United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

In 2025, UN Women advanced a comprehensive response to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (TF VAWG), strengthening legal, policy, research and advocacy frameworks while consolidating its global leadership in this rapidly evolving area.

Key achievements included the development of the first corporate strategy on TF VAWG, alongside the production of model legal frameworks through global guidance resulting from extensive global and regional expert consultations and the development and adoption of the Inter-American Model Law on Digital Violence by the States Parties to the Belém do Pará Convention, as well as police guidance, global surveys and analytical tools to support Member States in integrating TF VAWG into national legislation and policy frameworks. This work was reinforced through engagement in global processes such as the Global Digital Compact and through partnerships with governments, civil society and the private sector, including by acting as the policy lead of the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. 

These efforts built on comprehensive analysis and evidence-generation, notably on global and regional normative frameworks, government efforts to tackle TF VAWG, and emerging practices globally from relevant stakeholders. UN Women also spearheaded critical research including on AI-enabled violence and a global study on online violence against women in the public sphere. These efforts contributed to advancing standardized definitions and measurement, strengthening the global knowledge base on digital violence.

Through programmes such as the EU-funded ACT initiative, UN Women also strengthened the capacity of feminist movements and civil society actors to address online violence and counter backlash. Prevention efforts included global advocacy campaigns, engagement with men and boys, and partnerships targeting online misogyny and harmful digital norms.

Concrete results included capacity-building and awareness-raising at scale, such as over 10,000 girls trained on digital safety in Nigeria and Kenya, and expanded outreach through global campaigns, with the UNiTE campaign reaching 3.5 million web users (+467%) and generating 7.9 million impressions. 

At country level, a few examples include:

• in Bolivia, UN Women supported the national response to TF VAWG by developing a participatory national policy and toolkit, generating new evidence through the first nationwide survey and digital analysis, training over 500 officials with specialized guidance and materials, and implementing a wide-reaching, culturally grounded communication strategy to raise awareness and prevention;
• in Mexico, UN Women strengthened the national response to TF GBV by generating new evidence through a scoping study, co-developing a Strategic Roadmap with the Secretary of Women, and advancing policy recommendations for prevention, access to justice and platform accountability. It also led the “Es Real. #EsViolenciaDigital” campaign, which reached 38.4 million views in Mexico and expanded access to safety and reporting resources.

Overall, these efforts strengthened global standards, enhanced institutional responses, and advanced integrated approaches to preventing and responding to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.

UN Women is leading efforts to combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence by pushing for laws to protect women and girls, closing data gaps, adapting support services for survivors, and working with men and boys to challenge gender stereotypes and discrimination.   

Shaping laws and policies: UN Women works closely with governments and international bodies through platforms like the Commission on the Status of Women and the UN General Assembly to establish stronger laws that combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Key contributions include supporting and informing frameworks such as the Global Digital Compact, the UNODC Cyber Crime Convention, EU Directive on combating violence against women, and CSW67 Agreed Conclusions. UN Women launched global and regional consultations for legal guidance and in the Americas, UN Women is supporting MESECVI in the development of the Model Law on TF GBV

Supporting feminist movements: UN Women bridges the gap between gender justice and digital rights activism by amplifying the voices of women’s rights organizations and fem-tech activists, ensuring they have the tools, knowledge, and networks to challenge digital exclusion and push for better protection of women and girls. Initiatives such as the EU-funded ACT programme aims to strengthen the digital security and advocacy capacities of women’s rights movements and human rights defenders.

Working with men and boys as allies to transform harmful masculinities. This work includes on-going research with Equimundo to better understand the pathways into misogynistic networks online and entry points for shifting harmful narratives and engaging men and boys to foster positive attitudes towards women and girls. 

Raising public awareness: Through campaigns, educational resources, and bystander intervention programmes, UN Women raises public awareness of such violence and promotes prevention strategies.  Specific examples include:  

• Created a bystander intervention campaign in Latin America to tackle online GBV including for ethical AI use, highlighting risks of automated decision-making reinforcing gender discrimination.

Building knowledge and gathering data: UN Women is closing knowledge gaps by defining technology-facilitated gender-based violence , developing standardized methodologies that countries can use to gather data, as required by the Statistical Commission.  Specific examples include:

• Led the Asia Pacific Learning Series, training 213 EVAWG advocates
• A 2020 regional study provided the first snapshot of women’s online abuse in Asia, followed by the 2023 study on online opposition to gender equality. These findings informed regional advocacy at CSW67 and shaped new  tools for youth and civil society. ROAP also conducted a big data analysis on VAW during the COVID-19 pandemic across eight countries, identifying proxy trends through social media and search behaviours. Regional engagement at SVRI 2024 co-led with WHO and UNFPA helped launch a global TFGBV research agenda. A repository of global TFGBV work ensures continued access to tools and lessons learned

Building partnerships: UN Women collaborates with global initiatives like the Generation Equality Action Coalitions and the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. It also supports initiatives like Women LEAD, which advances women’s leadership while addressing barriers to participation in both digital and physical spaces.