The digital landscape, once envisioned as a frontier for democratized speech and global connection, has transformed into a volatile battlefield for women standing at the forefront of social change. A landmark report released in Geneva today warns that online violence against women human rights defenders, journalists, and activists has reached a critical “tipping point,” where the vitriol of the virtual world is increasingly manifesting as physical danger in the real one. Produced by the UN Women’s ACT to End Violence against Women programme, the study paints a harrowing picture of a global crisis that threatens to silence the voices essential to a functioning democracy.
The comprehensive report, titled Tipping Point: The Chilling Escalation of Violence Against Women in the Public Sphere, reveals a staggering reality: 70 per cent of women surveyed—ranging from media professionals to grassroots organizers—have been subjected to online violence in the course of their professional duties. Perhaps more alarming is the closing gap between digital harassment and physical assault. According to the findings, 41 per cent of respondents reported experiencing offline harm that was directly linked to abuse initiated on digital platforms. This data signals a dangerous evolution in the nature of gender-based violence, where the “mute” or “block” button no longer offers sufficient protection.
This research is the result of a high-level collaboration between UN Women, the European Commission, and a consortium of academic and investigative partners, including TheNerve, City St George’s, University of London, and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), with additional support from UNESCO. The findings underscore a grim trend that has accelerated over the last half-decade. In 2020, a UNESCO global survey indicated that 20 per cent of women journalists had experienced offline attacks associated with online violence. By 2025, that figure has more than doubled to 42 per cent, suggesting that the digital-to-physical pipeline of aggression is now a standard operating procedure for those seeking to suppress women’s voices.
Sarah Hendricks, Director of Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division at UN Women, emphasized that the psychological and physical toll of this trend cannot be overstated. “These figures confirm that digital violence is not virtual—it’s real violence with real-world consequences,” Hendricks stated. She noted that women who lead social movements or report on sensitive political issues are being targeted with sophisticated campaigns designed to shame and isolate them. “Increasingly, those attacks do not stop at the screen—they end at women’s front doors. We cannot allow online spaces to become platforms for intimidation that silence women and undermine democracy.”
The report arrives amidst the global “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence,” a campaign that this year has focused heavily on the technological dimensions of abuse. As the world becomes more digitally integrated, the tools used to harass women have become more advanced. The study found that nearly one in four women human rights defenders and journalists have been targeted by AI-assisted violence. This includes the creation of non-consensual deepfake imagery, manipulated audio, and the automated dissemination of disinformation intended to ruin reputations.
The exposure to these AI-driven attacks is even higher for specific subsets of the population. Public communicators, such as social media influencers and content creators who focus on human rights, face a 30 per cent exposure rate to AI-facilitated abuse. This “weaponized” technology is often used by organized groups or state-aligned actors to create a “chilling effect,” forcing women to self-censor or abandon their platforms entirely to protect their safety and mental health.
Professor Julie Posetti, the lead researcher and Director of TheNerve’s Information Integrity Initiative, highlighted the intersection of this violence with broader political shifts. “This data shows that in the age of AI-fueled abuse and rising authoritarianism, online violence against women in the public sphere is increasing,” Posetti said. She described the doubling of offline harm as a “dangerous and potentially deadly trajectory” that requires immediate intervention from both tech corporations and government regulators. The involvement of TheNerve, a digital forensics lab founded by Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa, adds a layer of investigative depth to the report, linking gender-based harassment to the broader erosion of information integrity and press freedom.
The report’s analysis suggests that the current institutional response to this crisis is lagging behind the speed of technological innovation. While many social media platforms have community guidelines, the enforcement is often described as inconsistent, particularly for women in the Global South or those working in non-English languages. The UN Women report calls for a systemic overhaul, advocating for robust regulation that holds tech companies accountable for the safety of their users. This includes the implementation of mandatory safety protocols for high-risk users, such as human rights defenders, and the development of survivor-centered response systems that treat digital threats with the same urgency as physical ones.
As the 16 Days of Activism conclude, UN Women is launching a new corporate strategy specifically designed to combat technology-facilitated violence. The strategy focuses on four pillars: strengthening legal accountability for perpetrators, closing the data gaps that obscure the full scale of the problem, accelerating prevention through education and tech design, and building the resilience of women’s rights movements. This strategy aims to amplify the voices of those who have been marginalized by digital mobs and to ensure that the internet remains a viable space for female leadership.
The broader implications of this “tipping point” extend to the very foundations of civil society. When 70 per cent of women in public-facing roles face abuse, the diversity of public discourse suffers. Many women report that the constant threat of doxxing—the release of private information such as home addresses—forces them to withdraw from controversial but necessary debates. This withdrawal creates a vacuum often filled by more aggressive, less diverse voices, further polarizing society and weakening the democratic process.
The ACT (Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action) programme, which supported the report, represents a significant commitment by the European Commission and UN Women to treat gender-based violence as a global priority. By collaborating with the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, the ACT programme seeks to provide a framework where feminist movements can align their strategies and push for legislative changes that reflect the realities of the 21st century.
Furthermore, the Information Integrity Initiative at TheNerve is positioned to continue this research by monitoring the intersection of gender, disinformation, and freedom of expression. As AI continues to evolve, the ability to distinguish between legitimate criticism and coordinated harassment campaigns will be vital for the survival of public interest media. The report makes it clear that the safety of women in digital spaces is not just a “women’s issue,” but a litmus test for the health of the global information ecosystem.
In closing, the findings of the Tipping Point report serve as a call to action for the international community. The transition from online threats to offline harm is no longer a hypothetical risk—it is a documented reality for nearly half of the women journalists and activists currently working. Without immediate and decisive action to regulate digital platforms, protect human rights defenders, and criminalize technology-facilitated abuse, the progress made in gender equality over the past several decades risks being rolled back by the very tools that were meant to move society forward. The message from UN Women is clear: the digital front door is no longer a barrier, and the time to fortify it is now.
