Digital violence against women is escalating at an alarming pace across Latin America, and for women in public life—politicians, journalists, activists, and human rights defenders—online abuse has become more than harassment: it is a weapon that follows them offline. Threats begin with a message, a deepfake, or a doxing attack, but the consequences unfold in the real world through fear, self-censorship, lost livelihoods, and physical harm. A 2023 UN Women study found that half of the women interviewed had experienced threats or physical aggression, or had their images used online to harass them, with rape being the most common threat. Many respondents said digital abuse has been normalized as “the rules of the game” in politics and journalism.
Yet survivors across the region are refusing to accept those rules. They are transforming personal trauma into collective action, redefining legislation, demanding institutional accountability, and reshaping democratic participation in the digital age.
In Mexico, more than 10 million women and girls aged 12 and above who used the internet in 2024 experienced cyberbullying in the previous year. One such survivor, Olimpia Coral Melo, whose intimate video was shared without her consent in 2013, describes how digital violence invades every aspect of life. At the time, Mexican authorities dismissed her case, insisting no crime existed. Today, thanks to her activism and that of countless other women, the law has changed. Sports journalist Marion Reimers also endured years of coordinated digital abuse for speaking out against sexism, which cost her jobs, damaged her reputation, and affected her mental health. Both women faced institutional denial but transformed that silence into advocacy.
Between 2013 and 2021, survivors mobilized nationwide, pushing legal reforms that culminated in the Olimpia Law, which now criminalizes the production and distribution of intimate content without consent and formally recognizes gendered digital violence. Since then, many countries in Latin America—among them Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina—have amended legislation to address digital violence, while others including Bolivia, Brazil, and several Caribbean nations have passed laws criminalizing its manifestations. Mexico is now launching a Digital Violence Observatory and OlimpiA, an AI tool created by survivors to provide support in 30 languages, available 24/7.
UN Women, supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, is strengthening Mexico’s response by building a National Observatory on Digital Violence and leading a public awareness campaign for the 16 Days of Activism titled “It is real. #ItIsDigitalViolence.” Experts stress, however, that justice requires specialized institutional capacity and accountability from tech platforms.
In Bolivia, feminist data activist Grecia Tardío is documenting how political violence against women has shifted online through her work with La Lupa Digital and UN Women’s project “Connected and Free from Violence.” After her own account was hacked and years of evidence were erased, she became an advocate for secure digital environments and data-driven responses. But survivors there face immense legal barriers: Bolivia lacks comprehensive digital rights laws, prosecutions are rare, and authorities often lack technical literacy and gender sensitivity. The result is widespread impunity.
Tardío warns that when women in public life are silenced, democracy itself is weakened. Bolivia may have strong gender parity on paper, she says, but persistent digital abuse forces many women to withdraw or remain quiet.
Supported by UN Women and the Spanish Cooperation Agency, Bolivia has launched the country’s first national survey on women’s digital experiences, produced a digital safety toolbox for justice and legal institutions, and trained more than 500 officials. The initiative has strengthened institutional coordination, improved reporting pathways for survivors, and secured public recognition of digital violence as a form of gender-based violence.
Across Latin America, the fight continues. Digital violence threatens freedom of expression, safety, and equal participation—but survivors are transforming fear into power, forging new laws, building tools, and defending democracy. Their message is clear: silence is no longer an option, and the digital world must be a place where women can speak, lead, and thrive without fear.
