Digital violence is increasingly affecting women and girls across the Asia-Pacific region, with harmful online terms and harassment creating hostile digital spaces. Despite technology’s potential to empower, 44% of women and girls worldwide lack legal protection from online abuse, while many incidents go unreported due to shame, social stigma, and fear of retaliation. UN Women reports that nearly 40% of women have experienced online abuse, and 80% have witnessed it, with 60% of women parliamentarians in the region subjected to gender-based cyberviolence. UNDP emphasizes that such abuse extends beyond digital spaces, undermining democratic participation and social inclusion, yet only one-third of countries have protective laws.
The UN’s annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, running from 25 November to 10 December, highlights the need for safe, inclusive digital spaces. UNDP’s Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja, stresses that digital transformation should empower, not endanger, women and girls. UNDP collaborates with governments, tech companies, civil society, and other partners to close systemic gaps enabling technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and advance digital safety across the region.
In Pakistan, rising TFGBV amid expanding digital connectivity prompted the Balochistan Bar Council and UNDP, under the EU-funded Deliver Justice Project, to convene women lawyers for the second annual Women Lawyers Conference in Quetta. Discussions focused on legal gaps, evidence collection, and creating safer digital spaces. UNDP has partnered with government agencies to develop a coordinated TFGBV Strategy to empower survivors, strengthen access to justice, and enable sustainable national and provincial responses.
Sri Lanka has responded to the rise in online hate content with the “Ensuring Justice for Survivors of SGBV” project, in coordination with UNFPA and the Ministry of Justice and funded by the Government of Canada. The project launched a unified, victim-friendly online reporting platform through SLCERT to streamline cybercrime and harassment complaints, supporting survivors and improving coordination between authorities.
In Indonesia, the UNDP GBV Initiative Project is enhancing police capacity to investigate digital sex crimes using a survivor-centered approach. Training, victim-centric reporting, and public education aim to address gaps in handling the 36,148 GBV cases recorded in 2025, of which only 12.8% were resolved, highlighting the need for effective reporting and justice mechanisms.
Ahead of elections in Bangladesh, UNDP and UN Women convened dialogues with political parties, civil society, and gender experts to address digital violence against women in politics. Recommendations included adopting a dedicated code of conduct, establishing monitoring and complaint systems, and assigning focal points within parties to protect women leaders. These measures aim to safeguard women’s political voices and ensure full electoral participation.
In the Republic of Korea, UNDP, in partnership with the Korean National Police Agency and women’s civil society, is embedding TFGBV reporting in tech solutions and strengthening protections for Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders from online attacks.
At the regional level, UNDP convened the 2025 Global Policy Dialogue on TFGBV and Cybersecurity in Bangkok, collaborating with the Korean National Police Academy to translate commitments into survivor-centered policies. Gerd Trogemann, Manager of the Regional Programme and Global Policy Network, emphasized that coordinated action across justice systems, digital governance, education, civil society, and the private sector is essential to ensure digital transformation benefits, rather than endangers, women and girls. As the 16 Days of Activism concluded, UNDP underscores that there is no excuse for online abuse and collective action is critical to building safe, empowering digital spaces.
