Tech-facilitated GBV, A New Global Public Health Emergency — Aderibigbe-Saba

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (GBV) is rising sharply across regions, affecting millions of women, girls and young people, hence it is now a global public health emergency.

This was disclosed by Dr Costly Aderibigbe-Saba, who noted that the menace is now one of the most urgent and least understood public health challenges of the digital age.

Aderibigbe-Saba, who made a presentation on the subject, said digital technology has reshaped nearly every aspect of modern life, expanding access to information, education and opportunity. “Yet the same systems that connect us have also created powerful new forms of harm,” she stated.

LEADERSHIP reports that this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is being observed under the UNiTE Campaign theme “UNiTE! Invest to End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls.”

The theme captures the global recognition that digital spaces have become critical sites of violence, and that digital safety must be treated as a core component of gender equality, not an afterthought.

Aderibigbe-Saba posited that: “Across the world, women who use the internet report frequent harassment, intimidation and sexual exploitation online. Global estimates indicate that between 38 and 58 per cent of women have encountered at least one form of digital abuse (UN Women, 2020). The scale of violation on social platforms is equally significant, where more than one in three women say they have been targets of harmful messages or threats (World Bank, 2019).

“Young women continue to face the highest exposure, with 41 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 describing experiences of sexual harassment online (Pew Research Center, 2021). These figures consistently appear in regions as diverse as Latin America, South Asia and North America, demonstrating the globalisation of digital harm.

“In my work with adolescents and survivors across multiple regions—including through the Global Youth Consortium Against FGM and Value Female Network Africa—one message has been remarkably consistent: digital harm feels different. Survivors describe it as persistent, intrusive and difficult to escape. Unlike many traditional forms of violence, digital abuse can reach a person anywhere, at any time, and it often continues long after the initial incident.

“The trend is increasingly visible in Africa. As internet usage across the continent has grown to more than 43 per cent (International Telecommunication Union, 2023), so has the exposure to digitally enabled violations. Nearly one in three women using digital platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa report online harassment, explicit messages or threats (Equality Now and Association for Progressive Communications, 2020).

“Among young adults, online impersonation, coercive communication and digital blackmail are becoming more common. Research conducted among young people in the region shows a distinct pattern. Women experience more sexualised aggression, while men frequently report threats, hacking and attempts to compromise their accounts (Makinde et al., 2021). These patterns reflect a broader shift in how violence is enacted and experienced.

“A critical yet often overlooked dimension is that digital violence affects men and boys at substantial levels, even though the motives and impacts are different. Almost half of adult men across several countries report online bullying or threats (Norton Cyber Safety Report, 2023). Adolescent boys active on social media or gaming platforms describe regular encounters with hostility. Although gender shapes the nature of violation, digital abuse has become a shared public health burden across demographics.”

She continued: “What emerges from this evidence is clear. Digital violence is not an isolated set of incidents but a structural shift in how harm operates. The permanence of digital footprints, the ability to reproduce content endlessly and the anonymity available to perpetrators collectively intensify the impact. Technology makes abuse borderless. A harmful message or explicit image can reach a survivor within seconds, regardless of where the perpetrator is located. For adolescents, whose psychological development is intertwined with digital identity, the consequences can be particularly damaging. Child-protection research consistently links online harassment to depression, anxiety, school withdrawal and heightened vulnerability to physical violence (UNICEF, 2022).

“Despite this growing crisis, many national systems have not adapted. Legal frameworks still overlook digital forms of stalking, threats and image-based abuse. Health and social services frequently treat online harm as less serious, even though the mental health consequences mirror those of physical violations. Schools rarely include digital literacy or online consent in their curricula. Law enforcement agencies face challenges with jurisdiction, digital evidence collection and cross-border cooperation. These gaps leave survivors without clear pathways to support, justice or protection.

“Addressing technology-facilitated violence requires new thinking. Public health systems must begin to treat digital harm as a legitimate form of violence with real psychological and developmental consequences. Education systems must integrate digital literacy, especially for adolescents. Technology companies must design safer platforms, respond more quickly to reports and take responsibility for preventing the spread of harmful content.

“Legal reform remains an essential part of the solution. At the continental level, African governments must urgently ratify, domesticate and implement the new African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, adopted in February 2025. The Convention provides the most comprehensive legal framework to date for addressing violence—both offline and online—and creates binding obligations for states to strengthen prevention, accountability and survivor support systems. Its rapid adoption across member states would represent a major step forward in protecting women and girls in the digital era.

“Most importantly, young people must be at the centre of the solution. They are the earliest adopters of digital tools and often the least protected. Ensuring their safety online is fundamental to protecting their dignity, mental health and future wellbeing.

“Today, 10 December, marks International Human Rights Day — a reminder that digital safety is a core human right. TF-GBV violates the same freedoms that human rights frameworks were created to uphold.  The digital age has brought extraordinary progress, but it has also reshaped the landscape of violence. Recognising the mechanisms that intensify Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is the first step toward building safer, fairer and more resilient digital environments. The world cannot afford to ignore this emerging public health challenge.”