Digital safety for all: Ending violence against women and girls
As the digital world becomes an extension of our public spaces, women face new forms of violence online. This 16 Days of Activism, we must confront technology-facilitated abuse, bridge the digital divide, and ensure every woman and girl can participate safely, confidently and freely
The battle against violence targeting women is long, and over time it has found new avenues. Today, it extends beyond physical spaces into the digital world — a realm where women go to learn, connect, earn and lead, but where far too many encounter a warzone of harassment, threats and abuse.
As we mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, under the global theme "UNiTE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls," we must acknowledge a hard truth: the very technology that empowers is also weaponised to harm.
A patriarchal mindset uses online harassment as a tool to control women's choices, mobility and autonomy, seeking to limit their freedom and prevent their dignified participation in public life. Just as offline spaces are dominated by male perspectives, online spaces too must include more women's perspectives being shared, heard, promoted and understood.
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For women in marginalised communities, the challenge is twofold. They face a stark digital divide — many lack regular access to mobile phones or the internet. When access is granted, limited knowledge of safe digital practices increases vulnerability. Structural inequalities feed this exclusion. In Bangladesh, nearly 36% of girls drop out by secondary level, with gender-based violence being one of the main reasons. As a result, financial dependence often follows, leading to tightened control.
This control was echoed in a conversation I recently encountered through our work: "Women cannot use the money earned from rearing ducks and chickens... If we want to buy a mobile phone, they say it's unnecessary. Our wishes have no value." This simple statement reflects the deep-rooted norms that restrict autonomy offline, directly enabling exclusion and vulnerability online.
The national picture is alarming. A joint study by CARE Bangladesh, icddr,b and the JAAGO Foundation revealed that 89% of women in Bangladesh are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). An ActionAid study found that 63.5% of women in Bangladesh experienced online violence in just one year, with 65% of survivors reporting depression and anxiety, and nearly half becoming too afraid to express themselves online. Behind each percentage is a voice silenced and a confidence broken. Globally, an estimated 58% of women face technology-facilitated violence, mirroring our own statistics.
This is not merely a "women's issue"; it is a societal crisis — gouging deep, silent wounds. When fear drives women from digital spaces, we all lose their perspectives, leadership and innovation — from half the population. The "unseen" harm that begins on screen damages mental health, stifles economic opportunity and corrodes democratic participation.
Our path forward requires concerted action.
First, we must strengthen and enforce laws that recognise online abuse as a serious crime, ensuring justice for survivors.
Second, we must invest in digital literacy and safety education from the ground up, ensuring women and girls have the skills to protect themselves, report abuse and claim their digital space with confidence.
Third, technology companies must be held accountable for designing safer, more transparent platforms where safety and freedom of expression are mutually reinforcing goals.
Our collective efforts to advocate for creating more opportunities for women and girls must continue. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that the voices of participants and communities are heard and carried forward to the right places, so we can bring about real change at individual, organisational and systems levels.
Building a truly equitable 21st century is impossible if half the population remains under threat in the digital public square. This 16 Days of Activism, let us commit to a digital world that connects rather than isolates, empowers rather than exploits, and protects dignity above all. The time for decisive action is now — because every woman and girl deserves to live safely and freely, both online and off.
Emebet Menna is the Deputy Country Director for Programs at CARE Bangladesh, with over 17 years of leadership experience in humanitarian and development programming across East Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
