Digital transformation brings boundless opportunities to enhance efficiency and drive growth in Asia and the Pacific. Yet, it also exposes women and girls to heightened risks and harm.

As digital transformation accelerates, it is critical to address violence against women that uses digital tools and online platforms.

As defined by the United Nations and other organizations, this includes image-based abuse, online sexual harassment, cyberstalking, doxing or unwanted disclosure of personal data, impersonation, deception, and online child sexual exploitation.

Globally, the United Nations Population Fund reports that up to 60% of women experience online violence. In 14 countries across Asia, women and girls are significantly more affected, with perpetrators being mainly men and boys.

In the Pacific, technology is an additional avenue for harm in the region where rates of violence against women are already high, causing a heightened threat for survivors.

Recent incidents are alarming. In Australia, the national police called for vigilance against online exploitation and cyberattacks targeting underage girls through online crime and gaming networks.

In the Republic of Korea, investigators uncovered multiple chatrooms circulating non-consensual pictures and videos of women and girls.

In the Philippines, an actress testified at a senate hearing about her experience as a survivor of AI-generated deepfake pornography which caused her severe emotional distress and violated her dignity.

The misuse of technology can exacerbate existing domestic violence, coercive control, and dating violence. Stalking has evolved into digital surveillance.

Women and girls are tracked through mobile apps, their social media monitored, and their online participation curbed by violent and abusive partners or ex-partners.

Intimate partner violence also impacts workplace performance and broader community participation. Survivors experience online patterns of control, manipulation, pressure, fear, and intimidation.

Women’s devices are restricted, and their social media behavior is controlled. Threats of image-based abuse, or what is commonly known as ‘revenge porn’, often loom.

This issue extends beyond intimate partner relationships. As structural inequalities are entrenched in many societies, conservative views about women and girls are reinforced online.

The misuse of technology can exacerbate existing domestic violence, coercive control, and dating violence.

A recent study of 150 women members of parliament from 33 countries in Asia and the Pacific found that 60% had experienced online violence.

Women and girls in public-facing roles, such as journalists, social media influencers, and content creators, are subjected to demeaning or derogatory online comments. This creates additional barriers to fostering women’s leadership in the public sphere.

As daunting as the issue is, a growing body of work is being developed to counter this worrying trend. It is not just an issue of enormity and scale; it is nuanced in the political, social, cultural, and technological context of Asia and the Pacific.

It is imperative that government approaches include the following:

National policies and legal frameworks need to be strengthened to integrate preventive measures and stronger penalties.

Policymakers must ensure a balance between free speech in online media while addressing the serious harm caused.
National agencies should explore alternative and innovative survivor-centered digital solutions and help raise awareness among survivors.

Some countries use AI to demystify and decode online language, and the use of emojis, in the realm of online violence.

Governments should also work with private technology companies to implement national policies at the company level, establishing reporting mechanisms that complement national systems and ensure accountability in protecting women and girls.

Governments, with support from civil society organizations, should take control of systems and governance, and shift from implementing programs that perpetuate cultural norms and harmful behavior to fostering an enabling environment for women’s empowerment and leadership.

Ongoing research will help keep abreast of the dynamic and ever-changing issues and forms of online violence. Such research needs to be engaging and action-oriented to encourage meaningful solutions, including educating young boys and girls about healthy behavior and respectful relationships as a preventive measure.

Women must be included in the system design and development of online platforms to help ensure safety and inclusiveness. In the AI ecosystem, for example, women remain significantly underrepresented, which negatively impacts the quality and safety of AI systems.

With the intersecting and numerous national issues that governments face, eliminating online violence requires joint and coordinated efforts among stakeholders.

Governments need to take leadership and collaborate with development partners, tech companies, and frontline service providers that can provide research to inform policies, potential survivor-centered tech solutions, and financial assistance.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is a reminder that shutting down online violence is not easy, but by working together it can be done.

If you have experienced or are experiencing online violence, contact your local support services.