What was once hailed as a vehicle for empowerment has, for millions of women and girls, become a source of fear.
Fuelled by artificial intelligence, anonymity, and weak accountability, online abuse is rapidly escalating. Yet, 1.8 billion women and girls still lack legal protection from online harassment and other forms of technology-facilitated abuse.
The alarm is being sounded this week by the UN agency for women's rights, gender equality and women's empowerment ( UN Women ) as the 16 Days of Activism campaign begins, calling for urgent action against soaring digital violence.
The space has become a frontline in the fight for gender equality, with less than 40 per cent of countries having laws addressing cyber harassment or cyberstalking, leaving perpetrators largely unchallenged and victims without justice.
'What begins online, doesn't stay online'
For women, the internet offers both empowerment and danger: a place for expression and opportunity, but also a growing weapon in the hands of abusers.
Women leaders, journalists, activists, and public figures face relentless gendered disinformation, deepfake attacks, and coordinated harassment campaigns designed to silence, shame, and push them out of public life. One in four women journalists report receiving online death threats.
"What begins online doesn't stay online. Digital abuse spills into real life, spreading fear, silencing voices, and - in the worst cases - leading to physical violence and femicide," said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
Adding that laws must evolve with technology to ensure that justice protects women both online and offline, Ms. Bahous added that it was "unacceptable" that weak legal protections still leave millions of women and girls vulnerable, while perpetrators act with impunity.
Through its 16 Days of Activism campaign, UN Women calls for a world where technology serves equality, not harm.
AI drives new wave of digital abuse
The rise of AI has dramatically amplified digital abuse , making it faster, more targeted, and harder to detect. According to one global survey, 38 per cent of women have experienced online violence, and 85 per cent have witnessed it.
AI-powered deepfake technology is being weaponised on a large scale: up to 95 per cent of online deepfakes are non-consensual pornographic images, and 99 per cent of those targeted are women.
Digital abuse isn't confined to screens. Online attacks quickly spill into real life, escalating in severity.
Many deepfake tools, developed by male teams, are not even designed to work on images of men, underscoring the gendered nature of this technology.
UN Women urges tech companies to step up by hiring more women, creating safer online spaces, swiftly removing harmful content, and responding effectively to reports of abuse.
Activist Laura Bates warns against minimising the harm. "The online-offline divide is an illusion," she said.
"When a domestic abuser uses online tools to track or stalk a victim, when abusive pornographic deepfakes cause a victim to lose her job or access to her children, when online abuse of a young woman results in offline slut-shaming and she drops out of school - these are just some examples that show how easily and dangerously digital abuse spills into real life."
Legislation a work in progress
From the UK's Online Safety Act to Mexico's Ley Olimpia - Australia's Online Safety Act and the EU's Digital Safety Act - change is on the way.
As of 2025, 117 countries report efforts to address digital violence, but progress remains fragmented and regulation often lags technological advances.
AI and technology policy experts are calling for stronger global cooperation and more effective laws to address AI-driven digital abuse.
Policymakers must tailor approaches to national contexts and cultural realities rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all model for AI governance.
Prevention beyond punishment
UN Women emphasises that prevention must go beyond punishment. It calls for companies to hire more women in tech development, build safer platforms, remove harmful content swiftly, and embed accountability into AI design.
The UN agency also stresses investments in digital literacy, especially for young people, and culture-change programmes that challenge toxic online communities, including the growing "manosphere".
Listen back to our interview with UN Women's Kalliopi Mingeirou, who leads the effort to end violence against women and girls, on the alarming spread of online misogyny:
