UN Warns of Rising Femicide and Escalating Digital Abuse

Women demonstrate against gender-based violence committed by men.

For three years, thousands of angry messages poured into American actress Azie Tesfai’s phone from a man she had never seen or met.

One day, the anonymous harassment turned into physical stalking. He texted her describing 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 as they commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The unwanted attention soon escalated into explicit death threats. Ms Tesfai informed the police, but they failed to offer protection.

“There is legally nothing we can do,” she was told, because the abuse was digital and the perpetrator was anonymous.

One femicide every 10 minutes

Over 80,000 women and girls were intentionally killed last year, according to a new report on femicide by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

More than half of these femicides were committed by intimate partners or family members. This 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 in the same year.

This year’s campaign highlights digital violence and calls on governments to implement laws that end impunity, technology companies to ensure platform safety, and donors to support organisations working to eradicate violence.

Growing digital abuse

“Almost every high-ranking woman in public life I have met throughout the last years — whether a journalist, activist, or 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 worsened existing forms of violence against women and girls while also giving rise to new forms, such as non-consensual image-sharing, doxing, and deepfake videos.

Digital violence — including cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and online sexual harassment — can cause physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, or economic harm.

“The purpose has always been the same — to intimidate, to humiliate, and especially to silence,” Ms Baerbock said.

“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.”

A major barrier to addressing digital violence is the absence of legal frameworks and regulations to ensure safety.

Ms Bahous proposed three solutions to end impunity. First, digital violence must be recognised as real violence. Second, justice systems must hold technology companies accountable. And finally, investment in prevention and response must increase.

“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 has faced.

Echoing the UN’s call for digital violence to be recognised as real violence, she added, “We deserve laws that protect us while we are still alive to be protected.”