Ljubica Fuentes, a former law student in Ecuador, first faced harassment after challenging a sexist remark made by her professor. What began as mockery on campus quickly escalated into a wave of digital threats across social media, including rape threats and warnings that someone had been hired to physically harm her. Fearing for her safety, she left the country mid-semester. Today, she is a human rights lawyer and founder of an organization dedicated to combating gender-based violence in higher education.
Her experience reflects a global crisis in which digital abuse has become a widespread yet often invisible form of violence. Studies show that between 16 and 58 percent of women worldwide have faced technology-facilitated abuse, and online harassment surged dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fuentes explains that digital spaces allow perpetrators to hide behind anonymity, amplifying the reach and severity of misogynistic attacks.
Digital violence inflicts real harm on women and girls far beyond the online environment. Fuentes describes the constant pressure to self-censor, knowing that any post or comment could trigger further abuse. Young women, activists, journalists and women in public life face disproportionately high levels of online harassment, which can lead to withdrawal from education, mental health challenges, decreased public participation and, in severe cases, escalated physical violence.
Despite the scope of the problem, many countries lack adequate laws to prosecute online abuse. Survivors often face long waits, limited legal recourse and normalized dismissals from authorities. Tech companies have also been slow to assume responsibility for harmful content on their platforms. In response, Fuentes’ organization now works with hundreds of students and young people to prevent violence, develop safety protocols in universities, provide legal support and lead advocacy campaigns.
Her work is part of broader efforts supported by the ACT Programme, which aims to strengthen feminist organizations and expand protections for women and girls. Yet funding cuts to women’s rights organizations worldwide have weakened essential services and reduced access to support for survivors, underscoring the urgency of sustained investment.
Fuentes emphasizes that systemic change is needed to confront digital violence effectively. Governments must adopt comprehensive laws, universities must create clear protocols, and tech companies must invest in safer digital spaces. She also encourages women and girls facing abuse to seek support, disconnect when needed, and remember that harassment is never their fault.
Despite everything she endured, Fuentes continues her advocacy and even served as the legal representative against the professor who once told her women could not be lawyers. Her fight is driven by a commitment to ensure that future generations do not face the same violence she experienced.
