to attain signatories, but to raise awareness in general among women about digital violence, which is usually perpetrated against females,” Murad said.

Additionally, Murad added that this code of conduct can outline an organisation’s principles, as well as reinforce its digital safety systems, noting that the code of conduct would also be available online for various organisations to sign.

The code of conduct includes standards of ethical conduct, unacceptable behaviours such as the misuse of authority and corruption, personal behaviours related to digital safety and awareness, as well as properly reporting misconduct.