Tipping point: The chilling escalation of online violence against women in the public sphere

https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2025/12/tipping-point-the-chilling-escalation-of-online-violence-against-women-in-the-public-sphere Online violence against women has become a growing global crisis. What begins on a screen can quickly fuel harassment, intimidation, and even real-world harm. Women who speak up, report the news, or defend human rights are increasingly targeted with threats, abuse, and misinformation designed to push them out of public life. This publication examines this urgent issue. Developed under UN Women’s EU-funded ACT to End Violence against Women Programme, the publication draws on a global survey reaching women from 119 countries. It highlights how online attacks—once dismissed as “virtual” problems—are now spilling offline, affecting women’s safety, well-being, and ability to participate freely in public debate. The report also explores how new technologies, including artificial intelligence, are making abusive content easier to create and harder to control, further heightening risks for women in public life.