Digital Society
Social platforms widened who can speak publicly and changed the cost of doing so. Two measured realities sit side by side: women are still less likely to be online at all, and women who become visible online face documented levels of targeted abuse.
Educational information only. Linha de Fala does not provide legal, medical, psychological or other professional advice, and is not an emergency or reporting service.
In short
What is it?
Who is online, who is safe online, and how technology treats women.
What do the numbers show?
65% of women use the internet compared with 70% of men. 73% of women journalists surveyed had faced online violence.
Where is it happening?
The digital gap is widest in low-income countries; online abuse is documented everywhere.
Who is affected?
Women who are visible online — journalists, activists, politicians — and girls with no access at all.
Why does it matter?
Digital spaces are where information, work and organising increasingly happen.
What is it?
Online violence includes targeted abuse, coordinated campaigns, doxxing and non-consensual intimate imagery.
The digital gender gap in internet use persists globally and is widest in low-income countries.
Moderation capacity and legal protection differ enormously by language and jurisdiction.
Why does it matter?
- Withdrawal from public platforms narrows public debate and removes exactly the voices that were least represented to begin with.
- Digital spaces are now where much political organising begins, including among young people.
The Numbers
73%
Women journalists surveyed who had experienced online violence in the course of their work
65% vs 70%
Share of women and of men using the internet
Figures on this page are reproduced from the publications listed under Sources. Linha de Fala summarises and explains them; it does not recalculate or estimate them.
Around the World
- India
- Research documents high levels of targeted abuse against women journalists writing in regional languages, where moderation coverage is weakest.Source: UNESCO / ICFJ, 2021
- European Union
- Around one in ten women reports having experienced cyber harassment since the age of 15.Source: EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2014
Young Voices
The Global Youth Contributors Program is one international program. There are no country-specific teams or applications — everyone joins the same program by sending a DM on Instagram.
Are you writing about this issue where you live? Join the Global Youth Contributors Program.
What Governments Are Doing
- Online safety legislationStatutory duties for platforms regarding illegal content and the protection of minors, including the EU Digital Services Act and the UK Online Safety Act.Source: European Union / United Kingdom
- Image-based abuse lawsCriminalisation of non-consensual sharing of intimate images in a growing number of jurisdictions.Source: UNESCO
Data & Sources
Statistics on this page come from reliable international organisations and official datasets. Each statistic includes its original year and source so readers can verify the information themselves.
- Source
- UNESCO / ICFJ
- Year
- 2021
- Indicator
- The Chilling: global study on online violence against women journalists
- Source
- International Telecommunication Union
- Year
- 2023
- Indicator
- Facts and Figures 2023: measuring digital development
- Source
- EU Agency for Fundamental Rights
- Year
- 2014
- Indicator
- Violence against women: an EU-wide survey