This Is Our Room

That which you tolerate, you accept. We won’t accept it.

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This Is Our Room brings together speakers, researchers and practitioners on how to keep women safe online, raising money for Refuge.

How did we get here

Two separate International Women’s Day events. Two different organisers. Two different audiences.

One identical nightmare.

In the same week, events led by Lou Robey and Helen Burness were violently hijacked - cyber‑attacked with graphic, targeted pornography in front of professional men & women who had gathered to celebrate female empowerment. No warning. No protection. No accountability.

Instead of staying silent, both women took their stories to LinkedIn. What happened next was explosive.

Thousands of women across industries came forward with the same chilling experiences of themselves or loved ones.

Reports are still pouring in. Women’s professional events continue to be hijacked, disrupted, and weaponised.

This avalanche of testimony led Lou and Helen to Professor Gina Neff at the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, Cambridge, whose research confirms exactly what they had lived through. The scale. The pattern. The gendered nature of the attacks.

And then something unprecedented happened: Zoom themselves stepped in, wanting to understand, support, and help fix what was clearly a systemic threat.

The story became national. Lou Robey was invited onto BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, alongside Professor Neff  and that moment connected all of us. Women. Researchers. Advocates. Industry leaders. Platform partners. A movement.

Now we’re turning that moment into action.

This event is where the fightback begins.

Join us.

Why This, Why Now

Online abuse is not a neutral problem. Research consistently shows that women - particularly those in professional public roles - face disproportionate targeting. The purpose is to push them out of public space. It is, as Professor Neff frames it, “part of the war on women.” Also, through these moments and stories over the last few months a huge movement is forming and it’s growing rapidly and we know there is a desire to all come together and have this discussion.

What can I expect on the day

The Event will open and build the evidence base: using research from Cambridge by Gina Neff and lived experience from people working across protection, telecoms and brand safety.  You'll hear from some incredible speakers. Not just their stories, but their action, their support for other and how we will all join together to create purposeful change. 

Your voice in the room will matter more than you realise.

This movement is only powerful if the women experiencing these harms help shape what comes next.

That’s why we are thrilled that one of partners, Magnetic, a female‑owned, female‑led organisation, has stepped forward to design and deliver a 45 ‑minute interactive session alongside the speakers that transforms all this evidence into action. Together, we’ll turn lived experience into a focused set of How Might We opportunities: the foundation for a white paper on redistributing online safety for women.

Not more individual vigilance.

Not more “be careful.”

But systems that are safe by default.

Magnetic is contributing their expertise pro bono, because they believe in this moment and in the women driving it.

And now we need your voice.

Your insight. Your experience. Your presence.

This is a rare, urgent opportunity to shape real change and we want you in the room.

Even more powerfully, Zoom has committed to supporting this work and being part of building a safer online environment for women. The platforms are listening. The momentum is here.  All we need is YOU and YOUR participation. 

So - Join us. Add your voice. Help build the future women deserve online. One morning only that will make a huge difference to many - a Taskforce and action will build from this event and your voice will count! 

Our Confirmed Hosts & Expert Panellists

Who is Refuge and how will my money help?

Refuge is the UK’s largest specialist domestic abuse charity, providing life-saving support to thousands of women and their children every day so they can escape abuse and rebuild their lives – free from fear.  Refuge also runs the UK’s only technology and economic abuse support service for survivors of domestic abuse.

Abusive partners often use apps and other location devices to track and follow women. Refuge’s Tech Team, the leading experts on how abusive partners use tech to control women, can help women shut down the different ways an abusive partner uses both tech and money to control them. The team also ​share their knowledge so anyone working with women facing abusive partners – including staff at other charities – can confidently help women navigate this form of abuse.

Every donation to Refuge will help women take back their everyday freedoms and rebuild their lives. For every £1 donated, 93p goes directly towards practical support and services that help women and children recover and feel safe again. 7p is spent on fundraising, which helps Refuge reach more women and children in need.

Wherever possible we ask that donations are unrestricted by service and location so that we can use the donation where the need is greatest. Below are examples of how your donation may be used:

· £21 could help a Refuge Worker support her to escape and restore her financial freedom.
· £375 could help our Tech Team get the latest training they need to stay abreast with innovations in technology.
· £675 could help our Tech Team run an assessment to check all her devices and accounts, then build a safety plan tailored to her.

Your support will help women feel safe, regain control, and start to rebuild their lives. Together we can work towards a future where no woman or child has to live in fear.