Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

As two billion people prepare to vote in 2024 and social media platforms are undergoing a seismic shift, women are faced with an unenviable choice: to participate in public life and be subjected to vile technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), or to stay silent. TFGBV—which encompasses gendered disinformation and abuse, doxxing, and threats, among other online harms—is a burgeoning concept which has been explored by a variety of scholars and practitioners since 2017. 

Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, this paper will review the state of the field, lay out key issues, explore what legislation has been passed to address women’s online safety, and forecast the effect of democratized artificial intelligence on the challenge of TFGBV. It will conclude with the most urgent and meaningful policy recommendations that officials can undertake around the world in order to make public expression online safer for women. 

Cosponsored by the Institute of Global Politics and Vital Voices Global Partnership.