Worldwide, almost 80% of young people (1.9 billion aged 15-24) use the internet, this is  15% more than the average use of 65%. As online presence increases, use of these online spaces by perpetrators of violence and harassment also increases. Technology facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) is the violence against women and girls that is perpetrated by any type of technology including phones, online spaces or digital media. It is a violation of privacy, dignity, autonomy and can be a devastating experience. The feelings of fear, anxiety, loss of self-esteem and sense of powerlessness are real and enduring.

TFGBV is prevalent around the globe, with a staggering prevalence of 38%, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) - that’s nearly 2 out of every 5 women. EIU also reported that 85% of women and girls on the internet have witnessed online violence being committed against other women (UNFPA, 2021). Over half, or 58%, of all young women and girls between 15 and 25 years of age have been subjected to online harassment in 22 countries globally. Young people are also more likely to be targeted based on identity factors, such as gender identity, gender expression, their age or sexual orientation. Addressing TFGBV, as a growing area of critical concern, is no longer negotiable. 

Digital technology can both enhance development agendas and pose potential risks and harms. In order to make all spaces safe and inclusive, we first need to understand better how technology impacts our lives, especially young people’s. 

What are the benefits?

As a generation born into a digital world, young people are adept at harnessing the vast opportunities that technology offers to build a more inclusive present and future.

Technology is one of society’s best tools to lessen inequality: It opens doors for young people across education, employment and civic participation, and can promote gender equality and peace through innovation and the exchange of ideas. Safe digital technologies can improve adolescent and young people’s access to quality sexual and reproductive health information, services and supplies, empowering them to make informed decisions.

What are the challenges?

Technological change also exacerbates digital divides and social inequalities. 

About two thirds of young people and children below the age of 25 cannot log on to the Internet at home, and factors like poverty and displacement worsen access. Adolescent girls, particularly those from the poorest households, are among those least able to connect. These gaps mean millions of young people are unlikely to get the education and digital literacy they need to succeed and fulfill their potential. 

As digital spaces are often unregulated and poorly patrolled, allowing harmful content to proliferate, social platforms are also rife with hate speech and misogyny, while exposing young people, especially adolescent girls, to heightened risks of gender-based violence facilitated by technology. It can have devastating consequences for the physical and mental well-being of young people which have different impacts on boys (proneness towards violence, extremism, misogyny, easy access to porn which negatively affects their mindset on normal healthy relationships etc.) and girls (obsession with looks, fear, anxiety, loss of self-esteem and sense of powerlessness etc.).

What does UNFPA do?

UNFPA is working on making all spaces safe and free from violence especially for women and youth by;

• working extensively in collecting data and generating evidence to understand the prevalence, incidence and impact of TFGBV,
• increasing awareness and mobilizing audiences with effective campaigns (Bodyright) and tools (AMBER),
• recognizing and promoting that young people have the power to make our digital and physical world more just, equal, peaceful and safe so the future is at their fingertips
• providing tools and policy advice for decision makers for the foundation for informed decision-making, resource allocation and the development of policies and programmes that enable safe and inclusive digital spaces for all. 

In 2021,  UNFPA Turkiye launched Bodyright, the first "copyright" that highlights the need for protection from online violence. Bodyright is designed to start conversations about how women, girls and the most marginalized are undervalued, exploited and violated online with very little being done to stop it. It makes a strong call for  policymakers, tech companies and social media platforms to take image-based abuse, the devaluation of human beings and online misogyny as seriously as copyright infringement and address it to protect human beings especially women and youth online.

UNFPA Turkiye’s mobile application AMBER was launched to support and empower women. AMBER offers all relevant information, guidance, and much more for protection against GBV, in 5 languages ​​(Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Kurdish, English) and aims to reach all women in Turkiye. While providing a comprehensive source of information on women's health and gender-based violence, AMBER has innovative, interactive features eg: contact points according to the type of violence and location of the person, and a security plan.

Recognising that the majority of perpetrators are men and majority of victims and survivors are women and girls, UNFPA has a host of specific interventions designed to work with men and boys to encourage positive behaviors; and to empower women and girls. 

What is needed for making all spaces safe?

In order to make all spaces safe and protect all people online, comprehensive and joint actions are needed. Technology is a tool. Young people need everyone’s support to ensure it is used in a way that promotes respect, dignity and the human rights of all people, in all their diversity. 

What can duty bearers do?

• To ensure young people’s right to exist safely online, invest to equip youth with the skills and information necessary to benefit from the best of digital technology while mitigating the risk of harm. 
• Policymakers must adopt, amend and implement clear legislation to criminalize hate speech and misogyny including the non-consensual use, misuse, or abuse of people’s images online and create a legal obligation for technology companies and social media platforms to put effective moderation and reporting systems in place. Civil society, experts and survivors themselves should be involved in the design and evaluation of regulations.
• Technology and social media platforms should consistently strengthen and scale up their moderation and monitoring of content; review algorithms that push and limit content; immediately remove harmful and abusive content and images without requiring court orders which delay responses.
• Reporting processes and tools for users must be accessible, easy to use and responsive. Platforms should simplify privacy settings so users can manage and control who can see, share, and comment on their content.

What can rights holders do? 

• All members of the digital society should be more aware of the advantages and risks of technology and their impacts including on mental health. AMBER is a great tool for women and girls in Turkiye.
• As content creators, digital activists and global citizens, young people can use technology to expose injustice, debunk misinformation and stand up to oppression.
• Youth activists can lead the charge on the front of digital rights and bodily autonomy; they are claiming their bodyright and denouncing the lack of regulation that allows for technology-facilitated gender-based violence to flourish. 
• It is estimated that tens of millions of future jobs will require far more advanced digital skills. So, young people can work more on improving their digital skills.