Young women bear brunt of online violence – report

The digital transformation sweeping across Africa, once a promising gateway to innovation and social inclusion, has morphed into a landscape of gendered exclusion. 

A new study published by Paradigm Initiative has found young women across Africa are bearing the devastating brunt of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), with 67 per cent of survey respondents reporting direct victimisation.

Titled ‘Clicks that hurt: An exploratory TFGBV study of survivor narratives’, the report found a gendered pattern of abuse and documents the lived experiences of 276 respondents across Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

Of these, 182 women reported experiencing TFGBV compared to 93 men, underscoring what researchers describe as the "feminisation" of online violence.

Survivors, most of whom are aged 18 to 34, described psychological harm, withdrawal from public life and institutional failures that leave them without recourse.

While no universally accepted definition of TFGBV exists, it is often at the intersection of gender-based violence and information and communication technologies.

Experts described the vice as “Any act that is committed, assisted, aggravated, or amplified by the use of ICTs or other digital tools, that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, or economic harm, or other infringements of rights and freedoms.”

The spectrum of abuse is vast and evolving, ranging from cyberstalking, online harassment, sharing unwanted sexual messages to non-consensual sharing of intimate images, impersonation, deepfake pornography and doxxing.

Mainstream social media spaces such as Facebook, WhatsApp and X remain structurally unsafe for many, especially for women and advocates.

These violations do not remain confined to the virtual realm; they frequently spill into survivors' offline lives, causing emotional, psychological and reputational harm. 

Many respondents described anxiety, emotional distress and isolation. 

"Yes, someone posted a video of me…and claimed that I was sleeping with my daughter... The trolling and abuse was massive, I almost committed suicide," one survivor shared.

While 56 per cent of respondents were aware of platform reporting mechanisms, only 42 per cent actually used them. 

Alarmingly, 38.8 per cent reported receiving no meaningful support after reporting incidents. Formal systems, including the police and employers, are often underutilised by survivors who fear societal stigma, victim-blaming, or anticipated inaction from authorities.

The normalistion of TFGBV, often resulting from recurrence, emerged as a key concern.

"It's so common that it's become normal... I was also harassed by a man who had feelings for me that I didn't share. He attacked me many times on social media and email and sent messages to my family, friends and even at work. This has been going on for over 10 years," a survivor narrated. 

Survivors often resort to self-censorship, withdrawing from platforms entirely, or relying solely on friends and family for support. 

Telling a friend was one of the most common responses, cited by 42.8 per cent of respondents, while only 8.7 per cent reported abuse to police.

Awareness of national laws addressing TFGBV is uneven: 47.5 per cent indicated knowledge of relevant legislation, while 41.3 per cent were unaware and 10.9 per cent unsure. Even among those aware of legal frameworks, practical access and enforcement remain significant concerns.

The report highlights that Facebook was the most common platform for incidents, with 139 respondents reporting abuse there, followed by WhatsApp with 118. Twitter and Instagram were also cited, though with comparatively lower incidence.

Another survivor's experience underscored the importance of understanding exposure patterns.

“There was someone who used to send me messages on Snapchat and then on Instagram. At the time, I didn’t see our conversations as anything serious, just two ‘friends’ (he was much older than me, and I was a minor)," the survivor narrated.

"But looking back, I realised that it was harassment because he was pressuring me to send things I didn’t want to send (and which I refused, of course).”

Due to the multifaceted and overlapping nature of TFGBV and with respondents reporting more than one type of abuse, understanding the specific forms of harm is critical “for designing targeted interventions, platform policies and support mechanisms that address the unique challenges posed by each type of abuse, from harassment and sexualised messaging to image-based violations and identity exploitation”.

To address the systemic gaps in digital safety, the report advocates for a coordinated, multi-stakeholder response. National governments are urged to modernise legal frameworks by expanding the definition of gender-based violence to include ICT-related violations and establishing specialised, survivor-centred law enforcement units. 

To improve access to justice for gender-based violence survivors, interventions must adopt trauma-informed and victim-centred approaches to protect survivors from further harm. Service staff should be trained professionals who respond with sensitivity and understanding, ultimately preventing re-traumatisation.

While calling for implementation of mandatory professional training and funding digital literacy campaigns to bridge existing knowledge gaps, the study recommends "safety-by-default" platform designs and stronger partnerships with African digital rights groups to better contextualise local harms. 

Technology companies must establish transparent, multilingual reporting systems and improve detection for high-prevalence abuses like non-consensual image sharing. 

Civil society should strengthen rapid response helplines and community-based reporting alternatives.

The African Union is encouraged to develop a harmonised continental framework that sets minimum standards for platform accountability and supports cross-border cooperation on cyber investigations to ensure justice for survivors.