The digital revolution was once heralded as the ultimate equalizer—a borderless frontier where information, connection, and economic opportunity would be accessible to all. However, for a staggering number of women and girls across the globe, the internet has transformed from a tool of empowerment into a sophisticated weapon of abuse. As technology evolves at a breakneck pace, the legal frameworks designed to protect human rights are struggling to keep up, leaving nearly half of the world’s female population exposed to a rising tide of digital violence.
According to recent data released by the World Bank, the scale of this legislative failure is immense. Fewer than 40 percent of countries currently have specific laws on the books to address cyber harassment or cyberstalking. This creates a massive “protection gap,” leaving 44 percent of the world’s women and girls—approximately 1.8 billion people—without any viable legal recourse when they are targeted online. This vacuum of accountability has allowed digital violence to intensify, fueled by the cloak of anonymity and the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence.
Digital violence is no longer limited to mean-spirited comments or social media trolling. It has mutated into a complex spectrum of harm that includes doxing (the malicious publication of private information), non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and the use of deepfakes to create sexually explicit content without a subject’s consent. Furthermore, coordinated disinformation campaigns are increasingly being used to silence, shame, and intimidate women, particularly those who occupy the public sphere.
The impact on women in leadership is particularly devastating. Women in business, politics, and activism are frequently the targets of gendered disinformation designed to destroy their reputations and force them out of public life. This is not a peripheral issue; it is a direct threat to democracy and social progress. When women are hounded off digital platforms, their voices are erased from the global conversation. The statistics for those on the front lines are harrowing: across the globe, one in four women journalists has reported receiving online threats of physical violence, including death threats.
Sima Bahous, the Executive Director of UN Women, has been vocal about the escalating danger. “What begins online doesn’t stay online,” Bahous warned. “Digital abuse spills into real life, spreading fear, silencing voices, and—in the worst cases—leading to physical violence and femicide. Laws must evolve with technology to ensure that justice protects women both online and offline. Weak legal protections leave millions of women and girls vulnerable, while perpetrators act with impunity. This is unacceptable.”
The advent of AI-powered online abuse has only complicated the quest for justice. AI tools now allow perpetrators to generate realistic, harmful content at a scale and speed previously unimaginable. These tools can strip a woman’s likeness from a casual photo and place it into a pornographic video, or automate the harassment of a victim across thousands of accounts simultaneously. Because these technologies often operate across international borders and multiple platforms, traditional law enforcement agencies frequently find themselves ill-equipped to intervene.
Despite this grim landscape, there are emerging signs of progress. A handful of nations have begun to modernize their legal codes to reflect the realities of the 21st century. The United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act, Mexico’s landmark Ley Olimpia, Australia’s Online Safety Act, and the European Union’s Digital Safety Act represent significant strides toward holding both individuals and tech giants accountable. As of 2025, 117 countries have reported some level of effort to address digital violence. However, these efforts remain largely fragmented. In a world where a harasser can be in one hemisphere and a victim in another, a patchwork of local laws is insufficient to combat a transnational crisis.
To address these systemic failures, UN Women is spearheading a global call for urgent action. The organization argues that the responsibility cannot lie solely with the victims to protect themselves; instead, there must be a fundamental shift in how technology companies operate and how governments regulate digital spaces. This includes a demand for greater transparency from tech platforms, more robust content moderation that prioritizes safety over engagement, and the implementation of “safety by design” principles in new technologies.
The timing of this call to action is critical, coinciding with the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. Running from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day, the 2025 campaign—themed “UNiTE to End Violence against Women”—is focusing specifically on the digital frontier. The campaign serves as a global rallying cry for governments, tech companies, and civil society to close the legal gaps that leave 1.8 billion women at risk.
As part of this year’s initiative, UN Women is launching two vital resources designed to provide practical guidance to those on the front lines of justice. The first is the *Supplement to the Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women*, which focuses specifically on technology-facilitated violence. This tool provides a roadmap for policymakers to draft laws that are comprehensive enough to cover emerging threats while remaining adaptable to future technological shifts.
The second resource is the *Guide for Police on Addressing Technology-Facilitated Violence*. Historically, many women who report digital abuse to the police are met with indifference or told to “just turn off the computer.” This guide aims to change that culture by providing law enforcement officers with the technical knowledge and survivor-centered protocols necessary to investigate digital crimes effectively and treat them with the same seriousness as physical assaults.
However, the path to progress is being hindered by broader geopolitical shifts. Feminist movements, which have been the primary drivers of recognition for digital violence as a human rights violation, are facing unprecedented challenges. Shrinking civic space and significant funding cuts are threatening to undermine decades of work. In many regions, there is a coordinated pushback against women’s rights, making the role of international support structures more critical than ever.
Programs like the EU-funded “ACT to End Violence against Women and Girls” are essential in this climate. A collaborative effort between the European Commission and UN Women, the ACT programme works to amplify the voices of feminist movements and provide them with the resources needed to advocate for systemic change. By building coalitions and focusing on common strategies, the programme aims to ensure that the fight for digital safety remains a global priority despite local setbacks.
The 2025 UNiTE campaign emphasizes that digital literacy and survivor-centered services must be prioritized alongside legislation. It is not enough to simply punish perpetrators; society must also invest in the long-term support of those who have been harmed. This includes psychological support for victims of deepfake abuse and doxing, as well as educational programs that teach the next generation how to navigate the digital world with respect and empathy.
Ultimately, the goal of UN Women and its partners is to create a world where technology serves the cause of equality rather than becoming an engine for harm. The current state of the internet, where nearly half of women lack legal protection, is a barrier to true global progress. As long as women and girls are forced to self-censor or leave digital platforms out of fear for their safety, the promise of the digital age will remain unfulfilled.
True equality in the modern era requires a digital space that is safe, inclusive, and governed by the rule of law. Until the 1.8 billion women currently living in a legal vacuum are granted the protection they deserve, the fight for human rights will remain unfinished. The 16 Days of Activism is a reminder that there is #NoExcuse for digital abuse, and that the time for global, unified action is now.
