The last day of the 16 days of activism against violence against women falls on 10 December - International Human Rights Day. This is to importantly remind us that violence against women is a violation of our fundamental human rights. How does technology present both risks and challenges, opportunities and potential for the realisation of the human rights of women? In what way does it strengthen or disrupt violence against women? How do you take back the tech? Share what you think.

Stitch your stand against violence on the campaign video!

Being safe may seem like a luxury, but it is not – it's our right. Different women may define feeling safe in many different ways – walking down well-lit streets, knowing your home will not be subjected to armed attack, not having to worry if your partner is having a "bad" day. If you use computers or the internet, you may know that online safety is also vital. Given the increasing sophistication and ability to interconnect data on the internet, an online presence may be linked to specific physical whereabouts, putting women at risk. We can all play a role in increasing online safety. Being smart about the risks ourselves is one way. Spaces that establish clear guidelines for community participation or informing about online safety are other examples.

Where do you feel safe online? Map it!

When women survivors of violence control the technology the story is different. The story is theirs, it belongs to them. They decide how to tell it, in their own voice, and what is important to state and share. Their experience is not for the media to sensationalise, dismiss, ignore or add to underreported statistics.

Listen to survivors of violence speak their own powerful stories of courage and transformation. Listen deeply.

Internet or cyber cafes are many people's only access to computers. For work, for fun, for school, for basic communication, these internet connectivity points receive local community members, travellers, and many youth.  Depending on their location, atmosphere and clientele, cybercafes can be extremely hostile environments towards girls and women, further limiting access. Many times desktops are littered with programmes and images downloaded from internet; the history of pages visited may reflect an array of web mail and social networking services, porn, music and gaming.

Most people customise their home pages to suit their routine, setting their webmail service, morning newspaper, or Google search as their starting point for surfing.

It's time to shake up that routine and your own, and remind everyone that violence against women is not routine or normal, and everyone has a role to play in doing something about it.

Banging pots and pans are a clamoring call against violence against women in so many countries, across continents and over time. Candle-lit marches. Gender sensitivity awareness for journalists. Whistle-carrying neighbors. Police training courses. SMS. The range and creativity of local strategies and people working to raise awareness about VAW in its many expressions is inspiring – and has to be, given the magnitude of VAW and its implications for women's human rights, public health, societal well-being and power relations.

What is your local recipe for stopping VAW? Let's do some collaborative cooking of anti-VAW strategies using wikis, excellent tools for working in community.

The sexist representation of women in media and its role in perpetuating stereotypes of women as voiceless victims, unintelligent, irrational, driven by competition, greed and consumerism is a constant assault, polarising gender roles and placing women in subordination to men. It is also one of the many contributing factors to violence against women and masking that violence in normalcy.

A woman's lovely, freshly washed hair is teasingly being pulled by her boyfriend as she holds a shampoo bottle. What do you think she would really like to say? Make her talk back! Let her thoughts run free and have your say on sexist media representation.

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Orkut, or Hi5 can blur the boundary between the private and the public in interesting ways. ICT has tremendous transformative potential, but to better explore the possibilities, we need to be smart about the risks. Our right to privacy is especially important in an age of ICT development and emphasis. Making decisions about where our images and information can end up over time in the internet should also be accompanied by knowing how to keep our data and identity secure.

Many times we stay within the boundaries of what – and with whom – we are comfortable. Culture, race, class, sexual preference, religion. The language we speak is part of that familiarity. It frames and reflects our lives. Perhaps we avoid going to spaces where we can't speak the language because we don't feel safe. Today's action invites you to take advantage of translation tools on the internet to learn about activism against violence in cultures and languages different than our own, networking to end violence.

Today is World AIDS Day. HIV/AIDS is the greatest pandemic of recent times, with over 33 million people around the world living with HIV/AIDS, and the number is increasing every year. Half the number of people living with HIV/AIDS are women and girls. How much do you really know about HIV/AIDS? What kinds of beliefs or values do you associate with the disease and people living with HIV/AIDS that contributes to its continued transmission? How can we take back the tech and stop the stigma? Take Back The Tech! Send 10 msgs related to HIV/AIDS at noon, wherever you are. This is a really simple action, and yet really powerful if lots of people take part in it. So join the text mob & take action on World AIDS Day!

There are many ways to quickly communicate and inform your friends & networks about what you are up to. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that connects you with your community, and enables you to publish and share brief updates. It has been strategically adapted as a tool for activism. Today's action invites you to play with Twitter, and explore how it might be useful for activism to end violence against women.

How do you speak up about violence against women? What are your words and your stories? Shake up terrain of blogs with your voice and change what is heard! Ka-BLOG with us! Dedicate a blog post today to raise our collective voices against violence against women.

[In Filipino slang, "ka-BLOG" means someone you blog with.]

Are you ready to take action? Today marks the first day of the 16 days of activism to end violence against women, and is the start of this year's Take Back The Tech! Let's join the UNIFEM call to "SAY NO to violence against women". Add your name or widget, and make a stand!