Beijing+30 Youth Blog: What happens online doesn’t stay online – it spills into real life and threatens women’s safety and wellbeing

Violence against women shatters lives and basic human rights. It harms not only the survivors but also their families and entire communities. Today, this violence has taken a new and insidious form - technology-facilitated violence, which spreads rapidly through social media and digital tools.

Technology-facilitated violence – also known as online or digital violence - is not separate from real-world violence. Women encounter danger in many spaces: their workplaces, schools, homes, and now across their screens, where direct threats and harmful comments follow them. It is the same problem in a new form, driven by long-standing discrimination and harmful stereotypes about women that have existed for generations.

According to research by Jigsaw, 85% of women globally have experienced or witnessed online violence, and half of them fear for their physical safety as a result. The same research shows that women are 27 times more likely than men to experience technology-facilitated violence. What happens online doesn’t stay online – it spills over into real life, creating serious risks to the safety and wellbeing of women and girls.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action calls for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls throughout their lives. In recognizing that violence occurs in both physical and digital spaces, I believe it is critical to develop targeted measures to prevent and address digital violence, including online harassment, cyberbullying, and the non-consensual sharing of personal data and images. Special attention must be given to protecting the girls, who are particularly vulnerable to online exploitation, harassment, and abuse.

As a gender equality and women’s rights activist, I have experienced digital violence firsthand. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I organized online workshops for women on “Gender-Based Digital Violence,” reaching over 100 participants. These virtual spaces became safe and empowering havens where we shared stories, deepened our understanding of digital abuse, and built resilience together.

Working closely with women and girls who had experienced digital violence helped me realize I was not alone in this struggle. It reinforced my belief that addressing digital violence is a collective responsibility - and that solidarity, awareness, and advocacy are powerful tools for change.

Creating safe, inclusive, and empowering digital spaces is not only essential for protecting the rights and wellbeing of women and girls - it is also a necessary step toward achieving true gender equality, including in the technology sector.

What can be done to prevent technology-facilitated violence?

Preventing all forms of violence against women requires action from everyone: individuals, communities, civil society organizations, and governmental institutions. Social media companies also play a key role in preventing digital violence and reducing its impact on women and girls.

In particular, governments must invest in training judicial officials to respond to online violence with a human rights-based and gender-sensitive approach. Women and girls need accessible, clear information on how to report technology-facilitated violence and access essential support services.

We must also strengthen institutional and extrajudicial protocols and codes of conduct for law enforcement agencies responding to digital violence and share good practices across all sectors to improve prevention and response efforts.

Technology and social media companies must take greater responsibility. These platforms should set high standards for user safety and collaborate with civil society to expand safe internet initiatives for women, youth, and children. Equally important are accessible and transparent reporting mechanisms and access to free support services for all users.

Above all, we must recognize internet access as a basic human right – and work together to protect that right for everyone. By uniting efforts across society, we can accelerate progress toward safer, more inclusive digital space for all.

Zeynep Dilruba Taşdemir. Photo: Personal Archive

Biography: Zeynep Dilruba Taşdemir is a 26-year-old women’s rights activist and a social worker living in Türkiye. She graduated from the Department of Social Work at Hacettepe University in 2021. She has previously worked at the Habitat Association and the UNDP Türkiye office. Since 2020, she has volunteered with UN Women as a National Gender Youth Activist. She is currently studying for a master’s degree in Social Work at Hacettepe University.

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This blog post is part of the Beijing+30 “Speak Youth to Power” series, and the opinions and views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of UN Women, the United Nations, or its Member States.