examining how the right to freedom of expression and information applies to women in
Myanmar and what gender-based violence is experienced by women as a result of what
they say. 553 Some women’s organisations campaigning against discrimination against
women have received anonymous death threats via Facebook and their mobile phones. 554
Other women’s organisations are focussing on the gap between men and women working
in the ICT sector. The founder of ‘Geek Girls’, a women in technology community in
Myanmar, noted that 60% of the students at computer universities are female, but that
women are lagging behind men in employment in the ICT sector, including in start-ups. 555
Children
The Myanmar Government ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) in 1991, and acceded to the CRC Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution, and Child Sexual Abuse Images in January 2012 556 and ILO Convention No.
182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in December 2013. Nonetheless Myanmar law
diverges from the CRC in some significant areas. For example, the provisions of the 1993
Child Law define a child as becoming an adult at 16 rather than 18 years, and sets the
minimum age of criminal responsibility at seven years old. Although the Government has
said that it will reform the law to bring it into line with the CRC, this has not yet occurred.
When discussing potential private sector impacts on children, the usual and often
exclusive focus of companies is on child labour. However, ICTs can have a wider set of
impacts on children, as a consequence of their physical and cognitive immaturity and
vulnerability to exploitation. There is an increasing range of tools regarding children
available to assist companies in identifying and understanding potential impacts on
children. 557
the southeast of the country also experienced harassment. Tavoyan Women’s Union “Women activists
facing harassment by proponents of the Dawei Special Economic Zone” (25 February 2015).
553 ‘Censored gender: women’s right to freedom of expression in Myanmar’ Article 19, June 2015
554 See The Irrawaddy, “We Will Not Back Down” (19 June 2014).
555 The Irrawaddy, “In Myanmar, Men are Leading the ICT Industry and “omen are Lagging” (8 May 2015).
556 UN Treaty Collection
557 UNICEF and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, “Children's Rights in Impact Assessments - A guide for
integrating children’s rights into impact assessments and taking action for children” (2013).
CHAPTER 4.8: GROUPS AT RISK
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