Defining & Measuring Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

The rapid spread of internet and mobile technologies has facilitated growth and development across the world. At the same time, the ubiquity of digital technologies has raised new human rights and safety concerns. Cyberbullying, online harassment and cyberstalking are all too common, but these terms fail to capture the spectrum of violent behaviors that occur in digital spaces and disproportionately affect women, girls and sexual minorities.

Without first acknowledging the full range of gender-based violence enacted online or via technology, we will not be equipped to prevent it and effectively support those who experience it.

Supported by the World Bank Group and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative from 2017-2018, ICRW conducted research to inform the development of standardized measures that can be used to study technology-facilitated GBV across various settings and populations. Our research resulted in a comprehensive definition of technology-facilitated GBV, a conceptual framework and a draft set of quantitative measures that can be further validated and used to collect critical data on this important and emerging issue.

To learn more about our work, download the report below.