DIGITAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

EXPLORING THE ROOT CAUSES

Digital Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), also called technology-facilitated VAWG (TF VAWG), refers to acts committed, assisted, or amplified through digital technologies that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, psychological, social, political, or economic harm (UN Women, 2024). It includes online harassment, image-based abuse, doxing, sextortion, cyberstalking, deepfake pornography, gender-based hate speech, cyber-flashing, and more (UNRIC, 2024). Global studies indicate that 16–58% of women and girls have experienced some form of online violence.

While all women are at risk, those in public life; journalists, activists, politicians, human rights defenders and marginalized groups face disproportionate targeting. Online abuse often spills offline, compromising women’s safety at home, in workplaces, and in public spaces. Addressing digital VAWG therefore requires confronting the root societal drivers that make online spaces unsafe.

ROOT CAUSES OF DVAWG

Structural Gender Inequality and Patriarchy:

The core driver of digital VAWG is entrenched gender inequality. Patriarchal norms position women as subordinate, making their presence, especially in public or political spaces, subject to policing and hostility. The perpetrator’s objective is often to shame, intimidate, surveil, or silence women through manipulation or control of their communication channels (AI, 2018). Patriarchy normalizes male aggression and reinforces the idea that women’s voices are less legitimate, creating an environment where digital abuse is trivialized or excused.

Sociocultural Norms and Misogynistic Narratives:

Deep-seated norms that reinforce male authority, entitlement, and control contribute significantly to digital VAWG. Cultural settings that normalize violence or stigmatize survivors create conditions where online abuse is more readily justified. Exposure to family-level violence, rigid gender roles, and misogynistic socialization reproduces harmful stereotypes (Alesina et al., 2021; Flood & Pease, 2009; Ismayilova, 2015; Sikweyiya et al., 2020). This weakens the recognition of equal rights and dignity for women and girls, legitimizing online harm and perpetuating gender hierarchies.

Harmful Masculinities:

UNESCO experts emphasize that violence against women is overwhelmingly men’s violence, rooted in power, entitlement, and impunity (UNESCO, 2023). Online ecosystems such as the “manosphere” including extremist groups and incel communities amplify misogyny at scale. These networks spread sexist narratives in viral, shareable formats, shaping attitudes among boys and men in schools, workplaces, and interpersonal relationships. The anonymity and reward structures of digital spaces further embolden these harmful masculinities.

Digital and Media Amplifiers:

Technology accelerates VAWG through platform design, weak governance, and algorithmic optimization. Algorithms prioritize provocative, polarizing content, including misogynistic messages because they generate engagement. When platforms use gender-neutral safety policies that ignore the disproportionate targeting of women, they contribute to impunity. Mass media, advertisements, and gaming content frequently objectify women, reinforcing misogyny and legitimizing violence (Flood & Pease, 2009). Rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) also intensify risks: 90–95% of all deepfakes online are non-consensual pornographic images, with about 90% depicting women (Sensity AI, 2019). AI tools facilitate targeted disinformation and enable image-based abuse at unprecedented speed and scale.

THE IMPACT OF DVAWG

Digital VAWG causes harm comparable to offline violence (MESCEVI & UN Women, 2022), including depression, self-harm, suicide (World Wide Web Foundation, 2020), and PTSD symptoms from continuous abuse (Kavanagh & Brown, 2020). Young women and girls often feel unsafe, lose confidence, and experience emotional distress or academic disruption (Plan International, 2020). It silences women in public spaces, with 30% of women journalists self-censoring due to online GBV (Posetti et al., 2021) and widens the digital gender divide as many withdraw from online activity (UN Women, 2020). Democracy is weakened as women in politics face disproportionate attacks (Oates et al., 2019), gendered disinformation discourages political ambition (Hicks, 2021), and online VAWG contributes to women opting out of re-election.

Conclusion

Digital VAWG is not a technology problem; it is a societal problem that technology amplifies. Addressing it demands transforming gender norms, challenging harmful masculinities, strengthening legal and platform accountability, and investing in digital citizenship and gender equality education.

The Centre for Alternative Politics and Security–West Africa (CAPSWA) is pleased to join this year’s campaign on Digital Violence Against Women and Girls. Over the next 16 days, we will explore how harmful gender norms, misogynistic online ecosystems, AI-generated tools such as deepfakes, and weak platform accountability are driving new and complex forms of violence in digital spaces. We will also share practical resources, insights, and support pathways for those affected.

Join us as we advocate for safer, more inclusive online environments for every woman and girl in West Africa.

More Resources:

Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU), London Metropolitan University. (2020). The links between radicalisation and violence against women and girls. https://cwasu.org

Lomazzi, V. (2023). The cultural roots of violence against women: Individual and institutional gender norms in 12 countries. Social Sciences, 12(3), 117. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12030117

The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2021). Measuring the prevalence of online violence against women. https://www.eiu.com