Facilitators’ Manual: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities and Resilience Among Women Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society in South-East Asia

This Facilitator’s Manual, developed by UN Women and the UN University Institute in Macau (UNU Macau), is designed to guide facilitators and organizers in planning, preparing for, and conducting training sessions aimed at building cybersecurity capacity and resilience.

The primary audience includes representatives of women's civil society organizations, women’s rights movements, women peacebuilders and women human rights defenders. The objective is to enhance their overall knowledge, skills and effectiveness in preparing for and addressing gendered cybersecurity risks.

Course learning objectives

1. To increase knowledge and awareness of gendered cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, including on how these may be relevant considerations in conflict and crisis contexts.
2. To inform cybersecurity and cyber resilience strategies for individuals and organizations from a gendered lens and with a human-centred focus.
3. To empower women and women’s advocates to reduce their cyber risks, disrupt potential for harm and support their cyber resilience.
4. To create cybersecurity communities of practice among women and women’s advocates that can support contextualized and responsive capacity-building efforts.

The manual is designed to speak directly to facilitators. It has been developed to be used in association with a series of self-directed e-learning courses and related printable materials for participants.

See the UN Women digital training eLearning platform for full course information.

The materials in this manual are based on key findings from the research report Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities and Resilience among Women Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society in South-East Asia, launched by UN Women and UNU Macau in May 2024. Facilitators are encouraged to read the research report in detail as background for delivering the training.

The production of this manual and conduct of the research was undertaken as part of the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific project, Women, Peace and Cybersecurity: Promoting Women’s Peace and Security in the Digital World. The project has received generous support from the Government of Australia (under its Cyber and Critical Tech Cooperation Program) and from the Government of the Republic of Korea.