Call to action: UNiTE to end digital violence against all women and girls
Statement and call to action to end digital violence against all women and girls by France on behalf of the High-Level Network on Gender-Responsive Policing to mark the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence.
Women and girls should feel safe in online and digital spaces. However, for far too many, the digital world has become a space where they experience horrific abuse and harassment.
Technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (TF VAWG) disproportionately affects women and girls, with online prevalence ranging from 16 to 58 per cent. Women and girls who face discrimination because of their age, disability or ethnicity, and those in public and political life, are most affected.
Through the increasing availability of digital tools and spaces, many women and girls are experiencing new and disturbing forms of violence, such as non-consensual intimate image-sharing, which include deepfakes produced using generative artificial intelligence.
Digital platforms are also being exploited to spread gendered disinformation, which is fuelling extreme misogyny. Communities involving predominantly male extremist and incel groups are engaging in harmful rhetoric against women, girls and other groups and reinforcing violent behaviour – both online and offline. Images posted online can be the impetus for perpetrating honour-based crimes offline in communities where family and community honour codes are prevalent – with devastating consequences.
As part of the Secretary-General’s UNiTE campaign this year, we call for coordinated, swift and effective police responses to digital violence against women and girls in all its forms. Addressing this violence is a matter of urgency.
Law enforcement is often the first line of defence against perpetrators. Its actions can protect and improve the safety of victims and survivors of online abuse. A girl’s or woman’s initial contact with the police directly affects how they will subsequently navigate the justice system. Police can act now to respond to TF VAWG and keep women and girls safe and reduce the risk of secondary victimization.
Understanding the severity of TF VAWG and the harm it causes victims and survivors is central to this response. An online threat can cause prolonged psychological distress to women and girls.
Building on the significant progress already achieved in police response to these forms of violence, further improvements could include a victim/survivor-centred, trauma-informed and context-led approach to better connect women and girls with support, such as health, legal and social services, as well as guidance on securing their digital presence. In some countries, law enforcement has already taken steps in this direction by introducing secure online reporting portals, which can encourage enhanced reporting for those who wish to report incidents.
Victims and survivors should never have to assume the burden of responding to the risks created by technological tools.
Judicial systems and social media platforms must also be held accountable. Police should use existing legislation that addresses different forms of TF VAWG, such as stalking or online hate speech, to guide their responses. They should reach out to digital platforms to take down abusive content and/or share information that would help to identify perpetrators – especially those who are anonymous. Where there is no legislation or a lack of laws governing TF VAWG, police may consider pivoting to international norms and police good practices, such as establishing specialized units for investigations of crimes of digital violence or e-safety Commissioners that raise awareness of TF VAWG.
Police need ongoing training that is flexible and contextualized, and that considers the resources, culture and capacities of different police organizations. Cybercrime units should also receive training in identifying and responding to gender-related digital violence.
TF VAWG is a global problem that requires a comprehensive, multisectoral response. We encourage police organizations to seek and establish partnerships with private and public stakeholders in the tech and social media industries, non-governmental organizations with tech expertise, and women’s rights organizations for prevention-based digital safety. Raising awareness within communities and encouraging reporting of incidents supports prevention and early intervention.
France is leading State efforts within the High-Level Network on Gender-Responsive Policing[1] to address and prevent TF VAWG. Currently, twenty-two countries from the Network have committed to advancing gender-responsive policing, including strengthening institutions, preventing and responding to all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including violence against women and girls and ensuring perpetrator accountability.
“Online violence against women and girls - in all its newest forms - is rapidly escalating. We need to increase our understanding and knowledge of how this violence can impact victims and survivors in order to respond more effectively.” - Representative from the French Ministry of the Interior
Every contact leaves a trace, and positive engagement with law enforcement depends on its ability to take a girl’s or woman’s complaint of TF VAWG seriously and investigate, ensure their immediate safety, dignity and privacy and provide them with the support they need, and to hold perpetrators to account.
Let’s act to stop digital abuse now.
[1] Albania, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Latvia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Niger, Peru, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay.
