New evidence brief on the escalation of online violence against women in the public sphere

New evidence brief on the escalation of online violence against women in the public sphere

UN Women has released a new evidence brief: Tipping point: The chilling escalation of online violence against women in the public sphere (2025). It highlights how online attacks are now spilling offline, affecting women’s safety, well-being, and ability to participate freely in public debate. It also explores how new technologies, including artificial intelligence, are making abusive content easier to create and harder to control, further heightening risks for women in public life.

The brief draws on a global multilingual survey of women human rights defenders, activists, and journalists in 119 countries, which was overseen by academic researchers at City St George’s, University of London between August and November 2025.

The brief describes how online platforms reflect systemic violence against women:

“Online violence is an escalating threat to women’s participation in public life and democratic deliberation in the AI Age, especially in the context of rising authoritarianism, increased repression of women’s rights organizations, and networked misogyny. It is designed to stymie women’s freedom of expression and part of a burgeoning strategy to roll back their hard-won right to gender equality and empowerment.”

Key findings

• 70% of women human rights defenders, activists, journalists and media workers surveyed have experienced online violence in the course of their work
• 24% said that they had experienced AI assisted online violence
• 41% experienced offline attacks, abuse or harassment that they linked with online violence
• 42% of women journalists and media workers surveyed said that they had experienced offline harm triggered by online violence — more than double the incidence rate recorded in 2020

Conclusions

• Urgent responsive measures are needed to address the very real risk of physical harm caused by online violence.
• Since generative AI tools became mainstream around 2022, it has suddenly become much easier and cheaper to produce realistic and abusive content like deepfakes – in turn, this content becomes increasingly amplified by algorithms as it drives engagement.
• Addressing the challenges posed by online violence is two-fold: develop tools to better identify, monitor, report and repel AI-assisted online violence, and develop legal and regulatory mechanisms to require Big Tech companies to prevent their technologies being deployed against women in the public sphere in ways which undermine their rights to gender equality, democratic participation, and freedom of expression.

Next steps

UN Women intend to publish further reports drawing on this survey data in 2026, including:

• The intersectional exposure and impacts of online violence directed at women human rights defenders, activists, journalists, writers and other public communicators who experience multilayered attacks targeting other aspects of their identity such as race, religion, and sexual orientation; and,
• A survey of respondents’ attitudes towards, and experiences of, responsive mechanisms designed to address online violence against women, including legal and judicial remedies.

‍

Related UN Women technology-facilitated violence against women reports

How AI is exacerbating technology-facilitated violence against women and girls - UN Women (2025)

Generative AI has intensified technology-facilitated violence against women and girls by enabling large-scale abuses such as deepfakes, disinformation, automated harassment, impersonation, sextortion, and data-driven stalking - forms of violence that disproportionately harm women in the public eye. This UN Women paper analyses the legal, ethical, and accountability challenges posed by digital tools that drive AI-driven abuse, and maps how they amplify existing inequalities and forms of online violence. It also highlights emerging AI-based prevention efforts and offers concrete recommendations for governments, platforms, and other stakeholders to ensure AI technologies uphold women’s rights, safety, and autonomy.

Global trends to prevent and respond to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls: A compendium of emerging practices - UN Women (2025)

This compendium compiles, reviews, and organizes emerging practices to address digital violence against woman and girls. It is a living document that provides an overview of emerging practices and interventions by different actors, with a focus on governments, civil society organizations, and technology companies. It showcases select laws, policies, programmes, and initiatives, and highlights global trends in addressing, preventing, and responding to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.

UN Women strategy: Preventing and eliminating technology-facilitated violence against women and girls - UN Women (2025)

This strategy, which aligns with the 2026-2029 Strategic Plan, sets out UN Women’s approach to tackling the growing threat of technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. It sets out a human rights-based, gender-responsive and inclusive vision for safer digital spaces, and across all areas of UN Women’s work. As well as identifying key drivers of violence and gaps in existing responses, it outlines five pathways for action:

• strengthening norms and standards;
• expanding data and evidence;
• transforming social norms and digital ecosystems;
• improving survivor-centred and justice-focused responses; and
• amplifying women’s voice, agency, digital resilience, and leadership.

For more research on technology-facilitated abuse, you can search our Vine library database here.

For an overview of technology-facilitated violence against women and children, see our previous 2025 news stories: Netsafety Week 2025: Resources on technology-facilitated violence and online safety and Public submissions open for inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders encounter online.

‍

Related news

Deepfake Bill pulled from the biscuit tin

In October 2025, Act party MP Laura’s McClure’s Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill was pulled from the biscuit tin. The bill, currently before Parliament, would ensure the production of sexual deepfakes are covered by the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

Eleanor Parkes on behalf of ECAPT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) New Zealand spoke to Stuff News about X’s Grok and its production of sexualised deepfake images:

“The issue is that in New Zealand we haven’t yet had a discussion around how we see privacy in an AI world, and we don’t yet have a shared understanding around privacy and AI-generated images. Until we have regulations and policies supporting that vision and those values, just banning things is a bit of a piecemeal and reactive approach.”

Canterbury University senior law lecturer and online abuse expert Dr Cassandra Mudgway told Stuff News that New Zealand's law is behind many other countries when it comes to deepfakes:

"We are treating fakes differently to real images. We are suggesting that a real sexualised image that's shared without consent… we assume that the harm has already been done. The only concern was whether it was shared without consent. Whereas if it's a deepfake, not real, you've suddenly got all of these additional hurdles. The bill seeks to redress that."

‍

Related publications

Below is a selection of recent publications related to online violence against women, children, and public figures.

Inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders encounter online, and the roles that Government, business, and society should play in addressing those harms: interim report (2025)

This is an interim report on an inquiry conducted by Parliament's Education and Workforce Committee that examines the nature, severity, and prevalence of online harm experienced by young New Zealanders. It summarises information and advice the Committee received and provides an overview of current efforts to address online harm. A final report is due to follow in early 2026.

Misogyny, racism, and threats to our families: a qualitative study of harassment of female politicians (2025)

This qualitative study explores the experiences and impacts of harassment among female Members of Parliament (MPs) in New Zealand. It analyses four key themes in the abuse MPs, their staff, and their families face and links these to wider challenges for democracy and representation.

Free to lead: Backing your people to stay safe online – e-learning course

Manatū Wāhine | Ministry for Women have created an online course for employers to help support their employees to stay safe online. This free e-learning course discusses online violence and positions appropriate support for employees as both a matter of wellbeing and a core responsibility for employers in Aotearoa. The wider Free to Lead Toolkit, along with a complementary course for individuals, can be found here.

Characteristics of image‑based sexual abuse recorded by police (2025)

This Australian bulletin describes the findings of an analysis of 771 individuals proceeded against by police for image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) offences in four jurisdictions in 2022–23. Most alleged offenders were men aged 25-34 perpetrating IBSA against women. In addition to identifying other trends and subtypes, the bulletin discusses implications for prevention and detection of IBSA offending.

First report on UK Speaker’s Conference on the security of MPs, candidates and elections (2025)

This is a UK House of Commons committee report with recommendations to UK government on the safety and security of MPs. It summarises the initial work the committee has undertaken to examine the escalating abuse and threats public service figures face.