Women in public life are facing growing and increasingly sophisticated forms of online violence, the United Nations has warned, stating that "AI-assisted 'virtual rape' is now at the fingertips of perpetrators." A report released by UN Women on Thursday highlights the deepening threat posed by a combination of artificial intelligence, anonymity, and the absence of effective laws and accountability.
Key Findings from the Report
Based on a survey of more than 1,500 women in public life, the report found that 6% of respondents said they had been victims of deepfakes. Nearly a third reported receiving unsolicited sexual advances online, while 12% said images of themselves, including intimate or sexual content, had been shared without their consent.
Kalliopi Mingeirou, who leads UN Women's efforts to end violence against women, stated: "Artificial intelligence is making abuse easier and more damaging. Anonymity, as well as the speed of how this information and narratives circulate in mainstream media, make this content more dangerous."
Impact on Women's Participation
The report adds to mounting evidence that the digital sphere has become synonymous with abuse for millions of women and girls globally. Many women are forced to choose between being online and accepting the threat of violence, or self-censoring and potentially paying a professional and personal cost. "When women in general, or journalists and human rights defenders, are driven out from digital spaces, we all lose," Mingeirou said.
Female journalists are particularly affected. The report found that 45% of female journalists surveyed said they self-censored on social media, while nearly 22% reported self-censoring in their professional work. A quarter of female journalists and media workers said they had been diagnosed with anxiety or depression due to online violence, and nearly 13% reported post-traumatic stress disorder.
Coordinated Misogyny and AI
The report noted that the erosion of women's rights is occurring against a backdrop of rising authoritarianism, democratic backsliding, and networking misogyny, such as the manosphere. "Gender rights rollback is both enabled and exacerbated by technologies which – by design – amplify misogynistic hate speech for profit," it said. Generative AI apps capable of stripping clothes from photos of women without their consent or simulating sexual assault were highlighted as particularly concerning. "AI-assisted 'virtual rape' is now at the fingertips of perpetrators," the report added.
Mingeirou described the attacks as "coordinated and deliberate," aimed at silencing women's voices and undermining their professional credibility. "This is part of a phenomenon of a broader pushback against gender equality. We see misogynistic networks that are very well coordinated attacking the narratives on gender equality and women in public life more broadly," she said.
A study released earlier this year supported this view, arguing that the silencing of women online is not incidental but a "coordinated, systemic practice." The research showed how platforms' algorithmic amplification and formation of ad hoc hostile groups convert misogynistic hostility into a coordinated apparatus for suppressing women's participation in public discourse.
Real-World Consequences
The extent of the threat became public earlier this year when it emerged that hundreds of thousands of requests had been made to Elon Musk's AI tool, Grok, asking it to strip clothes from photographs of women. Months later, German TV star Collien Fernandes alleged that her ex-husband had spread AI-generated pornographic images of her online.
Last year, UN Women's executive director, Sima Bahous, warned: "What begins online doesn't stay online. Digital abuse spills into real life, spreading fear, silencing voices and – in the worst cases – leading to physical violence and femicide."
Calls for Action
Mingeirou called on technology companies to build in safeguards to prevent abuse and create effective reporting tools. She also urged governments to act, noting that less than 40% of countries have laws to protect women from cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. Failure to do so could have long-lasting ripple effects and roll back decades of progress. "This is creating a vicious circle. When we have such serious mental health indications, then we have women who do not want to get involved and engaged in digital spaces," she said.
