This November, as the world observes the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the United Nations has directed its global campaign to a critical and expanding domain of abuse, under the theme UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls. This theme could not be more timely, as digital violence is escalating to a level that risks undoing decades of progress toward gender equality.
For many women, particularly those in public life — politicians, journalists, activists, scientists and policy experts — the internet is not a “town square” of community but a gauntlet to run. And that burden of online abuse is not shared equally: women experience higher rates of online harm than men, and the consequences fall disproportionately on them.
The result? Waning voices and shrinking participation, restricting women’s presence in public life.
The Digital Intimidation Crisis
The digital harm women face is a tool of systemic intimidation, designed to make the personal and professional cost of having a voice too high to bear. In our global study of more than 18,000 individuals across 18 countries, we found that online environments were profoundly unsafe for women. Three out of five women had experienced at least one of 13 forms of online harm, from doxing to networked harassment. Nearly a quarter of all women stopped or reduced posting on a platform, and one in five stopped posting about a certain issue entirely. This is a democratic deficit occurring in real time: policy ideas, journalistic investigations, science advocacy and community leadership voices are being systematically erased from the digital public space.
How can we achieve gender parity in governance when the cost of entry is a daily barrage of sexualized threats and defamation?
Online Abuse Is Intersectional, Designed to Silence Women’s Voices
This barrier to participation is especially high for women in public-facing roles, and the abuse is acutely intersectional. Transgender and gender-diverse people report the highest proportion of harm, and women of colour, women with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals face compounded, targeted abuse. This is not random trolling; it is a tactic. Women politicians are exposed to high rates of sexism, harassment and violence; women’s rights activists are targeted for discussing gender and human rights; women scientists face waves of misogynistic attacks and online threats; and women journalists are attacked specifically for discussing gender, politics and elections, and human rights. How can we achieve gender parity in governance when the cost of entry is a daily barrage of sexualized threats and defamation?
The United Nations’ call to “UNiTE” is exactly right; the solutions must be as systemic as the problem.
It’s Time to Act: Ending Digital Violence Against Women
Addressing this crisis requires a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach. The special report Supporting Safer Digital Spaces highlights several urgent priorities for policy makers.The business models of many technology companies prioritize engagement, however toxic, over safety. This must change. First, governments must implement human-rights-based content moderation regulations for internet intermediaries. These companies can no longer be allowed to outsource the human cost of their business model to society. This means enforcing real accountability where platforms are held responsible for the toxicity they host and monetize. Policy reports are not enough; accountability is not optional.
Second, although legislation is critical, it is not enough: Governments must provide dedicated, sustained funding for the civil-society organizations that are properly resourced to provide direct, real-time support to victims and survivors. This work also requires providing comprehensive, trauma-informed training for police and judicial systems to ensure digital violence is properly addressed and its harms are not minimized.
Third, we must fund research and education. This includes public education campaigns to inform survivors of their rights, change the behaviour of perpetrators and support independent assessments to determine which interventions actually work. Without robust data, we are simply guessing.
The 16 Days of Activism initiative is a reminder that violence against women, in all its forms, is a primary barrier to equality. Ending technology-facilitated violence is not a peripheral “tech” issue; it is a core human rights imperative. The goal is a digital sphere where all women and girls can exist safely, participate in public discourse freely, lead boldly and express opinions without fear.
