Digital violence is real violence. There is #NoExcuse for online abuse
Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life. Even more devastating is the fact that one woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by their intimate partner or family.
It is a scourge that has intensified in different settings, but this year, the campaign for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women focuses on one in particular: the digital realm. Violence against women on online platforms is, today, a serious and rapidly growing threat that seeks to silence the voices of many women—especially those with a strong public and digital presence in fields such as politics, activism, or journalism.
It is a form of violence on the rise due to weak technological regulation, a lack of legal recognition of this type of aggression in some countries, the impunity of digital platforms, new and fast-evolving forms of abuse using AI, movements opposing gender equality, the anonymity of perpetrators, and the limited support for digital victims.
Join our 16 days of activism
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will mark the launch of the UNiTE campaign (Nov 25- Dec 10) — an initiative of 16 days of activism concluding on the day that commemorates the International Human Rights Day (10 December).
This 2025 campaign UNiTE to End Digital Violence against Women and Girls wants to mobilize all members of society: governments must end impunity through laws that penalize it; technology companies must ensure the safety of platforms and remove harmful content; donors must provide funding so that feminist organizations can work to eradicate this violence; and people like you must raise your voices to help survivors.
UN Women’s official website
Become an activist for women's rights. We can all do something to empower those affected, as well as prevent and reduce gender violence, including the digital one. Use the UN Women's hashtag #NoExcuse and spread the word with all this new material!
What is digital abuse?
Digital tools are increasingly being used to stalk, harass, and abuse women and girls. This includes:
- Image-based abuse/ non-consensual sharing of intimate images – often called revenge porn or leaked nudes.
- Cyberbullying, trolling, and online threats.
- Online harassment and sexual harassment.
- AI-generated deepfakes such as sexually explicit images, deepfake pornography, and digitally manipulated images, videos or audio.
- Hate speech and disinformation on social media platforms.
- Doxxing – publishing private information.
- Online stalking or surveillance/tracking to monitor someone’s activities.
- Online grooming and sexual exploitation.
- Catfishing and impersonation.
- Misogynistic networks – e.g.manosphere, incel forums.
These acts don’t just happen online. They often lead to offline violence in real life (IRL), such as coercion, physical abuse, and even femicide – killing of women and girls. The harm can be long-lasting and affect survivors over a prolonged period of time.
Digital violence targets women more than men, across all walks of life, but especially those with public or online visibility – such as activists, journalists, women in politics, human rights defenders, and young women.
The impact is even worse for women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including race, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Watch our event if you missed it!
25 Nov, 11-12:30 New York time
Did you know?
- 38% of women have experienced online violence and 85% have witnessed digital violence against others.
- Misinformation and defamation are the most prevalent forms of online violence against women. 67% of women and girls who have experienced digital violence reported this tactic.
- 90 – 95% of all online deepfakes are non-consensual pornographic images with around 90 per cent of these depicting women.
- 73% of women journalists reported experiencing online violence.
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Fewer than 40% of countries have laws protecting women from cyber harassment or cyber stalking. This leaves 44% of the world’s women and girls – 1.8 billion – without access to legal protection.
UN Resources about digital violence against women
- AI-powered online abuse: How AI is amplifying violence against women and what can stop it
- What is the manosphere and how to counter it
- FAQs: Digital abuse, trolling, stalking, and other forms of technology-facilitated violence against women and girls
- Creating safe digital spaces free of trolls, doxing, and hate speech
- Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence
- Global programme: Making All Spaces Safe
- Glossary of digital violence terms
