Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: An Overview

Supporting a Safer Internet Paper No. 1

December 7, 2020

As digital technologies become more sophisticated, so does technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). This type of violence can take many forms, from the release of personal information and private images without consent, to online stalking and death threats. For perpetrators of TFGBV, the internet is their weapon of choice — it allows them to monitor and control their targets from anywhere in the world. Victim-survivors have little recourse against the many forms of online gender-based violence, including threats of harm, some of which have been carried out. The resulting mental and physical health effects of TFGBV, among other impacts, have forced many victim-survivors out of online spaces and silenced their voices.

Part of Series

Supporting a Safer Internet

Supporting a Safer Internet: Global Survey of Gender-Based Violence Online is a two-year research project, in partnership with the International Development Research Centre and Ipsos. This project explores the prevalence of online gender-based violence experienced by women and LGBTQ+ individuals in the Global South.

About the Author

Suzie Dunn is a senior fellow at CIGI, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Ottawa and an Assistant Professor of Law & Technology at Dalhousie University.