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UN Women urges action against digital violence targeting women, girls
(Kaieteur News) – In observance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the United Nations Women has called for global action to make technology a force for equality not harm. This forms part of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
In a statement, the body outlined that digital violence is intensifying, yet nearly half of the world’s women and girls lack legal protection from digital abuse.
“The digital world promised connection and empowerment – but for millions of women and girls, it has become a world of abuse. Digital violence is spreading at alarming speed fueled by artificial intelligence, anonymity, and the absence of effective laws and accountability. It now spans every corner of the Internet – from online harassment and cyberstalking to doxing, non-consensual image sharing, deepfakes, and disinformation – weaponized to silence, shame, and intimidate women and girls,” UN Women stated.
According to World Bank data, fewer than 40 per cent of countries have laws protecting women from cyber harassment or cyber stalking. This leaves 44 per cent of the world’s women and girls – 1.8 billion – without access to legal protection.
Further, it was stated that women in leadership, business, and politics face deepfakes, coordinated harassment, and gendered disinformation designed to drive them to deplatform or leave public life altogether.
Notably, it was also highlighted that across the world, one in four women journalists report online threats of physical violence, including death threats.
“What begins online doesn’t stay online. Digital abuse spills into real life, spreading fear, silencing voices, and—in the worst cases—leading to physical violence and femicide,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. “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. Through our 16 Days of Activism campaign, UN Women calls for a world where technology serves equality, not harm.”
Moreover, UN Women cited that reporting of online abuse and violence remains low, justice systems are ill-equipped, and tech platforms face little accountability.
It also stated that the rise of AI-generated abuse has deepened impunity across borders and platforms. “But there are signs of progress. Laws are beginning to evolve to meet the challenges of technological change…as of 2025, 117 countries reported efforts addressing digital violence, but efforts remain fragmented for a transnational challenge,” it was noted.
UN Women is calling for:
- Global cooperation to ensure digital platforms and AI tools meet safety and ethics standards.
- Support for survivors of digital violence by funding women’s rights organizations.
- Holding perpetrators accountable through better laws and enforcement.
- Tech companies to step up by hiring more women to create safer online spaces, removing harmful content quickly, and responding to reports of abuse.
- Investments in prevention and culture change through digital literacy and online safety training for women and girls, and programmes that challenge toxic online cultures.
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