A stark new report from UN Women has exposed the alarming proliferation of digital violence, revealing that nearly half of the world's women and girls are navigating the online world without adequate legal safeguards.
The Scale of the Crisis
Fueled by artificial intelligence, anonymity, and a critical lack of accountability, digital violence is now spreading at a frightening pace. This abuse takes many insidious forms, including relentless online harassment, cyberstalking, doxxing, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, malicious deepfakes, and coordinated disinformation campaigns. These tactics are systematically weaponised to silence, intimidate, and shame women and girls across the globe.
Compounding the problem is a vast legal void. According to World Bank data, less than 40 per cent of countries have enacted laws specifically designed to protect women from cyber harassment or cyberstalking. This legislative failure leaves a staggering 1.8 billion women and girls – 44 per cent of the global female population – without access to formal legal protection from online abuse.
Real-World Consequences and Targeted Attacks
The impact of this digital onslaught is profoundly real. UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous emphasised the grave danger, stating, "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."
Women in prominent public roles, such as leadership positions, business, and politics, face particularly vicious targeting. They are often subjected to sophisticated attacks involving deepfake technology, coordinated harassment campaigns, and gendered disinformation, all designed to force them out of public life. The threat is so pervasive that one in four female journalists globally report receiving online threats of physical violence, including death threats.
Bahous added a urgent call for legal evolution, saying, "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."
A Call for Global Collaboration and Action
In response, this year's 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign is demanding immediate and coordinated global action. The campaign's goals are clear: close dangerous legal loopholes and ensure both perpetrators and technology platforms are held accountable for their roles in enabling abuse.
While reporting of online harassment remains low and legal systems are often ill-prepared, there are signs of progress. Legislation is slowly beginning to adapt, with reforms emerging from the UK's Online Safety Act to Mexico's Ley Olimpia and Australia's Online Safety Act. As of 2025, 117 countries reported initiatives to tackle digital violence, though responses remain fragmented for an issue that knows no borders.
UN Women is now demanding a unified international effort to guarantee that digital platforms and AI systems comply with stringent safety and ethical requirements. Their calls to action include:
- Support for victims through increased funding for women's rights organisations.
- Holding offenders accountable through improved legislation and robust enforcement.
- Urging tech firms to hire more women, swiftly remove harmful content, and respond effectively to abuse reports.
- Investing in prevention through digital literacy training and programmes that challenge toxic online cultures.
To aid governments, UN Women is launching two new practical tools: a supplement on technology-facilitated violence for legislation handbooks, and a new guide for police on addressing these crimes. The organisation's message is unequivocal: until the digital space is safe for all women and girls, true equality will remain an elusive goal everywhere.
