GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN A DIGITAL WORLD

All stakeholders should do more to stem technology-enabled gender-based violence

Last Tuesday marked the commencement of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Each year, from 25 November to 10 December, World Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism campaign calls for action against one of the world’s most persistent violations of human rights – violence against women. It is therefore imperative that authorities in the country make more efforts to understand the underlying causes and dynamics of this growing violence. We cannot continue to ignore the societal upsurge in these occurrences because of their ominous implications on our collective psyche, as citizenry, and our development as a nation.

The First Lady of Zamfara State, Hajiya Huriyya Dauda Lawal, spoke the minds of many Nigerian women at the official launch of the global campaign in Gusau last week. “This year’s theme is a powerful reminder that digital violence is real violence,” Dauda Lawal said while calling for action and accountability from all stakeholders. “In this fast-growing digital world, our phones, our devices and our social media platforms have become extensions of our lives. Sadly, they have also become tools for harassment, bullying, blackmail, exploitation, cyberstalking, and emotional violence. Online abuse is not virtual. It causes real pain, real trauma, and real harm. We must protect our people in both physical and digital spaces.”

To deal with the challenge, many critical stakeholders have long concluded that gender-based violence transcends the limited perspective of physical abuse. Violence continues to manifest itself in new forms and trends against women and girls in the country, including across digital spaces. It is most appropriate that the 2025 edition of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence has the theme, ‘UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls’. It is meant to highlight the rising tide of technology-enabled gender-based violence especially in an age when cyber criminals are targeting women and girls for blackmail and all forms of exploitation.

Regulation and protection of citizens online cannot become a front for surveillance or digital oppression by the government or the rich of our society. But to the extent that ignoring signals of online violence can only lead to fatal consequences, critical stakeholders in Nigeria must work together to address these concerns. Besides the fact that most of the violence our women and girls endure are rarely reported for fear of being stigmatized, the attitude of the law enforcement agencies and the patriarchal nature of our society compound their challenges. Yet, we must assure our women and girls that we care about their welfare and wellbeing.

Technology, according to the Executive Director of TechHer, Chioma Agwuegbo, has expanded the reach, speed and severity of violence that already exists in the lives of women and girls. “We are confronting harms that did not exist ten years ago. Generative AI tools are being used to remove hijabs from women’s photos. Apps like UndressAI are being deployed to strip girls digitally and nobody is safe since abusers don’t discriminate in the weaponisation of technology,” Agwuegbo argued while highlighting how online violence drives women to either retreat from public platforms or censor themselves after facing threats. “Teenagers are being targeted by teachers and strangers masquerading as peers or given tools to end their lives when they share their problems with chatbots.”

From manipulating videos to sharing deepfake pornography to shame, discredit and silence women and girls, the effects of digital violence are real in the country with all the dire consequences. While existing laws in Nigeria are robust enough to prosecute all forms of online harm, what has been missing are swift enforcement, thoughtful policing and trained prosecutors who understand the dynamics of tech-facilitated gender-based violence.