Caught in the Web (CitW) is a 26 month initiative supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office United Kingdom where Search for Common Ground, Hashtag Generation, and Centre for Equality and Justice work as a consortium to advance effective responses to gendered online hate speech and cyber sexual and gender based violence in Sri Lanka.

CitW is a 26 month initiative supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office United Kingdom where Search for Common Ground, Hashtag Generation, and Centre for Equality and Justice work as a consortium to advance effective responses to gendered online hate speech and cyber sexual and gender based violence in Sri Lanka. The project’s inception period from August 2021- March 2022 informed the refinement and direction of the outcomes the consortium would focus on achieving. Search for Common Ground taps into its expert understanding of conflict and localized understanding of the digital media landscape while Hashtag Generation plays a monitoring role in the digital space. The Centre for Equality and Justice offers expert knowledge of the ground realities faced by women.

One of the primary objectives of the Caught in the Web (CitW) project is to “establish a robust framework for evidence gathering and monitoring around “what works” for tackling CSGBV in Sri Lanka. Given the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the digital landscape, our project is consistently engaged in monitoring both online and offline activities to enhance the development of our work plan and methodology. Through these ongoing efforts, a significant revelation came to light: individuals affected by CSGBV exhibit reluctance in seeking legal support.