Five things to know about sexual violence in digital spaces

Technology has expanded the ways we connect, communicate, and share our lives, but it has also created new opportunities for abuse. Sexual violence in digital spaces mirrors and amplifies the patterns of harm that exist offline. Understanding how these forms of violence occur and how the law can effectively respond is essential for protecting rights and ensuring justice. Here are five quick takeaways about what you should know about digital sexual violence.

1. Sexual violence includes both offline and online acts, and consent is central

According to the United Nations, sexual violence refers to any act of a sexual nature imposed on someone without freely-given and ongoing consent. It can occur through physical contact or in digital spaces, where technology is used to exploit, humiliate, or control someone.

Online forms of sexual violence include:

• The non-consensual sharing of intimate images or videos;
• AI-generated “deepfake” pornography created without consent;
• Sexualized threats, harassment, or extortion;
• Online grooming and coerced sexual activity via digital means.

Both offline and online, these acts stem from the same dynamics: power, inequality, and the denial of bodily autonomy. Recognising the absence of consent as the key element is consistent with international human rights law and helps ensure that justice systems respond effectively.

2. Digital spaces have changed the scale and impact of violence against women and girls

Technology has made sexual violence more public, more permanent, and more difficult to escape. Once intimate content is shared online without explicit permission from the depicted individual, it can spread instantly, across multiple borders and legal jurisdictions,  and be nearly impossible to remove from digital platforms, leading to repeated trauma and loss of privacy.

Artificial intelligence has added new risks. Deepfake pornography, where AI creates realistic sexual images or videos without consent, is being used to target women in politics, journalism, and entertainment. Equality Now’s analysis of global trends shows that such technology is increasingly weaponised to silence women in public life, discouraging political participation and amplifying harassment.

There remains a concerning lag in the development of laws to address harms present in emerging technologies (as outlined in our reviews of laws addressing deepfakes and digital doxing around the world). Some countries are recording how fast the problem is growing and are trying to address the urgent need for robust safeguards, including:

• The United States: Following a steady increase in online sexual exploitation and abuse, lawmakers finally took action by passing the Take It Down Act, which was signed into law on May 19, 2025. The law makes it a federal crime to post sexually-explicit content, including AI-generated deepfakes, without the person’s consent.
• UK: The Online Safety Act (2023) criminalised sharing or creating explicit deepfakes without consent. 
• On 25 November 2025, Ofcom, the UK regulator, released its ‘Safer Life Online for Women and Girls’ Guidance for Tech Companies, which outlines nine action areas for addressing online gender-based harms. 
• South Korea: Authorities recorded over 800 deepfake-related sexual crimes in a single year, leading to stronger criminal penalties.
• Denmark: In response to the rapid spread of deepfake imagery, policymakers introduced a bill that is expected to pass in 2026 that would change copyright law to protect a person’s “likeness” by banning the sharing or imitation of citizens’ personal characteristics online without their consent. 

Most initiatives are relatively new or still in the process of being adopted, and in some cases, they are not considered robust enough. It is therefore still early to assess their effectiveness. 

3. Legal definitions shape how justice is delivered for survivors online and offline

How a country defines sexual violence determines how it is investigated and prosecuted. In many jurisdictions, rape laws still hinge on proof of force or resistance rather than the lack of consent. This makes justice extremely difficult to access, forcing survivors to demonstrate that they physically fought back or were visibly harmed. Such an approach ignores the reality that many survivors may be unable to resist, may be incapacitated, or may freeze during the assault, leaving countless cases outside the law’s narrow parameters.

Survivors of digital violence face similar barriers. Many have experienced stalking, harassment, or had sexually explicit, defamatory, or humiliating images or comments about them shared online, often across multiple platforms. The impact is severe: self-withdrawal from digital spaces, emotional trauma, backlash for speaking out, and even professional repercussions. Yet legal systems are still struggling to recognise online abuse as a form of violence, especially in cases where no physical contact occurs. This gap leaves law enforcement without the tools or understanding needed to respond effectively. The narrow focus on physical contact leaves survivors unprotected and reinforces outdated ideas of what counts as violence. The result is a landscape of limited legislation and weak protections that discourage survivors from coming forward.

Therefore, Laws must be fit for purpose in addressing the realities of violence in the digital space, acknowledging that violations can be perpetrated without any physical contact. Legal frameworks need to explicitly recognise these harms and clearly criminalise acts such as the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, deepfakes, and other forms of digital sexual abuse. This requires not only enacting dedicated offences, but also providing clarity on their legal elements, and taking into account that digital sexual violence is likely to evolve with emerging technologies.

4. Access to justice depends on how systems respond, both online and offline

Even with strong laws, survivors often struggle to access justice. Police and prosecutors may lack the training or resources to investigate online crimes, while survivors face stigma and disbelief. Gathering digital evidence can be complex, requiring coordination between law enforcement, sometimes across multiple jurisdictions,  and technology companies. 

• Inadequate Legal Frameworks: Many jurisdictions lack comprehensive laws that specifically address digital sexual violence and accountability of tech companies, leading to gaps in legal protections.
• Lack of Training for Law Enforcement: Police and judicial authorities often lack the necessary training to handle digital evidence and understand the complexities of online abuse, resulting in the mishandling of cases.
• Victim Blaming and Stigma: Survivors frequently face victim-blaming attitudes, both from the public and within legal institutions, which can deter them from reporting incidents.

5. A gender-aware approach makes responses more effective

Research shows that online sexual violence disproportionately affects women and girls, reflecting broader gender inequalities. Laws or policies that are “gender-neutral” often fail to address how these harms are experienced or the social and reputational damage they cause.

The Global Digital Compact, along with human rights treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention of Belém do Pará, recognises that technology-facilitated sexual violence is part of the continuum of gender-based violence. Addressing it requires tailored prevention measures, survivor-centred investigations, and remedies that reflect the reality of digital harm.

Sexual violence in digital spaces is not a new type of harm; it is a new arena for the same patterns of abuse rooted in inequality and power. Understanding consent as the cornerstone of all sexual violence laws, applying gender-specific analysis, and ensuring meaningful access to justice are essential steps to protecting rights in both digital and physical spaces.