Tackling Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Mongolia

The digital age has brought us inspiring new technologies, but also daunting unintended consequences. Computers, smartphones, and the internet have unleashed new forms of gender-based violence that are especially threatening to women, including online harassment, cyberstalking, doxing, nonconsensual sharing of intimate images, and attempts to limit or control their use of technology. This tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TF GBV) can cause serious psychological, emotional, and physical harm to victims.

In Mongolia, where the digital revolution has sometimes outpaced public policy, TF GBV is emerging as a critical issue for policymakers, civil society, the media, the private sector, international organizations, and the tech industry. This essay explores the landscape of TF GBV in Mongolia and looks into existing challenges, strategies to address them, and signs of progress.

Challenges in Mongolia

Mongolia has made significant strides as a digital nation, particularly through recent laws advancing digital infrastructure and governance. In 2021, Mongolia passed the Law on Digital Development, the Law on Cybersecurity, and the Law on Protection of Personal Information, which laid the foundation to accelerate the nation’s digital transformation. These laws promote digital public services and stress the importance of cybersecurity and the protection of personal data.

Missing from this new legislation, however, is any clear recognition of TF GBV. The criminal justice system, the media, civil society, and the private sector all show little understanding of TF GBV, and some forms, such as online grooming by sexual predators, are neither recognized nor criminalized. Mongolia keeps no national database of TF GBV statistics, making effective interventions a challenge.

The country’s response to TF GBV has been ad hoc rather than systematic, with resulting gaps in legislation and governance, limited resources for law enforcement, poor support services for victims, and a general lack of awareness among the media and the public at large.

Advances in Mongolia

In 2023, The Asia Foundation launched the Addressing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence project with our local partner the National Center Against Violence (NCAV). Between April and June 2024, the project commissioned the benchmark Situation Assessment on TF GBV in Mongolia to begin raising awareness among the public and decision-makers and spur training for law enforcement, attorneys, and frontline service providers.

Based on the findings of the Assessment, NCAV organized a two-day conference, Strengthening the Capacity to Provide Services to Victims of TF GBV, to train shelter specialists to better identify and protect victims, a critical gap in victim support services. The training also addressed the legal and cybersecurity dimensions of safeguarding personal information. These trained specialists are now sharing their knowledge with their own organizations, creating a ripple effect of awareness and good practice.

Because of the urgent need, noted in the Situation Assessment, to standardize TF GBV training for police officers, prosecutors, and jurists, the NCAV organized Providing Legal Assistance to the Victims of TF GBV, in September 2024, to train Legal Aid lawyers from 21 provinces of Mongolia and nine districts of Ulaanbaatar. The training also introduced specialized TF GBV terminology, newly developed with the aid of linguist Munkhtsetseg Togtoo. The official Mongolian term for TF GBV is “технологи ашиглан үйлдэгдэж буй жендэрт суурилсан хүчирхийлэл (tehnolog ashiglan uildegdej bui gendert-suurilsan khuchirkhiilel).

Further strategic interventions

The Assessment recommended a number of actions by Mongolia:

• In regard to governance and legislation, immediate legislative reforms are essential to effectively combat TF GBV in Mongolia. The Criminal Code should be amended to impose specific penalties for crimes like sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and online threats, which are currently addressed under general categories, allowing perpetrators to escape justice. Codifying terms such as “grooming” and adopting internationally recognized terminology for crimes such as child exploitation are essential. Using the new Mongolian terminology for TF GBV is also important to advance reforms. To improve the nation’s legal framework, Mongolia should join the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the Lanzarote Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Finally, collecting better data on TF GBV and incorporating it into national human rights policies will make possible more effective interventions.
• Regarding the criminal justice system, there is a significant shortage of dedicated personnel to investigate TF GBV and collect digital evidence. Scholarships, paid internships, and discounts on housing would encourage students to pursue legal, information-science, or law-enforcement careers related to TF GBV. The current system for preventing repeat offenses by TF GBV offenders is inadequate, as it relies on basic registration and counseling without addressing the borderless nature of the crime. Building skills in information and communications technology through regular training and funding for the Cyber Crime Department is crucial. International expertise and advanced technology will be necessary to bring investigations and evidence handling up to international standards. Lastly, judges need help using AI and other technologies to accurately assess digital evidence in TF GBV cases.
• In terms of improving support for victims, creating and publicizing a comprehensive resource map of available victim services would be a constructive first step in helping TF GBV victims, who often don’t know their rights or where to get help. Strengthening human resources and technical capacity in support organizations is urgently needed in the law enforcement and criminal justice sector.
• The media have an important role to play in providing accurate information to the public about TF GBV, and appropriate training on these issues should continue for reporters, editors, and producers. Initiatives that the media should pursue include roundtables and discussions of TF GBV with the Media Council and awareness-raising programs for journalists.

In conclusion, tackling TF GBV in Mongolia is a pressing challenge that demands coordinated action across multiple sectors. Despite progress in digital infrastructure and legislation, significant gaps remain in recognizing and addressing TF GBV. Initiatives by organizations like the National Center Against Violence are positive steps, but ongoing advocacy for legislative reforms, improved victim support, and greater media involvement is crucial. By fostering collaboration among policymakers, civil society, and the tech industry, Mongolia can pave the way for a society where the rights and safety of all individuals are upheld in the digital age.

Tsolmontuya Altankhundaga is acting director, Tsolmon Gantuya is a former deputy project manager, and Purevkhand Tserendondov is a project officer at The Asia Foundation in Mongolia. They can be reached at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], respectively. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, not those of The Asia Foundation.