The lines between online and offline life are fast splintering. Online gender-based violence against marginalised communities results in offline harm and in marginalised people receding from online spaces. Uli (meaning chisel in Tamil) is our attempt to hand the chisel and power over to users affected by language-based online gender-based violence in the form of slur words and hate speech. It is a browser plugin that allows users to redact abusive words that appear on their social media. Uli was born from the collective labour of journalists, activists, community influencers, and writers engaged in the movement against the intersectional caste, religion, gender and sexuality-based violence both online and offline. They contributed towards the creation of the Uli dataset of offensive words/phrases by thinking through and expanding on the list of slur words used to target people on the basis of their marginalised caste, gender, ethnicity, race and religious communities. Uli isn't imagined as a final product, but rather a simple tool, a chisel that helps reduce harmful text-based content online.
Today, Uli is evolving into an umbrella project, bringing together plugins, features, slur-centric dataset, and community outreach through workshops to create safer and more thoughtful online spaces.
As Uli grew, we began to identify areas where the platform could become more cohesive and user-friendly. Different components such as plugins, extensions, and features were spread across multiple pages, making navigation less intuitive. Some projects were not easily visible, and access across the Uli community platform could be improved.
There was also scope to strengthen functionality and expand access across devices. These observations helped us move towards building a more integrated and seamless experience.
We are currently redesigning the Uli website and the Uli community platform to make them more intuitive, accessible, and easier to use.
This includes bringing all Uli-related projects into a single, unified platform and creating a clearer navigation experience. We are also adding new features to support smoother usage and making it easier for users to install plugins, add extensions, and explore slur lists.
Alongside this, we are working towards expanding access beyond laptops to support more mobile-friendly interactions. Through these changes, we aim to ensure that Uli is not only functional, but also simple and inclusive to engage with.
Alongside technical improvements, we designed an interactive workshop as part of our effort to build awareness and denormalise language-based abuse rampant in our lives on social media and of which young people are most susceptible. The idea for the workshop came from the academics who engaged with the platform and suggested that we must build a pedagogy around online abuse which would benefit their students. These sessions where we explore forms of online abuse with young people create space for participants to engage critically with language-centric abuse, social behaviour, and online interactions.
Participants reflect on the slur words they have come across in their online presence and begin to understand how these target marginalised communities. They also explore the meanings and impact of slurs, and how certain forms of online behaviour are shaped by social conditioning.
The two-hour long workshops further help participants recognise how online abuse manifests and introduce them to tools like reporting mechanisms.
Over the past six months, these workshops have engaged 500+ participants across schools, colleges, and organisations such as Delhi University, Sajhe Sapne, Delhi Govt. School and a university in Coimbatore.
With these improvements, users will be able to access all Uli projects in one place, making navigation simpler. Installing and using the plugins and extension will become more straightforward, while the Uli dataset of slur words will be easier to browse and understand.
This also supports users in better recognising online abuse and taking more informed actions towards creating safer digital environments.
Online abuse is often embedded in everyday language and behaviour. Words that may seem casual can carry deeper harm, particularly for marginalized communities and feminists. Through Uli, we aim to build awareness and resistance around the impact of language while supporting users in identifying and filtering harmful content. This work also encourages more thoughtful and responsible online behaviour, contributing to safer and more inclusive digital spaces.