3. Contextual overview — desk review
relative to offline civic arenas, functioning as sites where
public reputation is built or destroyed, where political and
social identities are contested, and where gender norms
are policed at scale.
A further defining feature of the Syrian media and infor
mation landscape is the strategic interplay between
platforms. Evidence from the desk review and field data
suggests that abuse often begins in semi-closed channels, where coordination is easier and perpetrators feel
safer, and then escalates into mass visibility through
public pages and comment sections (ACAPS, 2025;
Al-sakkaf and Alsayed, 2023). This pattern matters
because it illustrates how GBVO is rarely “spontaneous” in
impact: even when initiated by individuals, it can quickly
become collective, amplified, and socially legitimized
through likes, shares, mocking commentary, and victimblaming narratives. The result is an ecosystem in which
attacks become not only interpersonal violations but
public performances, sending messages about who is
allowed to speak, what is considered “acceptable” female
behavior, and what forms of dissent or visibility will
be punished.
Globally, research shows that online
violence against women in public roles is
frequently sexualized, reputational, and
designed to silence participation.
This digital landscape is not neutral: it is shaped by longstanding restrictions, surveillance risks, and an environment where citizens anticipate repercussions for speech,
conditions that contribute to self-censorship and increase
vulnerability for groups already exposed to social sanctions. Freedom House continues to classify Syria’s internet environment as “Not Free,” highlighting restrictions,
arrests, and pressure on online expression as features
of the broader ecosystem (Freedom House, 2025). Such
conditions are especially relevant for women journalists,
activists, and civil society actors, for whom visibility often
comes with intensified reputational risk. Globally, research
shows that online violence against women in public roles
is frequently sexualized, reputational, and designed to
silence participation, patterns that align closely with what
this study documents in Syria (Posetti et al., 2020).
Abuse often begins in semi-closed
channels, where coordination is easier and
perpetrators feel safer, and then escalates
into mass visibility through public pages and
comment sections.
Within Syria, the convergence of three dynamics intensifies the relevance of GBVO:
1.
The dominance of social media as a primary channel
for news and social interaction;
2.
The blurring of boundaries between “public” and
“private” due to screenshot culture, forwarded content,
and cross-posting;
3. The persistence of gendered social norms that treat
women’s online presence as a moral marker of the
family or community.
The erosion of media freedoms does not occur in isolation; it directly shapes how gender‑based violence is
exposed, understood and addressed whether online or
offline. Legal ambiguity, political instability, and economic
hardship have become a welcoming environment for GBV
and GBVO. When press freedoms shrink, gender‑based
violence and oppression (GBVO) spread more easily:
intimidated or censored journalists cannot investigate or
amplify survivors’ stories, legal ambiguity leaves perpetrators unaccountable, and economic and security pressures
push civil‑society actors to the margins. The result is
fewer reports, weaker public scrutiny, and diminished
pathways to justice, which together create safer conditions for GBVO to persist and escalate (UN Women, 2022;
UNESCO, 2022).
These conditions create a high-risk setting where an online
incident can rapidly spill into offline harm, through family pressure, community stigma, professional exclusion,
or threats that follow women into physical spaces. As
a result, GBVO in Syria must be understood not only as
individual misconduct enabled by digital tools, but as a
socially and politically meaningful practice that operates
within a wider environment of constrained civic space,
contested authority, and fragile protections.
21
These conditions create a high-risk setting
where an online incident can rapidly spill
into offline harm, through family pressure,
community stigma, professional exclusion,
or threats that follow women into physical
spaces.