Violence, abuse against women a growing global crisis
More than two-thirds of female journalists, rights defenders and activists reported violence online; More than 40 percent said they had encountered real-world attacks related to digital exploitation.
A study published on Tuesday by UN Women and partners focuses on the rise of such violence against women, alongside the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, and draws on input from more than 6,900 human rights defenders, journalists and activists in 119 countries.
The report follows a similar report published in 2021 by UNESCO, the UN cultural and educational agency.
“Online violence against women has become a growing global crisis,” UN Women said. “What starts on the screen can quickly lead to harassment, intimidation and even harm in the real world.”
Nearly 41 percent of survey respondents said they had experienced offline assault, abuse or harassment linked to physical or sexual assault, stalking, verbal abuse and online violence in the form of “bagging,” a tactic designed to get authorities to respond to an address by making false claims of internal violence.
Female writers, influencers and social media content providers focused on human rights are most affected by this type of online violence through the use of new tools such as deepfakes or manipulated content, according to the study compiled with partners such as the European Commission and TheNerve, a data research firm.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, lead researcher Julie Posetti said the number of real-world cases of harm linked to online violence against female journalists had more than doubled in the past five years, with 42 per cent of respondents identifying “this dangerous and potentially fatal trajectory” in 2025.
Posetti also expressed concerns about the “digital misogyny” and “manosphere” promoted by some high-profile online influencers, as well as personal attacks by government leaders, including US President Donald Trump, against some female journalists.
“When a president, a prime minister or a senior official makes such outrageous comments, it tends to incite the mob on the internet,” he said.
“This isn’t even a dog whistle, some kind of subtle way of triggering a mob response. This is a clear attack,” added Posetti, a professor of journalism and director of the Information Integrity Initiative at TheNerve.
The authors call for stronger laws and better monitoring to detect technology-related violence against women, greater accountability for tech companies, and increased efforts to amplify the voices of men and others who speak out against such practices.
“Women who speak out, report or lead social movements for our human rights are targeted with harassment designed to shame, silence and sideline them from public debate,” said UN Women Policy Director Sarah Hendricks.
“Increasingly, these attacks don’t end on the screen; they end at women’s front doors.”
