sentenced to 15 years of hard labour;49 the arrests of labour rights activist Daw Myo Myo Aye50 and Burmese freelance journalist and former BBC Media Action presenter Htet Htet Khine,51 both prosecuted under Penal Code 505; and the prosecution of filmmaker Ma Eaint52 who is currently serving a three-year sentence under the same section of the Penal Code for an alleged donation to the resistance forces. The news website Irrawaddy revealed that her toes were fractured during a brutal interrogation process.53 The legislative tools work hand in hand with the surveillance network that has been established by the junta which is used to monitor and control the public in general, and activists in particular. Interviewees said that the surveillance measures have forced WHRDs to change their digital security habits. While activists have had to upskill to use new, safer digital tools, better security also has a financial cost. Changes have included replacing SIM cards, switching digital devices, locking social media profiles, using pseudonyms on social media and using Signal for secure communication. However, activists are still left with a pervasive sense of uncertainty and vulnerability. As one WHRD we interviewed stated: “This unknown situation about how much surveillance is through the digital devices, and how dangerous the digital devices are to us, has made us fearful.” (KII-5) This fear has led many WHRDs to self-censor what they say as they “[worry that] their actions can be criminalised.” (KII-2). A 2023 research report by the Gender Equality Network (GEN) and MIP called Technology: Friend or Foe for Women of Myanmar stated that 92.5% of women participants who were included in the study believed that the freedom of expression of women has declined.54 Another WHRD interviewed for this research suggested that this decline in freedom of expression was noticeable in fewer people being outspoken on rights issues in the media: They arbitrarily amend and enact laws as they wish. Because these amendments and enactments are intended for repression, individuals engaged in rights-based activities have disappeared from the media. (KII-6) Many have been forced into exile as a result of the repressive measures, as in the case of one of the activists interviewed for this research: “After a warrant under Section 505 was issued against me, I eventually faced a situation where I had to flee to the border.” (KII-1) 49 https://myanmar-now.org/mm/news/11143/ 50 https://www.dvb.no/post/458130 51 CIVICUS Monitor. (2022, 31 December). Journalists and activists continue to be given long jail sentences on fabricated charges nearly two years on from the illegal coup. https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/journalists-and-activists-continue-be-given-long-jail-sentences-fabricated-charges-nearly-two-years-illegal-coup/ 52 https://burma.irrawaddy.com/news/2022/04/30/251616.html 53 https://burma.irrawaddy.com/news/2021/06/29/243587.html 54 Gender Equality Network and Myanmar Internet Project. (2023). Technology: Friend or Foe for Women of Myanmar. https:// mmlibrary.uwazi.io/en/entity/spm6ywwlnp 17