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Across Africa and the world, the promise of digital technology has opened doors to education, entrepreneurship and global connection. Yet for many women and girls, those same digital spaces have also become new battlegrounds for violence and abuse. As online platforms grow, so too does a dangerous and often overlooked form of harm: technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
Globally, justice systems are struggling to respond. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), legal frameworks and law enforcement institutions frequently fail to deliver justice for survivors of gender-based violence, particularly when that violence occurs online. Digital abuse, including the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyber harassment and online stalking, is widespread and growing rapidly, yet it remains underreported, under-criminalised and rarely prosecuted.
This reality forms the backdrop to global discussions taking place this month at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Leaders, activists and policymakers are gathering to mark International Women’s Day and the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, where the call for rights, justice and concrete action for women and girls will take centre stage.
Despite decades of advocacy, progress remains painfully slow. UNFPA estimates that about 840 million women worldwide have experienced intimate partner or sexual violence in their lifetime. Of these, approximately 316 million women were subjected to intimate partner violence within the last year alone. Yet fewer than 40 per cent of survivors seek help, and even fewer report their experiences to legal authorities such as the police. For many, the justice system remains inaccessible, unaffordable or unsympathetic.
The challenges are even more severe when violence is carried out through digital tools. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence often spreads quickly across online platforms, leaving survivors exposed to harassment, threats and public humiliation. At the same time, legal systems frequently lack the tools or political will to pursue perpetrators.
In Kenya, Queentah Wambulwa knows these realities all too well. One morning she woke up to a flood of notifications on her phone. Someone had posted naked photos and videos of her in a local Facebook group in her village. The images were private photographs she had shared with a former boyfriend during a long-distance relationship.
Without her consent, the material spread rapidly online. Soon, the online abuse spilled into her daily life. Strangers confronted her in public, making degrading comments about the images. She also received threatening phone calls from individuals claiming to be police officers who accused her of sharing indecent content.
Seeking justice proved equally painful. When she attempted to report the incident to police, she was met with blame rather than support. Officers told her that the case was not criminal, but a matter of indecent behaviour on her part. When she tried again, she was advised to hire a lawyer, something she could not afford.
Even if the case had proceeded, the penalties available under the law would have been minimal. The legal punishment for sharing intimate images in Kenya carries a penalty of two years in prison and a fine of 250,000 Kenyan shillings. For Ms Wambulwa, that punishment would not have reflected the lifelong psychological impact of the abuse she endured.
Many survivors of digital abuse retreat from online spaces altogether, losing access to education, social networks and economic opportunities. But Ms Wambulwa chose a different path. Instead of withdrawing, she turned her experience into advocacy.
She went on to become a therapist and established the Girls For Girls Africa Mental Health Foundation, a registered non-profit organisation providing trauma-informed psychosocial support for survivors of digital abuse. Through her work, she is also advocating for stronger legislation to protect women and girls online.
Her story is one of many driving the growing global movement to address technology-facilitated violence. Recently, UNFPA concluded a two-day virtual symposium focused on ending digital gender-based violence. The event was co-hosted by UNFPA, Global Affairs Canada and the Association for Progressive Communications, bringing together advocates, researchers and technology experts to examine emerging threats and possible solutions.
Further advocacy is expected to continue in New York, where UNFPA Global Champion Shudufhadzo Musida will help spotlight the issue during events connected to the Commission on the Status of Women. Musida has also spoken publicly about the deep psychological harm caused by digital abuse, noting that violence carried out in the virtual world can trigger real and lasting fear, anxiety and loss of self-esteem.
The fight against digital violence is becoming one of the defining human rights challenges of the digital age. For Africa in particular, where millions of young women are coming online for the first time, the stakes are high. The continent’s digital future must be built on safety, dignity and accountability. As African societies continue to grow, innovate and shape the global conversation on technology and rights, the voices of survivors and advocates remind the world that justice in the digital era is not optional. It is essential.
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