One of the main weaknesses in addressing digital divides and violence is that the Internet is still conceived as a space detached from so-called real life, as if it had no physical and real consequences on bodies and territories. We forget that behind the Internet there is a network of submarine and terrestrial cables, devices -created with rare earth minerals-, data centers -that consume our water- and corporations. Something similar happens with the survivors of technology-facilitated violence: violence does not just remain floating in the forum or social network where it happened, it also leaves marks on their identities and bodies.
Therefore, this space seeks to deconstruct these beliefs and make visible the networks and materialities that sustain the digital space, as well as its consequences on bodies and territories. The invitation is to build a cartography of the body-territory through dialogue and with a series of materialities that will give physical form to the reflection, updating the proposal with which the Colectivo Miradas Críticas del Territorio desde el Feminismo worked with indigenous and environmental activists in Ecuador and transferring these concepts to the digital space.
Journalist, writer, cyclist, cat lover and PhD student in Territorial Studies. I founded ONG Amaranta in 2018 and since then I am one of its researchers and educators.
I am Karen Vergara, a journalist with a master's degree in Gender Studies and Latin American Culture. I come from Talcahuano, in south-central Chile, and have focused my professional career on the intersection between gender, technology, culture and education. My research topics are sexual and reproductive rights, feminist artificial intelligence and digital violence against cis, trans and non-binary propale.
In 2024 I conducted research on feminist artificial intelligence in Latin America and collaborated with deaf communities documenting responses to technological violence. For seven years I have been part of the NGO Amaranta, where I lead research on online gender-based violence and use participatory methodologies for learning.
In my free time I am part of @mistralianas, a space where I dedicate myself to disseminate the thought of women and queer authors who were invisible in their time.