The dawn of the internet was heralded as the ultimate equalizer, a borderless expanse where voices previously silenced by tradition or geography could finally find resonance. It promised empowerment, education, and the democratization of influence. However, for a staggering number of women and girls across the globe, this digital utopia has devolved into a pervasive minefield of harassment and psychological warfare. As technology advances at a breakneck pace, a chilling reality has emerged: nearly half of the world’s female population—approximately 1.8 billion people—remains entirely unprotected by legal frameworks against digital abuse.
According to recent data compiled by the World Bank, the legislative response to technology-facilitated violence is lagging dangerously behind the pace of innovation. Fewer than 40 percent of nations have enacted specific laws to combat cyber harassment or cyberstalking. This legal vacuum has created a “Wild West” environment where perpetrators of digital violence operate with near-total impunity, while survivors are left to navigate a labyrinth of trauma without the support of the state or the protection of the law. The consequences of this inaction are not merely confined to the screen; they are spilling over into the physical world, stifling progress toward gender equality and threatening the very foundations of democratic participation.
The modern arsenal of digital violence has become increasingly sophisticated, fueled by the rapid integration of artificial intelligence and the persistent shield of online anonymity. What once took the form of abusive comments has evolved into high-tech weaponization. Deepfakes—AI-generated images or videos that transplant a person’s likeness onto explicit or compromising content—are being used to shame and silence women with devastating efficiency. Doxing, the malicious release of private information, and coordinated disinformation campaigns are now standard tactics used to intimidate women in leadership roles. This is not a series of isolated incidents; it is a systematic effort to drive women out of the digital public square.
The impact on women in public-facing professions is particularly acute. Journalists, politicians, and human rights defenders find themselves in the crosshairs of digital mobs. Recent statistics reveal a harrowing trend: one in four female journalists has been subjected to online threats of physical violence, including death threats. For many, the psychological toll of constant surveillance and harassment becomes too great, leading to “deplatforming”—a phenomenon where women voluntarily leave social media or public life altogether to protect their mental health and physical safety. When women are silenced in these spaces, the diversity of public discourse suffers, and the democratic process is weakened.
Sima Bahous, the Executive Director of UN Women, has been a vocal advocate for closing these legal loopholes. She emphasizes that the distinction between “online” and “offline” violence is a false dichotomy. “What begins online doesn’t stay online,” Bahous remarked. “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.” Her call to action underscores a critical need for a global shift in how we perceive and prosecute digital crimes.
Despite the bleak statistics, there are flickers of legislative hope. A handful of nations have begun to recognize the severity of the crisis and are implementing groundbreaking reforms. In the United Kingdom, the Online Safety Act represents a significant step toward holding tech giants accountable for the content hosted on their platforms. Australia’s Online Safety Act provides a robust framework for the removal of harmful material, while the European Union’s Digital Safety Act sets new standards for transparency and user protection across the continent. Perhaps most inspiring is Mexico’s “Ley Olimpia” (Olympia’s Law), which was born out of the grassroots activism of Olimpia Coral Melo. After her own intimate images were shared without her consent, Melo fought for years to change the law, eventually succeeding in criminalizing digital violence across Mexico. These examples prove that when political will meets feminist advocacy, the law can be a powerful shield.
However, as of 2025, while 117 countries have reported some level of effort to address digital violence, these initiatives remain largely fragmented. Digital violence is, by its very nature, transnational. A perpetrator in one country can target a victim in another using a platform based in a third. Without a unified, global approach to regulation and enforcement, the current patchwork of laws remains easy for bad actors to bypass. UN Women is now leading a global push for a more cohesive response, launching the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign with a specific focus on the digital frontier.
The 16 Days of Activism, which runs annually from November 25 to December 10, serves as a bridge between the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Human Rights Day. This year, the campaign is demanding urgent global action to close the 44 percent gap in legal protection. To support this mission, UN Women has released two critical new resources: a *Supplement to the Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women* focusing specifically on technology-facilitated abuse, and a *Guide for Police on Addressing Technology-Facilitated Violence*. These tools are designed to provide law enforcement and policymakers with the practical knowledge needed to identify, investigate, and prosecute digital crimes in a survivor-centered manner.
One of the primary hurdles to justice remains the low rate of reporting. Many survivors of digital violence do not come forward because they believe the police will not take them seriously or that the justice system is ill-equipped to handle tech-based evidence. In many cases, they are right. Traditionally, police training has focused on physical domestic violence, often dismissing online threats as “just the internet.” The new UN Women guidance aims to change this culture, training officers to understand the lethality of digital stalking and the profound harm caused by non-consensual image sharing.
Furthermore, the role of tech platforms cannot be ignored. For too long, social media companies have hidden behind “safe harbor” provisions, claiming they are merely neutral conduits for information. The 2025 UNiTE campaign calls for an end to this era of corporate detachment. It urges technology companies to bake safety into their design processes and to provide transparent, effective mechanisms for reporting and removing abusive content. The rise of AI-powered abuse has only intensified this need, as the speed and scale of content generation now far outstrip the capacity of human moderators.
The struggle for digital safety is also happening against a backdrop of shrinking civic space and unprecedented funding cuts for feminist organizations. As governments tighten their belts, the very grassroots movements that drive legislative change—like the one that led to Ley Olimpia—are finding themselves under-resourced. In response, initiatives like the EU-funded ACT (Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action) programme are becoming lifelines. By fostering collaboration between the European Commission, UN Women, and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, ACT aims to amplify the voices of feminist movements and ensure they have the resources to continue their push for justice.
The ultimate goal of these efforts is to create a digital world where technology serves the cause of equality rather than becoming a tool for harm. Digital literacy is a key component of this future. It is not enough to simply have laws; women and girls must be empowered with the knowledge to navigate the internet safely, and men and boys must be educated on the ethics of digital consent. True equality in the 21st century requires that every person, regardless of gender, can participate in the digital economy and social life without the fear of being silenced by a screen.
As the 16 Days of Activism campaign unfolds, the message is clear: the status quo is a violation of human rights. Until the digital space is safe for all women and girls, the promise of the internet remains unfulfilled, and true global equality will remain out of reach. The time for fragmented efforts has passed; the era of digital accountability must begin now.
