Digital literacy critical for enhanced legal system, experts say

Members of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) have said that digital literacy will enhance operations within the legal system.

They also said that it would amplify advocacy for women and children, given that violence against women and children as well as injustice, persists in the country.

This was said at the AWLA Nigeria parley, themed “Digital Advocacy: Leveraging technology for inclusion,” in Lagos.

Partner, BOC Legal, Rotimi Ogunyemi, affirmed that women and children remain the vulnerable demographic in society and are continually traumatised by the failed legal system in the country.

“Women and children are still susceptible to gender-based violence, discrimination and denied access to justice,” he said.

He stated that leveraging technology for justice and inclusion would serve as an abatement and a veritable tool for advocacy for women and children.

“Social media, for example, has advanced advocacy for women and children with things like hashtags, eyewitness reports and so on,” he added.

Ogunyemi noted that digital platforms have achieved in minutes what could not have been achieved in years with the traditional media owing to the rate at which awareness is created and how quickly information is spread.

He, however, urged legal practitioners to build capacity around navigating digital tools.

President, AWLA Nigeria, Mrs Caroline Ibharuneafe, explaining the need to foster a digitally inclusive environment, said that in the increasingly digital world, the intersection of technology and advocacy offers unprecedented opportunities to amplify the association’s voices.

She added that technology is beyond a tool but a powerful catalyst of change.

Urging participants to embrace the opportunity to learn, share and collaborate, she reiterated that the power of inclusion lies in their collective voices and actions.

Founder, ReadManna, Edna Agusto, also emphasised the need to integrate technology into the core of business and daily living, urging lawyers to consume as much information as they would with Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

She explained that digital literacy is the foundation that supports IT, and the world revolves around digitisation, hence individuals and businesses need to join to thrive.

Agusto added that technology in the legal landscape will enhance efficiency, provide better client services, organise and manage time, increase financial rewards, help make informed decisions with data analysis and determine industry trends to aid developments and best practices.

Chairman of the event, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo noted that digital tools have become more effective in producing desired results in the wake of crisis and deliberations for policy reforms.

“We cannot do without digital tools because everything has been digitised and we cannot overlook the power of digitalisation. Social media has championed many online campaigns and petitions that gained global attention, so we cannot decide to toss it to a corner, but to integrate it into our legal frameworks,” he advised.