Violence against women no longer exists as a phenomenon confined to the physical world. As a consequence of the rise of digital technologies, a new type of harm has developed. Cyber Violence against Women and Girls (CVAWG) represents a relatively new, but pervasive dimension of gender-based violence. From targeted harassment and deepfake abuse to non-consensual sharing of intimate images and stalking, this form of gender-based cyberviolence represents such an insidious part of cyberspace as a consequence of its invisibility, with attacks happening behind screens, anonymously, and across platforms we use daily.
While digital platforms have offered an unprecedented chance for individuals to connect across communities, these same platforms have provided abusers with new tools towards violence and harassment. In a December 2024 briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), it has been made clear that this new wave of cyberviolence against women requires a coordinated legal, technological, and cultural response.
Cyberviolence Against Women and Its Forms
Cyberviolence does not fit into one category. It can include cyberstalking, harassment, doxxing, threats of sexual violence, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and more recent forms of abuse like AI-generated deepfake pornography. In many cases, the abuse mimics or is an extension of real-life violence.
According to the Council of Europe’s definition, cyberviolence consists of “the use of computer systems to cause, facilitate, or threaten violence against individuals, that results in physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering and may include the exploitation of the individual’s circumstance, characteristic or vulnerabilities.” Women, especially those vocal in the public sphere, such as journalists, politicians, or activists, are disproportionately targeted. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) emphasises that gender-based cyberviolence often intersects with race, age, disability, sexuality, and profession, thus creating further layers and intersections of vulnerability.
Platforms and their roles
An important element of what makes cyberviolence so damaging is the digital infrastructure itself. Digital platforms are not neutral spaces. The combination of their design choices, moderation policies, and algorithms all play an important role in how cyberviolence against women spreads and how it often remains unchecked. On mainstream platforms like X, YouTube, or Instagram, posts depicting forms of harassment and abuse are often algorithmically boosted. Hate content that provokes an emotional response from the public generates more engagement, which in turn is interpreted as higher relevance. This leads to abusive content often reaching wider audiences, which in turn only amplifies the harm to the victim.
Encrypted platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp are often used to coordinate attacks and share non-consensual content. The platforms’ privacy features, while important for security, lead to abusers being shielded from their actions. Telegram hosts bots specifically designed to scrape, archive, and redistribute non-consensual images. Some are even pay-to-access, which results in abuse being turned into a business model.
European regulations have started to address the issue. The Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect in 2024, places legal obligations on large platforms to remove illegal content promptly and effectively. This includes deepfakes and non-consensual sexual imagery. However, enforcement remains inconsistent as some platforms headquartered in the EU have been notoriously slow to cooperate, with some even suing the European Commission.
The increased role of AI
The rise of artificial intelligence has put cyberviolence in a new context. Deepfake generators are now able to produce highly realistic and sexually explicit videos of women who never consented to such depictions. In most cases, such technology requires only a simple social media picture clearly depicting the face of the victim. As of 2024, over 90% of deepfake content was pornographic, nearly all of it targeting women. AI also has the ability to automate harassment campaigns, scrape private data, and even mimic behaviour. In one case mentioned by the EPRS, AI-assisted tools were used to predict a woman’s location and behaviour based on a single image. This technological progress is being weaponised faster than it can be regulated, and thus requires dedicated attention from the general public and lawmakers alike.
Europe’s legal response
In 2024, the European Union adopted the Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence, a directive which includes several forms of cyberviolence, such as cyberstalking, cyberharassment, cyberflashing, and the non-consensual sharing of manipulated material, as EU-level crimes. The directive also makes online reporting and legal support more accessible to victims and recognises the targeted digital abuse that women in public life specifically face.
Still, the legal scene across EU Member States remains quite fragmented. Some countries, like Romania and Cyprus, have passed specific laws targeting gender-based cyberviolence, while other countries rely heavily on general criminal law or do not include the digital dimension in their legislation.
While the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the DSA include provisions to support the removal of harmful content, complete removal of such content proves to be extremely difficult in practice, especially as victims must locate and report every instance of abuse across multiple platforms, some of which are unregulated or hosted outside the EU’s jurisdiction.
Moving forward: Towards inclusive policy, platform accountability, and media literacy
Overall, there is a real need for stronger, more inclusive policies both at an EU and national level, policies that effectively reflect the realities of online abuse and take into account the different ways that victims experience harm, especially when factors like race, sexuality, disability, or profession make them even more vulnerable. Concurrently, a stronger focus should be put on platforms. They should be held to higher standards, with clear responsibilities, transparency on how content is moderated, as well as fast and effective processes to deal with abuse when it happens. Voluntary self-regulation by platforms has proven ineffective. A new regulatory framework is required in order to ensure that the digital space does not become a threatening environment for women and girls.
While more inclusive legislation is one of the main pillars in combating cyberviolence against women, legislation by itself is not enough. A more interconnected approach needs to be implemented, one that relies on prevention, education, platforms assuming responsibility, and support for victims. Civil society is playing an important role too, by offering hotline services, legal aid, digital safety education, and concurrently increasing public awareness. Campaigns like Ireland’s “No Excuses” or Belgium’s online portal for victims provided by the Institute for Equality between Women and Men help shift public understanding while simultaneously offering support to victims. The EU’s Gender Equality Strategy (2020-2025) explicitly presents online violence as a barrier to women’s participation in public life.
Media literacy is an important tool in combating cyberviolence against women. Empowering individuals with the skills to critically engage with media and recognise patterns of violence and abuse, as well as responding to such content, is essential in creating a safer online environment. When individuals understand how platforms function, how abuse is structured, and how digital tools can be turned into weapons, they are better positioned to protect themselves and others.
Ultimately, media literacy encourages solidarity. It helps people act in a way beyond recognising and reacting to online abuse, and instead react with empathy and support. When communities understand the dynamics of digital forms of harm, they become better equipped to provide solidarity, share safety resources, and push back against harmful behaviour. In such a way, media literacy becomes more than a personal skill; it becomes a shared tool for resilience and collective action.
Cyberviolence is more than just a personal attack. It is a structural barrier to equality. The presence of women in digital spaces is essential for a democratic society to function correctly, so women being driven offline by abuse only risks entrenching inequality in the very platforms that are crucial to public discourse. This evolving form of violence can only be confronted through a collective response, where legislation, platform accountability, and cultural awareness through media literacy advance hand in hand to protect women online.
References:
Related Posts
Violence against women no longer exists as a phenomenon confined to the physical world. As a consequence of the rise of digital technologies, a new type of harm has developed. Cyber Violence against Women and Girls (CVAWG) represents a relatively new, but pervasive dimension of gender-based violence. From targeted harassment and deepfake abuse to non-consensual sharing of intimate images and stalking, this form of gender-based cyberviolence represents such an insidious part of cyberspace as a consequence of its invisibility, with attacks happening behind screens, anonymously, and across platforms we use daily.
While digital platforms have offered an unprecedented chance for individuals to connect across communities, these same platforms have provided abusers with new tools towards violence and harassment. In a December 2024 briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), it has been made clear that this new wave of cyberviolence against women requires a coordinated legal, technological, and cultural response.
Cyberviolence Against Women and Its Forms
Cyberviolence does not fit into one category. It can include cyberstalking, harassment, doxxing, threats of sexual violence, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and more recent forms of abuse like AI-generated deepfake pornography. In many cases, the abuse mimics or is an extension of real-life violence.
According to the Council of Europe’s definition, cyberviolence consists of “the use of computer systems to cause, facilitate, or threaten violence against individuals, that results in physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering and may include the exploitation of the individual’s circumstance, characteristic or vulnerabilities.” Women, especially those vocal in the public sphere, such as journalists, politicians, or activists, are disproportionately targeted. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) emphasises that gender-based cyberviolence often intersects with race, age, disability, sexuality, and profession, thus creating further layers and intersections of vulnerability.
Platforms and their roles
An important element of what makes cyberviolence so damaging is the digital infrastructure itself. Digital platforms are not neutral spaces. The combination of their design choices, moderation policies, and algorithms all play an important role in how cyberviolence against women spreads and how it often remains unchecked. On mainstream platforms like X, YouTube, or Instagram, posts depicting forms of harassment and abuse are often algorithmically boosted. Hate content that provokes an emotional response from the public generates more engagement, which in turn is interpreted as higher relevance. This leads to abusive content often reaching wider audiences, which in turn only amplifies the harm to the victim.
Encrypted platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp are often used to coordinate attacks and share non-consensual content. The platforms’ privacy features, while important for security, lead to abusers being shielded from their actions. Telegram hosts bots specifically designed to scrape, archive, and redistribute non-consensual images. Some are even pay-to-access, which results in abuse being turned into a business model.
European regulations have started to address the issue. The Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect in 2024, places legal obligations on large platforms to remove illegal content promptly and effectively. This includes deepfakes and non-consensual sexual imagery. However, enforcement remains inconsistent as some platforms headquartered in the EU have been notoriously slow to cooperate, with some even suing the European Commission.
The increased role of AI
The rise of artificial intelligence has put cyberviolence in a new context. Deepfake generators are now able to produce highly realistic and sexually explicit videos of women who never consented to such depictions. In most cases, such technology requires only a simple social media picture clearly depicting the face of the victim. As of 2024, over 90% of deepfake content was pornographic, nearly all of it targeting women. AI also has the ability to automate harassment campaigns, scrape private data, and even mimic behaviour. In one case mentioned by the EPRS, AI-assisted tools were used to predict a woman’s location and behaviour based on a single image. This technological progress is being weaponised faster than it can be regulated, and thus requires dedicated attention from the general public and lawmakers alike.
Europe’s legal response
In 2024, the European Union adopted the Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence, a directive which includes several forms of cyberviolence, such as cyberstalking, cyberharassment, cyberflashing, and the non-consensual sharing of manipulated material, as EU-level crimes. The directive also makes online reporting and legal support more accessible to victims and recognises the targeted digital abuse that women in public life specifically face.
Still, the legal scene across EU Member States remains quite fragmented. Some countries, like Romania and Cyprus, have passed specific laws targeting gender-based cyberviolence, while other countries rely heavily on general criminal law or do not include the digital dimension in their legislation.
While the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the DSA include provisions to support the removal of harmful content, complete removal of such content proves to be extremely difficult in practice, especially as victims must locate and report every instance of abuse across multiple platforms, some of which are unregulated or hosted outside the EU’s jurisdiction.
Moving forward: Towards inclusive policy, platform accountability, and media literacy
Overall, there is a real need for stronger, more inclusive policies both at an EU and national level, policies that effectively reflect the realities of online abuse and take into account the different ways that victims experience harm, especially when factors like race, sexuality, disability, or profession make them even more vulnerable. Concurrently, a stronger focus should be put on platforms. They should be held to higher standards, with clear responsibilities, transparency on how content is moderated, as well as fast and effective processes to deal with abuse when it happens. Voluntary self-regulation by platforms has proven ineffective. A new regulatory framework is required in order to ensure that the digital space does not become a threatening environment for women and girls.
While more inclusive legislation is one of the main pillars in combating cyberviolence against women, legislation by itself is not enough. A more interconnected approach needs to be implemented, one that relies on prevention, education, platforms assuming responsibility, and support for victims. Civil society is playing an important role too, by offering hotline services, legal aid, digital safety education, and concurrently increasing public awareness. Campaigns like Ireland’s “No Excuses” or Belgium’s online portal for victims provided by the Institute for Equality between Women and Men help shift public understanding while simultaneously offering support to victims. The EU’s Gender Equality Strategy (2020-2025) explicitly presents online violence as a barrier to women’s participation in public life.
Media literacy is an important tool in combating cyberviolence against women. Empowering individuals with the skills to critically engage with media and recognise patterns of violence and abuse, as well as responding to such content, is essential in creating a safer online environment. When individuals understand how platforms function, how abuse is structured, and how digital tools can be turned into weapons, they are better positioned to protect themselves and others.
Ultimately, media literacy encourages solidarity. It helps people act in a way beyond recognising and reacting to online abuse, and instead react with empathy and support. When communities understand the dynamics of digital forms of harm, they become better equipped to provide solidarity, share safety resources, and push back against harmful behaviour. In such a way, media literacy becomes more than a personal skill; it becomes a shared tool for resilience and collective action.
Cyberviolence is more than just a personal attack. It is a structural barrier to equality. The presence of women in digital spaces is essential for a democratic society to function correctly, so women being driven offline by abuse only risks entrenching inequality in the very platforms that are crucial to public discourse. This evolving form of violence can only be confronted through a collective response, where legislation, platform accountability, and cultural awareness through media literacy advance hand in hand to protect women online.
References:
Related Posts
Violence against women no longer exists as a phenomenon confined to the physical world. As a consequence of the rise of digital technologies, a new type of harm has developed. Cyber Violence against Women and Girls (CVAWG) represents a relatively new, but pervasive dimension of gender-based violence. From targeted harassment and deepfake abuse to non-consensual sharing of intimate images and stalking, this form of gender-based cyberviolence represents such an insidious part of cyberspace as a consequence of its invisibility, with attacks happening behind screens, anonymously, and across platforms we use daily.
While digital platforms have offered an unprecedented chance for individuals to connect across communities, these same platforms have provided abusers with new tools towards violence and harassment. In a December 2024 briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), it has been made clear that this new wave of cyberviolence against women requires a coordinated legal, technological, and cultural response.
Cyberviolence Against Women and Its Forms
Cyberviolence does not fit into one category. It can include cyberstalking, harassment, doxxing, threats of sexual violence, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and more recent forms of abuse like AI-generated deepfake pornography. In many cases, the abuse mimics or is an extension of real-life violence.
According to the Council of Europe’s definition, cyberviolence consists of “the use of computer systems to cause, facilitate, or threaten violence against individuals, that results in physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering and may include the exploitation of the individual’s circumstance, characteristic or vulnerabilities.” Women, especially those vocal in the public sphere, such as journalists, politicians, or activists, are disproportionately targeted. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) emphasises that gender-based cyberviolence often intersects with race, age, disability, sexuality, and profession, thus creating further layers and intersections of vulnerability.
Platforms and their roles
An important element of what makes cyberviolence so damaging is the digital infrastructure itself. Digital platforms are not neutral spaces. The combination of their design choices, moderation policies, and algorithms all play an important role in how cyberviolence against women spreads and how it often remains unchecked. On mainstream platforms like X, YouTube, or Instagram, posts depicting forms of harassment and abuse are often algorithmically boosted. Hate content that provokes an emotional response from the public generates more engagement, which in turn is interpreted as higher relevance. This leads to abusive content often reaching wider audiences, which in turn only amplifies the harm to the victim.
Encrypted platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp are often used to coordinate attacks and share non-consensual content. The platforms’ privacy features, while important for security, lead to abusers being shielded from their actions. Telegram hosts bots specifically designed to scrape, archive, and redistribute non-consensual images. Some are even pay-to-access, which results in abuse being turned into a business model.
European regulations have started to address the issue. The Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect in 2024, places legal obligations on large platforms to remove illegal content promptly and effectively. This includes deepfakes and non-consensual sexual imagery. However, enforcement remains inconsistent as some platforms headquartered in the EU have been notoriously slow to cooperate, with some even suing the European Commission.
The increased role of AI
The rise of artificial intelligence has put cyberviolence in a new context. Deepfake generators are now able to produce highly realistic and sexually explicit videos of women who never consented to such depictions. In most cases, such technology requires only a simple social media picture clearly depicting the face of the victim. As of 2024, over 90% of deepfake content was pornographic, nearly all of it targeting women. AI also has the ability to automate harassment campaigns, scrape private data, and even mimic behaviour. In one case mentioned by the EPRS, AI-assisted tools were used to predict a woman’s location and behaviour based on a single image. This technological progress is being weaponised faster than it can be regulated, and thus requires dedicated attention from the general public and lawmakers alike.
Europe’s legal response
In 2024, the European Union adopted the Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence, a directive which includes several forms of cyberviolence, such as cyberstalking, cyberharassment, cyberflashing, and the non-consensual sharing of manipulated material, as EU-level crimes. The directive also makes online reporting and legal support more accessible to victims and recognises the targeted digital abuse that women in public life specifically face.
Still, the legal scene across EU Member States remains quite fragmented. Some countries, like Romania and Cyprus, have passed specific laws targeting gender-based cyberviolence, while other countries rely heavily on general criminal law or do not include the digital dimension in their legislation.
While the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the DSA include provisions to support the removal of harmful content, complete removal of such content proves to be extremely difficult in practice, especially as victims must locate and report every instance of abuse across multiple platforms, some of which are unregulated or hosted outside the EU’s jurisdiction.
Moving forward: Towards inclusive policy, platform accountability, and media literacy
Overall, there is a real need for stronger, more inclusive policies both at an EU and national level, policies that effectively reflect the realities of online abuse and take into account the different ways that victims experience harm, especially when factors like race, sexuality, disability, or profession make them even more vulnerable. Concurrently, a stronger focus should be put on platforms. They should be held to higher standards, with clear responsibilities, transparency on how content is moderated, as well as fast and effective processes to deal with abuse when it happens. Voluntary self-regulation by platforms has proven ineffective. A new regulatory framework is required in order to ensure that the digital space does not become a threatening environment for women and girls.
While more inclusive legislation is one of the main pillars in combating cyberviolence against women, legislation by itself is not enough. A more interconnected approach needs to be implemented, one that relies on prevention, education, platforms assuming responsibility, and support for victims. Civil society is playing an important role too, by offering hotline services, legal aid, digital safety education, and concurrently increasing public awareness. Campaigns like Ireland’s “No Excuses” or Belgium’s online portal for victims provided by the Institute for Equality between Women and Men help shift public understanding while simultaneously offering support to victims. The EU’s Gender Equality Strategy (2020-2025) explicitly presents online violence as a barrier to women’s participation in public life.
Media literacy is an important tool in combating cyberviolence against women. Empowering individuals with the skills to critically engage with media and recognise patterns of violence and abuse, as well as responding to such content, is essential in creating a safer online environment. When individuals understand how platforms function, how abuse is structured, and how digital tools can be turned into weapons, they are better positioned to protect themselves and others.
Ultimately, media literacy encourages solidarity. It helps people act in a way beyond recognising and reacting to online abuse, and instead react with empathy and support. When communities understand the dynamics of digital forms of harm, they become better equipped to provide solidarity, share safety resources, and push back against harmful behaviour. In such a way, media literacy becomes more than a personal skill; it becomes a shared tool for resilience and collective action.
Cyberviolence is more than just a personal attack. It is a structural barrier to equality. The presence of women in digital spaces is essential for a democratic society to function correctly, so women being driven offline by abuse only risks entrenching inequality in the very platforms that are crucial to public discourse. This evolving form of violence can only be confronted through a collective response, where legislation, platform accountability, and cultural awareness through media literacy advance hand in hand to protect women online.
References:
