End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls. Full Stop.

UNITED NATIONS

Every day in Türkiye, girls and women pick up their phones to learn, work and stay in touch with the people they love. Increasingly, they also brace themselves. Will there be a threat in their inbox today? A doctored image in a group chat? A torrent of insults under a news article or a social media post?

As the world marks the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, we call on every reader to join us in a decisive stand: End digital violence against women and girls. Full stop.

The digital age has opened powerful opportunities for connection, education and employment. Yet it has also created new frontiers for violence, spaces where women and girls are harassed, abused and silenced. From cyberstalking to non-consensual sharing of intimate images, deepfakes and gendered hate speech, digital violence is pervasive and persistent. According to a research conducted by UNESCO, globally, 58 percent of young women and girls have experienced online harassment on a social media platform (2021). Furthermore, U.N. Women reports that, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the average rate is around 53 per cent, and in Türkiye it rises to 72.4 per cent, placing the country second in the region (2023). As reported by UNFPA, in Türkiye, 1 in 4 young internet users has experienced digital violence, with young women aged 18–29 at particular risk (2021).

Every incident of digital violence is a violation of human rights. Digital violence is real violence. Abuse spills into homes, workplaces and streets, spreading fear and, in the worst cases, contributing to physical violence and femicide. Women and girls who are targeted report heightened levels of anxiety, stress and depression, social withdrawal, economic losses and, for those in public life, pressure to leave politics, journalism or activism altogether. When a woman or girl is silenced, threatened or shamed online, the effects ripple across families, communities and societies. We lose out on voices, ideas and leadership that could help shape a more equal future.

Ending digital violence requires coordinated action across all sectors. Governments must strengthen laws and ensure justice, tech companies must prioritize safety, employers should promote digital security, and civil society and the media must raise awareness and support survivors. Only a whole-of-society response can create a safer digital world for women and girls.

Governments and tech companies must regulate the technology design and data collection systems that drive social media business models to prevent the spread and monetization of misogyny and discrimination. Parents, guardians, educators and community leaders must be educated about online safety and should proactively engage with young people in particular to build critical thinking skills around online content, consent and respectful relationships. Embedding digital literacy and online safety education in schools and youth programmes would equip adolescents to know their rights, recognize and challenge discrimination and violence, and protect themselves and others.

This year’s campaign: #FullStop

The 2025 U.N.-wide campaign calls for urgent action to ensure that digital violence is finally taken seriously and addressed with the urgency it demands. In Türkiye, U.N. Women and UNFPA are working together with partners under the joint slogan; “End digital violence against women and girls. Full stop.” to spark a broad societal conversation on how technology deepens existing inequalities and creates new forms of abuse, and to highlight what parents, educators, policymakers and tech companies can do collectively to prevent technology-facilitated violence and instead make digital spaces safe, equitable and empowering for all women and girls.

Throughout the 16 Days, U.N. Women and UNFPA will run a powerful, collective campaign that brings together U.N. Women’s and UNFPA’s Goodwill Ambassadors, celebrities, influencers, civil society organizations, the private sector and all our stakeholders to shine a light on the many forms of digital violence. Five Goodwill Ambassadors, Demet Evgar, Eda Erdem, Edis, Hazal Kaya and Songül Öden, along with celebrity influencers will lend their voices and platforms to the campaign, highlighting real experiences of digital violence and calling on millions of followers to say “Full Stop” to online abuse.

Let us use these 16 Days as a turning point and unite. Speak up when you witness online harassment. Stand with survivors. Demand accountability from those in power, online and offline. Support women’s rights organisations and youth groups leading efforts to make digital spaces safe and inclusive.

This is our collective responsibility. This is our moment to act. End digital violence against women and girls. Full stop.

By Maryse Guimond, UN Women Türkiye Country Director,

and Mariam Khan, UNFPA Representative to Türkiye, Country Director for Azerbaijan & Georgia