On August 22, 2026, CERL Affiliated Faculty Member Rangita de Silva de Alwis joined Newsfirst Sri Lanka for a discussion on how novel technology can affect and drive forms of gender-based violence. Professor de Silva de Alwis described the ways in which tech can contribute to misogyny by its very design, including through algorithmic bias and the chilling effects of surveillance tools, as well as through its use and the incomplete legal frameworks in place to protect women and human rights defenders. She also notes that this can affect women individually, in cases of abuse facilitated by technology, as well as collectively, including by stifling their political participation.

Rangita de Silva de Alwis is Senior Adjunct Professor of Global Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a member of the treaty body to the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She is also a member of CERL’s Affiliated Faculty. Read her bio here.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.