Each year, Equality Now marks the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence to amplify survivors’ voices and advocate for justice systems that respond to the needs of survivors.
Beginning on 25 November, with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and concluding on 10 December with Human Rights Day, Equality Now, along with women’s rights organisations and activists worldwide, unite to demand action to end sexual violence in all its forms, including in digital spaces.
As technology becomes increasingly embedded in daily life, online spaces have become new frontiers of sexual exploitation, violence and impunity. Digital harms often deepen and accelerate the violence women and girls already experience offline.
From image-based sexual abuse and cyber-harassment to threats that lead to real-world attacks, survivors are left navigating laws and justice systems that fail to recognise, prevent or prosecute these violations effectively.
Technology-facilitated violence against women and girls causes real harm. Online abuse can include harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation, rape threats, and the non-consensual distribution of sexual images. These harms can spill over into offline life, escalating to harassment, coercion, rape, and other forms of abuse.
Yet access to justice, and even access to safe online spaces, remains deeply unequal. Worldwide, marginalised groups face greater barriers to reporting, legal protection, and remedy.
Applying a gender-sensitive, intersectional lens to issues of online safety, protection, and access to justice is crucial to developing legal frameworks that ensure accountability, protection, and equitable access for all.
Women and girls worldwide need legal systems that uphold accountability and ensure justice online and offline alike.
Violence against women and girls in digital spaces is escalating. It intersects with broader forms of sexual violence, causing significant trauma that often spills into offline harms and exposes gaps in legal protection.
Our research across South Asia, Latin America, the US, and Eurasia shows that young people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and marginalised groups face disproportionate barriers to justice and safe participation online.
Some governments are beginning to take action. Denmark has recently introduced legislation protecting personal digital likeness and safeguarding against deepfakes. Nations still lack adequate laws, enforcement, or trained legal actors to address these harms effectively.
Without swift action, survivors continue to be left unprotected, and digital spaces remain unsafe.
Governments and law enforcement worldwide must:
Equality Now works with governments, judicial actors, advocates, and underrepresented groups to strengthen legal protections for survivors and secure access to justice that reflects the lived realities of women and girls.
We advocate for laws grounded in international human rights standards. These laws must centre on freely given consent and recognise technology-facilitated abuse. Through our global legal and policy work, we challenge harmful stereotypes, close gaps in legislation, and push for justice systems that respond effectively to digital and sexual violence.
As a founding member of the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights (AUDRi), we advocate for digital spaces founded on and regulated by the principles of safety, freedom, and dignity. Through convening and co-creating solutions with partners, we promote digital governance that respects all human rights.
At the international level, we contributed a gendered perspective to the Global Digital Compact (GDC), under the Pact for the Future, ensuring women’s and girls’ experiences inform future UN digital regulations and international cooperation for safe and inclusive digital spaces.