For three years, thousands of angry messages poured into American actress Azie Tesfai's phone from a man she'd never seen nor met.
One day, the anonymous interaction turned into physical stalking. He texted her exactly what she was wearing.
"There is a specific terror in being watched by someone without a face," Ms. Tesfai told UN officials, Goodwill Ambassadors and civil society representatives in New York commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women .
The unwanted attention soon turned into explicit death threats. Ms. Tesfai informed the police but they failed to offer any protection.
"There is legally nothing we can do," she was told, since it was all digital and the stranger had no name.
One femicide every 10 minutes
Over 80,000 women and girls were killed intentionally last year according to a new report on femicide by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime ( UNODC ).
Over half of those femicides occurred at the hands of intimate partners or family members. That means one woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member almost every 10 minutes . In contrast, only 11 per cent of male homicides were perpetrated by intimate partners or family members during the same year.
This year's campaign targets digital violence and calls on governments to implement laws that end impunity, technology companies to ensure the safety of platforms, and donors to support organizations in eradicating violence.
Read our explainer on femicide here .
Growing digital abuse
"Almost every high-ranking woman in public life I have met throughout the last years, be it a journalist, an activist, a politician, faces escalating digital harassment, sexualised abuse and threats of physical violence," said UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.
According to the report, increased access to digital tools has exacerbated existing forms of violence against women and girls while also giving rise to new forms of violence such as non-consensual image-sharing, doxing and deepfake videos.
Digital violence, which also includes cyberbullying, cyberstalking and sexual harassment, can result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political or economic harm.
"The purpose has always been the same - to intimidate, to humiliate and especially to silence," said Ms. Baerbock.
"With the rapid advances in artificial intelligence, the scale and speed of this abuse is growing beyond anything we have seen before."
Ending impunity
"The challenges are formidable," warned UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. "Survivors face disbelief. Abusers enjoy impunity."
One of the main barriers to fighting digital violence against women and girls is the absence of legal foundations and regulations around the world to ensure safety.
Ms. Bahous proposed three solutions to end impunity. First, digital violence must be recognised as actual violence; second, justice systems must hold technology companies accountable, and finally, there must be more investment in prevention and response.
"Until the law treats digital predation as harm, we are expected to protect ourselves by becoming invisible," Ms. Tesfai said, recalling the many instances of digital abuse she's faced.
Echoing the UN's push for digital violence to be treated as real violence, she added that "we deserve laws that protect us while we are still alive to be protected."
