DW Akademie Study Safer platforms, stronger participation
2.2 Desk review approach
The desk review constituted the foundational phase,
establishing the historical, legal, and conceptual context
for primary research. It followed a systematic, though not
exhaustive, procedure to synthesize existing knowledge.
The process involved identifying and analyzing secondary sources from credible institutional websites, academic
databases, and the publications of organizations known
for their work on Syrian media, human rights, and gender
issues. Key portals included those of the Syrian Female
Journalists Network (SFJN) and the Syrian Network for
Human Rights, recognized entities within the Syrian media
and advocacy landscape.
A purposive selection criterion was applied to ensure the
review’s relevance and rigor. Sources were included if they:
1.
Focused substantively on Syria or the relevant
Syrian diaspora
2.
Published between 2022 and 2025 to prioritize
contemporaneity
3. Provided gender-relevant analysis or data disag
gregated by gender, age, or professional role
4. Originated from reputable organizations, academic
publishers, or established research institutes
5.
Documented trends, patterns, legal frameworks, or qualitative experiences of GBVO (ACAPS, 2025; Al-sakkaf
and Alsayed, 2023). Search terms such as “GBVO Syria,”
“digital violence against journalists,” and “technologyfacilitated GBV” were used to locate materials.
Ethical sourcing was paramount. The team carefully vetted materials to avoid disseminating unverified or graphic
survivor accounts that could cause traumatization. When
citing specific cases of violence, we relied on anonymized
data from professional reports or referenced incidents
with utmost sensitivity to avoid identifying individuals
(WHO, 2016)
defamation, and related forms. The scan was conducted
across Facebook and Telegram as findings from the
primary data collection across KIIs and IDIs showed they
were platforms with the highest rate of GBVO. Social
media pages were scanned retrospectively, covering a
period of six months prior to December 2025, and extending up to one year where posting frequency was lower. The
time frame was adjusted to ensure sufficient data captured
across pages. It was selected to capture data that reflects
the country’s political transition after the fall of the Assad
regime. Various search words were used to scan different social media pages across Facebook and Telegram.
Pages were selected primarily using two main approaches:
1) Snowballing as scans took browsing and navigating
one social media page to another, and 2) searching using
keywords and hashtags.
Search keywords of the scan included, but were not
limited to: Syrian women voices, women empowerment,
women’s day, Syrian women, harassment, disappearance
of Syrian women, forced disappearance, minorities, women
minorities, women issues, International Women’s Day,
Syrian Women Journalism Network, Syrian Women Political Movement, Sot Niswa, Heba Ezzedin, 16 days of activism Syria, #نساء_يف_قلب_سوري# ,مشاركة_النساء.
2.3 Primary data collection
To move beyond the documentary record and center
human experience, the study employed three complementary qualitative methods. This multi-method approach
allowed triangulation, capturing individual narratives,
professional insights, and community-level perceptions.
The disaggregation of the data collected is as per the
table below:
Regarding the exploratory scan of social media pages, the
methodology used was similar to the traditional literature review; an exploration scan of social media pages
was conducted to identify and categorize instances of
GBVO. Comments and posts were compiled into a structured table and classified according to typologies of
abuse, including verbal harassment, reputational attacks,
14
METHODOLOGY
REACHED NUMBER
KIIs
19
IDIs
12
FGDs
3