Stakeholders Seek Govt, Others’ Intervention In Rising Digital Violence Against Women Countries

Stakeholders have expressed worry over the rising use of artificial intelligence (AI), cyberstalking, cyberbullying, impersonation and other digital means to perpetrate Gender -based Violence (GBV) against women and other vulnerable groups.

They expressed the concerns at the opening of a two-day training organised by the Centre for Redefining Alternative Civic Engagement for Africa (RACE Centre), with the theme, “Digital Defenders: OGBV Response” in Abuja.

The training strengthened members of the Feminist Digital Watch Collective, a network of survivors, advocates, researchers and experts pushing for safer digital spaces, stronger laws and greater accountability by technology platforms.

In her remarks, the executive director of RACE Centre, Evelyn Ugbe, said the training comes at a time when there were increasing cases of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV).

Ugbe said the organisation’s AI-enabled online gender-based violence tracker, launched two months ago, had so far recorded about 24,000 human-verified cases across five social media platforms.

According to her, the cases were not merely generated by the technology because human verification was undertaken to establish that the reported incidents were genuine cases of online gender-based violence.
Ugbe explained that emerging forms of digital abuse include AI-generated deepfakes, online insults, misogyny, cyberbullying and other kinds of harassment, capable of forcing women and girls out of digital spaces.

“We understand that there are lots of opportunities that abound, and already, less than 34 per cent of Nigerian women have access to online spaces.

“So, if they are consistently attacked, bullied online, it means their digital footprint, their work online and those opportunities that are missed as a result of being online are completely eroded,” she said.

Ugbe stressed that the training was aimed at equipping members of the collective with the knowledge and skills required to understand emerging forms of online gender-based violence and advocate for better digital safety policies.

While calling for greater accountability from technology platforms, she maintained that the safety of women, girls and other vulnerable users should be incorporated into the design of digital platforms.

Ugbe stressed that platforms should be “safe by design” rather than treating user safety as an afterthought.

She advocated stronger collaboration among government agencies, schools, religious institutions, families and civil society organisations to address the problem.

Ugbe stated that religious leaders could help challenge harmful gender norms and promote positive masculinity, while schools should incorporate digital safety into their policies and educational curriculum.

She cited a case in Kebbi State involving a young girl whose classmates allegedly obtained her nude photographs and threatened to expose them.

Ugbe said the girl eventually committed suicide after continued blackmail, adding that the case illustrated the potentially devastating consequences of online abuse.

She also cited the case of a female student in a higher institution in Sokoto State, where an argument that started on WhatsApp reportedly escalated into physical violence.

Ugbe added that female public figures were also exposed to persistent online attacks, citing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as an example.

For her part, Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Gwagwalada branch, Dr Chinenye Joy Mgbeokwere, said gender-based violence had increasingly moved from the physical environment to the digital space.

Mgbeokwere, a lecturer of Public and International Law at the Nile University, identified cyberstalking, cyberbullying, identity theft, impersonation and deepfake technology as some of the emerging forms of technology-assisted violence.

She said women were particularly vulnerable, citing cases brought before FIDA involving intimate partners threatening to publish private or nude photographs of their spouses online.

Mgbeokwere recalled a case in which a woman allegedly became depressed and contemplated suicide after her husband posted her photographs on Facebook, and members of her family saw them.

The legal practitioner said Nigeria already had laws that could be applied against different forms of digital abuse, including the Cybercrimes Act 2015, as amended in 2024, the Nigeria Data Protection Act and the Evidence Act.

Mgbeokwere, however, stated that many cases were not reported or widely publicised, making it appear as though little action was being taken.

“The court has been doing wonderfully well. But most of these cases are at the Federal High Court level. Most of them are unreported,” she said.

Mgbeokwere called for increased public awareness and advocacy, urging victims to report cases to relevant government agencies or civil society organisations.

She disclosed that FIDA was also working towards establishing a virtual law clinic to enable victims of online abuse to seek legal assistance and explore remedies, including protection orders under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.

Also speaking, a communication strategist, writer, and researcher, Emitomo Oluwatobiloba, said that while men also experienced gender-based issues, they often remained silent because of social expectations of masculinity.

Oluwatobiloba noted that online gender-based violence is an extension of violence in the physical world, saying digital platforms had made it easier for perpetrators to operate anonymously and repeatedly.

She urged the government to hold major technology companies accountable for abuses committed through their platforms.

Oluwatobiloba asked technology companies to educate users on responsible use of their platforms and ensure that people who use them to perpetrate violence or harassment face appropriate sanctions.