Digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) offer transformative potential for human development and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, yet they also create new risks that disproportionately affect women and girls. From deepfakes to coordinated online harassment, digital violence amplifies existing gender-based abuse while introducing new forms of harm. These threats intersect with broader global challenges, including conflict, climate change, shrinking civic space, and eroding gender equality and rule of law, demanding urgent, coordinated action to safeguard rights, ensure accountability, and protect democratic values.
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence provides a critical moment to highlight the persistent challenge of gender-based violence in both online and offline spaces. As digital transformation reshapes economies, societies, governance, and development systems, women face heightened risks of abuse in increasingly digitized environments. Global commitments such as the Beijing+30 Political Declaration, the Global Digital Compact, and the UN Convention against Cybercrime emphasize the need to prioritize justice, safety, and gender equality in digital contexts.
Digital violence is widespread across all regions. In Arab States, 60 percent of women internet users have experienced online abuse, while over 50 percent of women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have faced technology-facilitated harassment. Sub-Saharan Africa reports 28 percent, and high-income countries show rates of 23 percent among women aged 18–55. Women in politics, journalism, and human rights advocacy are particularly targeted, with 44 percent of parliamentarians receiving threats of death or sexual violence and 73 percent of journalists reporting online harassment. Risks are amplified for women of color, LGBTQI+ individuals, and women with disabilities.
The economic consequences of digital violence are substantial. Online abuse limits women’s access to digital skills, markets, and higher-value jobs, with income losses reported by 76 percent of low-income women entrepreneurs in Malawi and financial impacts of $3.7 billion in Australia. Women in fragile and conflict-affected contexts face even higher risks, with 70 percent experiencing violence in humanitarian settings. Experiences in Uganda and Syria highlight the compounded impact of displacement and conflict on digital safety.
Addressing digital violence requires investment in research, data, and gender-responsive policies. Governments must integrate measures against gender-based violence into economic planning and digital transformation strategies, supported by initiatives such as UNDP’s Equanomics and eMonitor+, which promote evidence-based policymaking and inclusive fiscal policies. Legal recognition of digital violence as a human rights violation is crucial, as technology outpaces existing laws and institutional capacities, leaving many women under-protected.
UNDP’s Spotlight Initiative and partnerships with other UN agencies demonstrate whole-of-government approaches, with over 540 laws related to gender-based violence enacted. Yet enforcement, institutional coordination, and access to justice remain critical gaps. Strengthening these systems, alongside dedicated financial resources, policy reforms, and legal frameworks, is essential to hold perpetrators accountable and provide support to survivors.
Ensuring safe digital spaces is central to advancing gender equality. Nearly one in three women globally experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, and digital abuse reflects and amplifies these broader patterns. Embedding gender equality and human rights throughout the lifecycle of digital technologies, through rights-based governance, transparency, algorithmic accountability, and effective content moderation, is critical to making online spaces safe and inclusive for all women and girls.
