‘They mock my height’: Content creator flips online abuse into powerful anti-GBV movement
Content creator Branice Okanga.
What you need to know:
- Branice Okanga transforms personal attacks on social media into national initiative combating tech-facilitated GBV.
Women and girls are increasingly targeted through online stalking, tech-facilitated trafficking for sexual exploitation, image-based abuse, doxing, and non-consensual distribution of intimate images.
Every time Branice Okanga posts content on TikTok or Facebook, she braces herself for reactions.
Attacks come swiftly – comments mocking her height, strangers dissecting her physical appearance, and followers who have never met her passing judgement on her body. Then come the stalkers: silent watchers who follow her every post without a word, their presence unsettling.
For Branice, a content creator based in Vihiga County, cyberbullying has become an occupational hazard. “I am a victim of cyberbullying,” she tells Nation. “Most of the time, when I post my content on TikTok and Facebook, some of my fans make fun of my shortness. They make sensitive comments that hurt, criticising me based on my physical appearance.”
The emotional toll has been heavy. But it has not dampened her resolve to earn a living through social media – nor has it silenced her. Instead, it has sparked something else: a determination to fight back.
From victim to defender
Concerned by the relentless abuse and harassment she was experiencing online, Branice decided to act. Her friend, Euphresher Ageyo, founded the Vihiga Hamashisho Movement, an initiative dedicated to combating technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF-GBV) in Kenya. Branice works with the movement in Hamisi sub-county to create awareness. She is also a mentee under its prorgamme.
The movement now spans all five sub-counties in Vihiga County, reaching communities through public barazas, church gatherings, school visits, and youth forums. “We are creating awareness using public barazas, church gatherings, school visits, and youth forums where we sensitise young people and locals to what cybercrimes entail and what the law says about the vice,” Branice explains.
In each of the five constituencies, the movement has trained 10 TF-GBV champions who lead the fight against digital violence in their areas. Beyond ground-level outreach, the campaign extends to social media, meeting people where much of the abuse occurs.
Parents are not left out. The initiative includes capacity-building sessions on how to monitor children’s online activity – a recognition that digital violence often begins early. Branice, who also serves as a human rights defender, says culture remains one of the greatest barriers she faces.
“I have had instances where elders have come to my home and told my parents to caution me against content creation just because I am a woman,” she says.
Despite this, she is encouraged by the impact on the ground. “Many young people and residents are now more enlightened about what TF-GBV is and why they should not be part of those enabling the vice to thrive,” she adds.
To sharpen her advocacy, Branice has undergone training on digital safety and security, skills she now deploys in spearheading the anti-digital violence campaign. She is also a beneficiary of human rights defender training under the Defenders Coalition.
Her message to women is clear: do not succumb to online threats. Do not allow intimidation through digital violence to derail your dreams.
Branice’s experience is far from isolated. Across Kenya, cases of TF-GBV have surged in recent years, with women bearing the brunt.
Women and girls are increasingly targeted through online stalking, tech-facilitated trafficking for sexual exploitation, image-based abuse, doxing, and non-consensual distribution of intimate images.
A recent study by the Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development, in collaboration with the University of Nairobi Women’s Economic Empowerment Hub and supported by the United Nations Population Fund, revealed the scale of the problem –particularly among university students.
The findings are stark. Nearly 90 per cent of young adults enrolled in Nairobi’s tertiary institutions have witnessed technology-facilitated gender-based violence, with 39 per cent having experienced it personally.
Female students are disproportionately affected: 64.4 per cent have experienced at least one form of online violence, compared to 35.5 per cent for male students. The most common forms of TF-GBV witnessed and experienced were online defamation (21.9), cyberbullying (19.1), and non-consensual pornography (17.8) per cent.
Read: ‘I thought of suicide’: Teacher’s harrowing ordeal after boyfriend leaked her intimate photos online
When broken down by gender, the patterns diverge. Female students primarily face online defamation (34.4) and non-consensual pornography (24.4) per cent. Male students mostly experience online defamation (43) and cyberbullying (39.4) per cent.
No platform is immune. The study found TF-GBV most prevalent on X, formerly Twitter (18.4), followed by WhatsApp (17.0), Facebook (16.8), Telegram (14.2), Instagram (14.2), and TikTok (13.7) per cent.
Who are the perpetrators?
The research pointed overwhelmingly in one direction. Male students were identified as the top perpetrators of TF-GBV at 78.6 per cent, followed by female students (11.5) and male teaching staff (5.4).
Several factors increase vulnerability to online violence: gender, economic vulnerability, physical appearance, limited digital safety measures, and sharing personal information online.
Victims often seek social support, intervention from digital platforms, or legal assistance. But a notable number take no action at all – leaving the psychological, social, and economic consequences to fester in silence.
