continuum of control that aims to discipline women who claim visibility in digital
spaces. This continuum of TFGBV blurs the boundaries between online and offline,
showing that digital harm has material, psychological, and political consequences.
Types of TFGBV
Women’s testimonies for what they think is the most common type of TFGBV are
varied, and many of them said that it is difficult to pinpoint an exact type, as they
differ from one context to another. Nevertheless, harassment was mentioned
most frequently at 15 mentions throughout all the interviews. This could be
attributed to the broad nature of the term “harassment,” as it could encompass
many types of violence, including hate speech, defamation, impersonation, threats,
and the unsolicited sending of inappropriate photos.
The second most mentioned type of TFGBV was blackmail and extortion, with 8
mentions throughout the interviews. The third, at 6 mentions, was defamation and
the spreading of false information, a form of violence particularly relevant to
women in the public eye, such as journalists, politicians, and public figures. These
gender-based campaigns often have a sexualized nature, aiming to ruin a woman's
reputation and discredit her work. This type of violence is becoming increasingly
easy to perpetrate due to technologies capable of fabricating plausible texts,
images, and videos. The unmonitored rise of generative AI, which can produce
highly accurate synthetic media, further exacerbates this threat.
The fourth type, with 5 mentions, is silencing and exclusion. This form is not
always recognized as TFGBV, yet denying women access to the internet is still a
profound violence. It isolates them not only from avenues of public participation
but also from the ability to seek help in cases of abuse. TFGBV thus manifests not
only through active digital harm but also through the systematic exclusion of
women from the digital sphere altogether. Many young women pointed out that
while the internet can be dangerous, it also provides a crucial sense of solidarity
with other women and easy access to information that helps them navigate the
world. Being denied this access is therefore a significant deprivation. As one
participant stated, “One type of TFGBV is depriving women of access to technology.
Using technology, you can easily access help, especially if you are facing domestic
violence or intimate partner violence.” Another highlighted how this lack of access
deprives women of “accessing information and knowledge, even communicating
with friends and living normally.”
The final prominent type, highlighted with 4 mentions, was impersonation and
digital identity theft. This includes creating fake accounts, hacking accounts to
post private information, and the theft of online business pages. One participant
described how her page, which tackled women's issues, was subjected to severe
cyber-attacks intended to shut it down. Moreover, any page, including businesses,
suspected of being owned by a woman, becomes a target for hacking. Another
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