“Fisha means public shaming — it’s slang derived from affichage, which literally means exposing someone to public humiliation,” explains French activist Shanley Clemot McLaren, founder of the #StopFisha movement, describing a phenomenon that has turned social media in France into a dangerous space for thousands of girls.
McLaren is currently visiting Kosovo, a trip she says has allowed her to better understand the challenges women face locally, while sharing her experience and cyber-safety advice with civil society organizations and media. In a joint interview with KoSSev and Radio Goraždevac, the young activist spoke about the local and global scale of online violence against women and girls, as well as her own personal journey in confronting what she describes as a growing international crisis.
The French activist and founder of the #StopFisha movement is visiting Kosovo as part of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign. During her stay, she has met with local NGOs and media to exchange experiences and strategies for combating online abuse, particularly the non-consensual sharing of intimate content and defamatory social media accounts — practices collectively known in France as “Fisha.”
From Personal Experience to Global Movement
McLaren says her activism began with a deeply personal experience during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“Fisha means public shaming — it’s slang for affichage, which refers to public humiliation,” she reiterates. She first encountered the phenomenon when her younger sister alerted her via Snapchat to accounts sharing intimate images of high school girls from the city she studied at:
“I saw dozens of stories with girls’ personal data — phone numbers, addresses, even their parents’ contact details. So many questions went through my mind, but the first was whether they were okay, whether they were even alive, because they were more isolated than ever. This is massive violence — direct violence against their fundamental human rights,” McLaren recalls.
According to her, the practice quickly spread across France, with similar accounts appearing in Paris, Marseille and other cities, targeting thousands of women and girls. While the issue is global, McLaren stresses that it manifests differently depending on local contexts.
“Worldwide, we see online harassment of women and girls, the spread of intimate content, even doxxing — the release of personal information. Locally, trends vary. South Korea, for example, is highly advanced digitally and has become a hotspot for AI-driven abuse and deepfakes. In Iraq, attacks often target a woman’s honor and reputation, as well as that of her family and community,” she explains.
Parallels Between France and Kosovo
While McLaren says she personally felt safe during her visit to Kosovo, discussions with women’s rights organizations revealed familiar patterns.
“I see a strong synergy with France. The normalization of online violence, hate speech against women, masculinist content — it exists here too. UNESCO reports that 60 percent of women and girls globally experience online violence. Here, the figure is around 43 or 44 percent,” she notes.
She expressed particular concern over what she described as insufficient responses to local cases, including reports of the Telegram group ‘Albkings’, where intimate and pornographic content involving women and girls, including deepfakes, was allegedly shared.
“I heard about a journalist in Kosovo who uncovered the Telegram group ‘Albkings,’ where men were sharing sensitive content of women and girls — including pornographic material and deepfakes. Unfortunately, nothing happened afterward. That is a shame, because this is a human rights violation. It should have been used as a case study to clearly show that this is not acceptable. But we face similar failures in France as well,” McLaren says.
“If Women Are Not Safe Online, Democracy Is Not Safe”
McLaren also emphasized the importance of legal frameworks in protecting women’s rights.
“If women are not safe online, democracies are not safe either. Before the Digital Services Act, only seven European countries had laws criminalizing revenge porn. This should have been illegal long ago,” she stresses.
Addressing cybersecurity within the NGO sector, McLaren cited alarming data.
“One study found that 70 percent of these organizations do not meet even the minimum standards of digital security. That’s extremely concerning, especially for organizations supporting victims, because it puts sensitive personal data at risk — data belonging to staff, activists, partners, and survivors themselves. This is extremely important because online violence will only continue to grow, especially against NGOs working on women’s and human rights,” she warns.
Her advice on combating this is simple and practical:
“Build digital security. Encrypt your data, use secure email services like ProtonMail. It’s free, it’s easy, and it takes just a minute to set up an account,” the French activist concludes.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
