It’s November 2025..
Purple is the talk of the month.
You may be wondering why, or maybe you know.
Here’s the reason why: The Purple you see is a statement and a call for justice against GBV cases worldwide. This November, we are reminded that the victims and survivors were not just statistics; they were once like the rest of us: healthy and going about their daily lives. Until GBV struck…
So, what is GBV? It’s any violent act against an individual due to gender bias. It can be physical, mental, emotional, sexual, etc, and can manifest as Beating, FGM, Femicides, Honor Killings, Sexual harassment, Verbal abuse, Child marriages, Online violence, among many other forms. We do recognize that both genders face GBV; however, in this article, we’ll focus on the women, as we stand in solidarity with countless women around the globe.
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Have you heard of the G20 women’s shutdown meant to happen on the 21st of this month in Johannesburg?
What about the 16 Days of Activism against GBV campaign by UN Women from 25th November to 10th December? #NoExcuse
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Technology: A GBV enabler
Digital technology has greatly transformed communication, information access, and social interaction worldwide. The world is now a ‘global village’. However, it has also enabled spaces for gender-based violence (GBV).
Digital tools such as social media platforms, mobile phones, and surveillance technologies are being exploited to harass, extort, blackmail, and harm women and girls. This form of violence didn’t start in 2025. It’s long overdue, yet stats are still on the ascent.
Let’s take a look at the predominant forms of online abuse.
Common Forms of Technology-Facilitated GBV:
- Cyber harassment and online abuse: by sending threatening, demeaning, or sexually explicit messages to intimidate or silence women online.
- Non-consensual sharing of intimate images
- Online stalking and digital surveillance
- Doxxing: Publicizing a victim’s personal information, such as home addresses or contact details, to endanger them.
- Deepfake using AI
- Trolling and hate speech, particularly of public figures
- How many sounded familiar to you?
- We might have witnessed some in movies or series, in the lives of public figures, or maybe we’ve experienced them. If so, how did you feel about it?
- You might say unsafe.
- This is the victim’s reality. A life of dimmed hope, of fear, and maybe numbness.
- This is a situation no one wants.
- This is why our voices matter. Because life matters, health & wellness matters, freedom of the mind-body-soul matters.
Impact of Tech-Facilitated GBV continued:
As mentioned, the impact is profound and multifaceted. Survivors carry scars of psychological distress, trauma, anxiety, fear, and depression. If they were once public figures, they often withdraw from online platforms or limit their involvement.
For some, reputational damage and harassment lead to job loss, economic stagnancy, or even hinder career growth. On a global scale, tech-based GBV continues to undermine women’s rights and threaten their safety.
With all these vices, is there any good in tech? Can it be leveraged and made into a tool that fights against GBV?
Yes. It can.
This is The flip side of Tech
Positive Use of Technology in Combating GBV:
- Mobile applications & hotlines exist to enable discreet reporting and access to emergency help. In Kenya, we have the toll-free helpline 1195 operated by HAKI in partnership with UN Women. Other support entities include : CREAW Kenya, GVRC Kenya
- Data analytics and AI are used to obtain GBV data and track its patterns, enabling policymakers to design community-targeted interventions.
- Social media campaigns like ‘#NoExcuse’ or ‘#EndGBV’ raise global awareness and solidarity.
- E-learning initiatives promote safe internet use and educate communities about consent, cybersecurity, privacy, and online ethics.
- Now, we know how tech can help us.
- However, there still exist challenges and policy gaps that need to be addressed.
- This is where professionals, activists, and all our voices come to play.
- Challenges:
- Many countries lack comprehensive cyber laws that recognize digital violence.
- Others have legislation, but enforcement remains weak due to a poor understanding of its dynamics and limited technical capacity.
- Societal expectation, cultural stigma, and victim-blaming continue to discourage survivors from reporting incidents. Hence, why some victims remain silent and endure.
- Additionally, tech companies often fail to respond promptly, or fail to take responsibility, or to deal transparently with cases of online abuse.
Violence shouldn’t be endured
Conclusion:
Tech-based GBV needs strong legal frameworks, cross-sectoral collaboration, and continued gender-sensitive digital education. Therefore:
- Governments should build on their law enforcement capacities to investigate cyber abuse and punish the perpetrators.
- The government should offer basic data protection courses to its citizens, both virtually and on-site, as a form of awareness creation and empowerment.
- Technology companies must also prioritize privacy, safety, and accountability in online platform designs.
- The Civil society should continuously advocate for safer digital spaces.
- Digital Abuse data must be collected, publicized, and used to identify niches for solution creation and policy making.
- The community’s activists should continue advocating for case reporting and create awareness of existing support contacts.
- Be each other’s keeper.
Remember, this November, we stand against GBV
Additional resources:
- https://africa.unwomen.org/en/stories/news/2024/10/kenyas-national-toll-free-helpline-1195-a-lifeline-for-gender-based-violence-survivors
- https://nomoredirectory.org/kenya/