The SecDev Foundation

Awareness alone is not enough when digital violence against women becomes a legal case, a media story, or a request for support. Survivors deserve professionals who can recognize harm early and act with competence and judgment.

In Jordan, our Salam@ team is working with the Information and Research Center - King Hussein Foundation to bring that challenge into university learning.

With support from IDRC Middle East and North Africa, future lawyers and journalists are building practical skills through teaching guides, student research, moot courts, and podcast production.

From recording studios to simulated courtrooms, students are learning to treat digital violence against women not as an abstract concept, but as a real challenge they may one day need to document, argue, report on, or respond to.

Empowering Jordan’s Next Generation to Respond to Digital Violence Against Women - The SecDev Foundation From mock trials to podcast studios, a pilot project in Jordan is preparing future professionals to respond to DVAW.

Could storytelling be the key to opening deeper conversations with youth about digital safety?

Across the MENA region, Meriem Noumeur’s Digital Shadows is helping girls explore online identity, pressure, manipulation, and harm through characters and situations that feel familiar.

Through discussion, art, and performance, young people are turning the novel into a space for reflection, dialogue, and safer ways of navigating digital life.

Read more:

Digital Shadows: Testing a Novel Approach to Digital Safety for Girls Across MENA How Meriem Noumeur's book for young readers is helping open conversations about online identity, pressure, manipulation — and safety.

When systems don’t coordinate, survivors pay the price. Digital violence often forces women to navigate police, courts, regulators, platforms, and support services—and when those systems are siloed, survivors can be left stranded.

In Jordan, a year-long pilot led by Information and Research Center - King Hussein Foundation brought institutions together to bridge those gaps—mapping the steps survivors face, clarifying roles, and turning shared learning into practical follow-through.

👉 https://secdev-foundation.org/irckhf-dvaw-cop-jordan-2026/

It's part of our wider IDRC-funded initiative in Jordan and Iraq (IDRC Middle East and North Africa). The best part: the community of practice lives on—group members stayed connected and are still coordinating in practical ways.

Synergy in Action: Strengthening Jordan’s Response to Digital Violence Against Women - The SecDev Foundation How Jordan institutions coordinated to tackle DVAW, mapping case pathways and strengthening procedures for safer support.

Sincere thanks to World University Service of Canada (WUSC-EUMC) and Cooperation Canada for this honour. It means a lot to our staff, field teams, and local partners who keep showing up in tough places. As more of life moves online, digital resilience is vital to keeping at-risk communities safe and civic space open. Warm congratulations to Dr. Lauryn Oates on her individual award as well. And kudos to Canada’s international cooperation community for working so hard to protect civic space and strengthen inclusive leadership in these times.

🎉 Congratulations to the 2025 Innovation and Impact Award winners 🎉

WUSC, together with Cooperation Canada and the trustees of the Lewis Perinbam Award, is pleased to recognize the winners advancing bold, innovative approaches in international development.

🏆Individual Award: Dr. Lauryn Oates
🏆Organizational Award: The SecDev Foundation

👉 Learn more about the winners and Lewis Perinbam's legacy on our blog: https://bit.ly/4a29vJq

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🎉Félicitations aux lauréates et lauréats 2025 des Prix de l'innovation et de l'impact!🎉

L'EUMC, en collaboration avec Cooperation Canada et les responsables du Prix Lewis Perinbam, est heureuse de rendre hommage aux lauréates et lauréats à l'origine d'approches audacieuses et innovantes en matière de développement international.

🏆Prix individuel : Dre Lauryn Oates
🏆Prix organisationnel : The SecDev Foundation

👉 Découvrez les lauréates et lauréats et l'héritage de Lewis Perinbam dans notre blogue : https://bit.ly/4kq6Cpq