It’s time to close the digital gender gap, hold tech platforms accountable and ensure women can participate safely in online spaces, says Christine Arab, regional director of UN Women Asia and the Pacific, as we kick off the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence campaign
The Internet can be a space of freedom—where ideas can flow and voices can transcend borders. But for millions of women, it has also become a place where they are being harassed, threatened and humiliated online, sometimes with devastating real-life consequences. What begins on-screen often spills over into offline violence, with up to 20 per cent of women globally reporting having faced offline attacks linked to online abuse.
Violence against women has always been one of the most egregious forms of gender-based inequalities, but it has found new breeding ground in the digital world. Artificial intelligence is being used to create fake sexual images—90 per cent being of women. Anonymous accounts circulate lies and threats. Social media algorithms feed discrimination. And misogynistic content contributes towards the normalisation of violence. For every story of online abuse that makes headlines, countless others remain hidden—women silenced by fear, shame or disbelief.
Christine Arab (Photo: UN Women/Montira Narkvichien)
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Asia’s digital divide and the spread of online abuse
In South Asia, around three in five young women are offline compared to just one in three young men. At a time when it is more important than ever to support equality and to leverage the incredible opportunities digitalisation and artificial intelligence provide young people, the digital realm is seeing the expansion of the manosphere and online misogyny. Three in four women’s civil society organisations in Southeast Asia experience online harassment and trolling, compared to two in four non-women-led organisations.
Across Asia and the Pacific, women in public life—journalists, politicians, entrepreneurs, peacebuilders, community leaders, artists, influencers and human rights defenders—face heightened risks. Three in four women journalists globally experience online violence in their work. Sixty per cent of women parliamentarians surveyed in Asia and the Pacific report being targeted by hate speech, disinformation, image-based abuse or unwanted disclosure of personal data online—the highest rate for any region. Many even end up withdrawing from public life to protect themselves and their families. When women are forced into silence, society loses their voices, ideas and leadership.
