Relentless, borderless, and often anonymous – the online world is the new frontier for gender-
based violence.

In a bid to end rising online violence, UNFPA—the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency has launched bodyright, a new ‘copyright’ for human bodies.

The campaign highlights that corporate logos and copyrighted Intellectual Property (IP) are more highly valued and better protected than images of people’s bodies are online. It drives the message that women, girls, racial and ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized groups are undervalued, exploited, and violated online. The ambition is for everyone to join the movement to hold policymakers, companies, and individuals to account.

To launch the campaign UNFPA has partnered with award winning poet and spoken-word artist Rakaya Fetuga. From London and of Ghanaian and Nigerian heritage, Rakaya authored and performed spoken-word poetry communicating the impact of online violence and the concept of bodyright.

The heart of the bodyright movement is the ⓑ symbol, which can be added to any image directly via Instagram stories using stickers, or by going to the bodyright webpage to use the automatic ‘bodyright tool’ or to download the symbol directly.