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As technology evolves, so do the ways in which violence is perpetrated. From image-based abuse to AI-generated sexual deepfakes, technology-facilitated gender-based violence is growing in scale and complexity. During this year’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the UN in New York, experts and advocates came together to explore why recognising this form of violence, and acting on it, can no longer wait.
When a woman reports being sexually harassed in virtual reality and is told to “just take the headset off”, the message is painfully familiar. It’s the digital equivalent of telling someone, “Don’t wear that dress.”
Violence against women and girls has expanded into digital spaces. From image-based abuse and online stalking to doxxing, sextortion and AI-generated sexual deepfakes, technology is creating new ways to perpetrate harm—often faster than laws, policies and public awareness can keep up.
This growing threat, known as technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), was the focus of a side event organised by ABAAD, Equimundo, Rutgers and Sonke, during this year’s Commission on the Status of Women. The event brought together activists, researchers and technology experts with one clear message: online violence is real violence and tackling it requires action from governments, civil society, technology companies and all of us.
Online violence is real violence
Gathered opposite the iconic United Nations Headquarters, the venue quickly filled to capacity. Moderated by Kinda Majari from ABAAD (Resource Center for Gender Equality in Lebanon), the event featured five speakers whose experiences and expertise highlighted the urgency of addressing TFGBV.
Nina Jane Patel, co-founder and President of Research & Safety at Kabuni, challenged the persistent belief that abuse in digital spaces is somehow less harmful than violence offline.
“Research shows that our brain and physiological body responds to digital environments and experiences just as we do in the physical world. Our brain is not advanced enough to differentiate between what is physical and what is virtual. A threat is a threat and our bodies will respond.”
Drawing on her own experience of sexual harassment in the metaverse, Patel explained how easily online abuse is dismissed.
“Don’t choose a female avatar.” “Just take the headset off.” “Don’t use virtual reality.”
“For me,” she said, “these comments are equivalent to ‘don’t wear that dress’, ‘don’t look at that man in that way’ or ‘you were asking for it’.”
Patel warned that society has become conditioned to accept misogyny and abuse as inevitable parts of online life.
“We’ve accepted that when we enter our digital worlds we will be subjected to misogyny and abuse every time we log in. This digital violence seeps into all aspects of our lives. Accepting this behaviour is no longer an option.”
The same inequalities exist online
Abishiag Wabwire, project coordinator at the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-U), demonstrated that while technology has changed, the root causes of gender-based violence have not.
“Patriarchy and misogynist tendencies have migrated online,” she explained. “Men continue to assert entitlement to women’s bodies and women’s attention.”
Uganda is one of the few African countries with legislation addressing TFGBV. Yet, Wabwire noted, laws intended to protect survivors can still reinforce patriarchal norms when they are poorly implemented.
She called on civil society organisations to increase awareness so survivors recognise that violence experienced online is still violence and know where to seek support. She also stressed the importance of holding governments accountable for implementing and enforcing legislation effectively.
Technology amplifies existing violence
Sandra Khalil, Trust and Safety Lead at All Tech Is Human, emphasised that technology is not confined to digital spaces. Even people who rarely go online can be affected if someone in their network—or an abuser—uses technology against them.
She explained that online abuse often spills into offline life, making it harder to separate digital harms from physical ones.
Traditional forms of gender-based violence such as harassment and stalking have not disappeared—they have been amplified. Technology enables abuse to spread further, faster and in increasingly sophisticated ways, creating new challenges for prevention, accountability and survivor support.
A revolution we can still shape
Closing the event, Dawn, Gender-Based Violence Advisor at UNFPA, reminded participants that today’s technological transformation also presents an opportunity.
“We are living through the fourth industrial revolution. We have the capacity, the ability and the opportunity to influence this revolution.”
She urged everyone—from policymakers and technology companies to communities and individuals—to help create safer digital spaces by educating, legislating and innovating against TFGBV.
“Creating a safer digital space is not only a technical challenge but a societal imperative.”
Her final message was simple:
“Get involved.”
Technology will continue to evolve, and so will the ways in which violence is perpetrated. The discussions at CSW made one thing clear: technology-facilitated gender-based violence is not a niche digital issue—it is a human rights issue. Recognising it, preventing it and responding to it must become part of how we build safer societies, both online and offline.
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For more information the Generation Gender partnership research: Decoding technology facilitated-gender based violence: a reality check from seven countries, visit this page and sign up be amongst the first to receive a copy of the report.