Uzbekistan Launched Global 16-days Campaign to End Digital Violence Against Women

Tashkent, 24 November 2025. The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, in partnership with UN Women Uzbekistan and UN agencies, launched the annual global "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence: UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls” campaign with a high-level roundtable dedicated to ending digital violence against women.

Senior representatives of the Government of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Digital Technologies, law enforcement, civil society, international experts, and all UN agencies operating in Uzbekistan participated in the discussion. Participants emphasized the importance of coordinated actions, stronger protection, and continued collaboration to ensure digital spaces are safe and empowering for all women and girls.

The event was opened by H.E. Tanzila Narbayeva, Chairperson of the Senate of Uzbekistan, who emphasized the urgency of strengthening national and international cooperation to combat violence in all its forms – including emerging threats in digital spaces, and mentioned that digital violence is becoming one of the fastest-growing forms of abuse, requiring urgent, coordinated, and systemic responses. 

"Complete eradication of harmful stereotypes that violate human rights is an important task we face. Combating violence is an ongoing process. It requires the development of new measures in new conditions. All proposals received will be carefully studied, summarized, and analyzed by the Senate and will be taken into account when developing the Senate's work plan for 2026. In this regard, we will closely cooperate with the Cabinet of Ministers and law enforcement agencies," Ms. Narbaeva emphasized in her welcoming speech.

Dr. Sabine Machl, UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan and representatives of other UN agencies reaffirmed that ending violence against women is a shared priority across the UN system and noted, "Uzbekistan has introduced major legal reforms, criminalized domestic violence, expanded gender data systems and strengthened protection services — including in the regions. These reforms form a strong foundation for addressing digital violence — but as digitalization accelerates, laws, services, and awareness should keep pace.”

The Country Program Manager of UN Women Uzbekistan and Head of Central Asian Liaison Office Dr Geren Guven Gures mentioned that despite rapid digitalization, reporting of online abuse and technology-facilitated violence remains extremely low worldwide. At the same time as of 2025, 117 countries reported taking steps to address digital violence; however, responses remain fragmented in the face of what is clearly a transnational threat. “From cyberstalking to non-consensual image sharing and online harassment, these forms of abuse deeply impact women’s mental health, safety, and participation in public life. UN Women calls for stronger global, regional, and national actions to ensure a safer digital environment for women and girls by enhancing international cooperation, increasing support for survivors, strengthening laws and enforcement, urging tech companies to take greater responsibility, and investing in prevention and digital literacy to challenge harmful online norms”.

Uzbekistan has made significant progress in strengthening protections for women and girls over the past years. The adoption of the Law “On the Protection of Women from Harassment and Violence,” the introduction of digital protection orders, and the establishment of 15 rehabilitation centers have expanded access to timely support and justice. Enhanced services such as the nationwide 1146 hotline and crisis-response units in hospitals have helped thousands of survivors receive psychological, legal, and social assistance. Officials emphasized that continued reforms, combined with close cooperation with UN agencies, are essential to ensuring women’s safety both offline and online.

Panel discussions addressed judicial protection, cybercrime prevention, digital literacy, survivor support services, and global good practices. Uzbek influencer Nilufar Sotiboldieva shared her personal experience of surviving a cyberattack, highlighting the human impact behind statistics and why it was important to her to address digital violence: "Unfortunately, many are unaware of the law. But my case reminded everyone that insults and threats online are crimes. I stood up not only for myself, but for every girl and woman who could face digital violence."

According to Dr. Sanzhar Yuldashev, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the Psychological Center "PSIXOSFERA", "A safe digital environment is not a privilege, but a basic psychological necessity. Today, violence has become multilayered: it occurs simultaneously offline and online, crossing over from one reality to the other. Therefore, by protecting women in the digital space, we strengthen their inner freedom, resilience, and right to safety in any environment." 

Anna Ambrozevich, Director of Women in Tech Uzbekistan, noted: “Digital violence often remains invisible, especially in regions where women have limited access to support. Addressing it requires a comprehensive approach: building digital safety skills, creating clear reporting pathways, and reinforcing that speaking up is never shameful. It is critical that this knowledge reaches every school, every university, and every woman across the country.”

As the world marks this year’s 16 Days of Activism, UN Women calls for a world where technology is a force for equality - for harm. 

The digital world promised connection and empowerment – but for millions of women and girls, it has become a world of abuse. Digital abuse – one of the fastest-growing forms of gender-based violence, and it is spreading across borders and platforms, threatening women and girls everywhere – online and offline. Digital violence now spans every corner of the Internet – from online harassment and cyberstalking to doxing, non-consensual image sharing, deepfakes, and disinformation – weaponized to silence, shame, and intimidate women and girls. According to World Bank data, fewer than 40 per cent of countries have laws protecting women from cyber harassment or cyber stalking. This leaves 44 per cent of the world’s women and girls – 1.8 billion – without access to legal protection. 

According to the latest UN Women’s global data, 1 in 3 women experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. Experts say the problem is vast, with anywhere between 16 and 58 per cent  of women and girls face digital violence, and 90-95% of all deepfake videos are sexually images of women. In the ECA region, more than half of women over age 18 who use digital technologies and are present online have experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated violence.

Women in public life, including journalists, activists and political leaders, are disproportionately targeted. Journalists who stop writing after death threats, activists who delete their accounts to protect their families, girls who lose confidence before they’ve even found their voices, women who are stalked, raped, or even killed. The harm may happen online, but its impact is painfully real, seeping into homes, workplaces, and communities. And it’s happening at a time when sweeping aid cuts are forcing women’s organizations around the world to shut down or drastically scale back programmes to end violence against women.

Misogynistic content in the manosphere is fueling the abuse and spreading disinformation and hate. When these toxic ideas go viral, they shape how entire generations see and treat women and girls. Inequality in access and power over technology also deepens the risks for some women and girls, especially those in rural and low-income communities.

This year’s global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign emphasizes the urgent need for countries to strengthen legislation, protect digital rights, and ensure accountability from both perpetrators and technology platforms.

About the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign led by UN Women under the UNiTE to End Violence against Women initiative. It runs each year from 25 November to 10 December, connecting the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Human Rights Day. In 2025, the campaign focuses on ending digital violence against all women and girls – one of the fastest-evolving forms of abuse worldwide. Digital violence includes online harassment, stalking, gendered disinformation, deepfakes, and non-consensual sharing of intimate images, all of which are rising sharply as technology advances.

The 2025 UNiTE campaign calls on governments, technology companies, and communities to act now – to strengthen laws, end impunity, and hold platforms accountable. It urges sustained investment in prevention, digital literacy, and survivor-centred services. It also calls for long-term support to women’s rights organizations that are leading efforts to make digital spaces safe and inclusive for all.

About UN Women

UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality, we shift laws, institutions, social behaviours and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. We keep the rights of women and girls at the centre of global progress – always, everywhere. Because gender equality is not just what we do. It is who we are.