Online violence against women activists and journalists is on the rise

Online violence against women activists, journalists and human rights defenders is spiking. UN Women’s new report, “Tipping point: The chilling escalation of violence against women in the public sphere,” shows that 70% of women had been attacked online, with “real-life consequences.” Almost 25% said they had experienced AI-assisted deepfake imagery and manipulated content. For women journalists, the link between online abuse and offline harm has more than doubled in the past five years, as 42% reported being attacked in person. Julie Posetti, the lead researcher for the UN Women’s report, noted that Daphne Galizia, an investigative journalist in Malta murdered in 2017, had been targeted online leading up to her assassination. UN Women’s Policy Specialist Yeliz Osman called for educational programs and the need to engage men and boys as allies to combat the trend.