There is a “sharp awareness” among Twitter staff of the role social media can play “for both good and bad” in relation to gender-based harassment, said chief executive of Twitter Dublin Sinead McSweeney.
McSweeney was speaking to The Women’s Podcast as she announced that Women’s Aid, the organization working to prevent domestic violence, had been chosen as the company’s lead charity partner for 2022. The charity’s choice, said McSweeney, is “generally motivated by whatever resonates with the team at any given time. rescue to so many vulnerable women and children who suffer from domestic violence.
Women’s Aid was chosen by staff from eight nominated charities. Joining McSweeney on the podcast, Sarah Benson, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said her team was “delighted” to have been named by the Dublin Twitter team as their Twitter For Good charity of the year.
“Domestic violence is a global scourge,” Benson said. “In Ireland, one in four women will experience such abuse in her lifetime, along with thousands of children.”
Women’s Aid’s work combines frontline services such as the national 24-hour toll-free helpline, with specialist advocacy, training and public campaign initiatives. Benson said their aim was to “create an Ireland with zero tolerance for domestic violence and all forms of violence against women”. She added that working with the Dublin Twitter team was a “wonderful opportunity for us to raise vital funds for our services and to partner in expanding this essential community response, to combat and prevent abuse”.
McSweeney explained that the Twitter For Good initiative dates back to the company’s early days. “Our founders firmly believed that wherever we had offices, we would ensure that giving back and benefiting the community was an integral part of our culture. In Dublin, we do this through our charity initiative of the year.
Previous Irish charities that have benefited from Twitter For Good include Alone Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society and the Peter McVerry Trust.
To kick off the 2022 partnership and help promote the work undertaken by Women’s Aid, the @TwitterDublin handle will host an exclusive ‘fireside chat’ with Karen White, Head of Public Policy, Twitter EMEA and Sarah Benson, Managing Director, Women’s Aid on Twitter Spaces in May ahead of the company’s Twitter For Good fundraiser.
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