Armenia’s youth combat online harm with journalism-inspired lab
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Anahit Harutyunyan from Armenia documented digital violence while reporting from the country’s regions, discovering many instances went unreported and often disguised as normal behaviour.
She found that people frequently experienced digital harm without recognizing it, and that digital exclusion extends beyond just access to technology. This led her to found the Shirak Digital Resilience Lab, a youth-led initiative in the Shirak Province of northeastern Armenia.
The lab brings together 60 young people from three border towns, Akhurik, Voskehask, and Haykavan, to explore digital literacy and recognize harmful online behaviour, prioritizing young women as frequent targets of digital violence. Harutyunyan observed that digital violence increasingly operates as an underground economy, exploiting fear of social consequences and shame, particularly for women in conservative communities.
The initiative moves beyond simply raising awareness by teaching participants to create short videos exploring common, yet often unaddressed, online harms like pressure to share passwords or emotional manipulation. Through mentorship, the lab helps young people develop visual narratives that can be shared within their communities, sparking public conversation and fostering support networks. Harutyunyan believes this approach, empowering young people to create and share content, is a crucial step towards building digital resilience and making visible previously hidden harms.
