From access to research: A holistic approach to tackling digital gender violence in India

In today’s world, technology has emerged as a key medium for expressing gender in society, influencing interaction, communication, and identity formation, including gender and sexual identities. This is especially true for technology-facilitated gender-based violence, or TFGBV, a form of gender-based violence enabled by digital technologies. 

TFGBV includes acts that use digital media and technology to harm, demean, sexualise, and exploit women and others without their consent, often targeting them based on their sex, gender, or sexual orientation. These acts range from digital voyeurism and cyberstalking to online sexual harassment and sextortion. A study by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that 85% of women are vulnerable to online violence, with 38% of women reporting personally experiencing violence, 65% reporting knowing other women who had been targeted online, and 85% reporting witnessing online violence against other women. 

Like other forms of sexual GBV, TFGBV exists on a continuum of attitudes, beliefs, and actions perpetuating sexual violence. These harmful acts are often linked with physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological harm. Existing anti-women social norms and stereotypes are increasingly being normalised and reproduced through technology. This violence transcends space-time boundaries and affects their overall well-being. It leads to self-censorship, disengagement from online spaces, emotional, physical, and psychological harm and economic damage. According to the UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2022 report, the exclusion of women from digital spaces has cost the gross domestic product of low- and middle-income countries an estimated $1 trillion over the past decade.