DW Akademie Study Safer platforms, stronger participation
1.1 Study rationale
(Data Reportal, 2025; World Bank, 2025). At the same time,
digital participation can be constrained by surveillance,
polarization, and harassment, creating risks that are not
“virtual” in their effects but deeply connected to offline
safety, livelihoods, and social standing.
The rationale for this study is multi-faceted and urgent:
– Escalating threat
GBVO is a growing global digital rights and gender
equality concern, with women, particularly journalists, activists, and public figures, facing disproportionate harassment, abuse, and silencing tactics online. In
conflict-affected Syria, this violence is intensified by
political repression, patriarchal norms, and weak institutional safeguards.
In this context, GBVO, also discussed in the literature as
technology-facilitated GBV, can be understood as gendered harm perpetrated through digital technologies. It
includes harassment, stalking, threats, impersonation,
defamation, doxxing, and image-based abuse, often targeting women’s reputations, perceived morality, and right to
participate in public discourse (Henry and Powell, 2018;
Hinson et al., 2018). In Syria, available evidence cited in this
report suggests that GBVO is both prevalent and underreported, with patterns that frequently combine sexualized
intimidation, blackmail, and reputational attacks. Another
study estimated that 50 – 60 percent of women and girls
in northwest Syria have experienced some form of GBVO,
with risk expected to rise alongside greater connectivity and digital dependency (ACAPS, 2025). A field study
referenced in this report similarly indicates widespread
exposure to digital violence among Syrian women, with
blackmail and image-based abuse emerging as particularly
common and harmful forms (Al-sakkaf and Alsayed, 2023).
– Digital expansion and risk
Syria’s internet penetration has risen significantly,
increasing reliance on digital platforms for communication, information, and professional activity. This
increased connectivity has concurrently expanded
exposure to technology-facilitated risks such as cyberstalking, image-based abuse, doxxing, and coordinated
disinformation campaigns.
– Evidence gap
While reports indicate that 50 – 60 percent of women
and girls in northwest Syria have experienced some
form of GBVO (ACAPS, 2025) comprehensive, contextspecific analysis is lacking. There is a critical need to
move beyond documenting prevalence to understanding
the specific forms, narratives, perpetrators, institutional
response gaps, and the profound impact on women’s
participation and well-being.
Crucially, GBVO does not sit outside the broader continuum of GBV; it often functions as a mechanism of social
control that punishes visibility and dissent, and it can
escalate into offline consequences through reputational
harm, family pressure, and threats of physical violence. The
research’s desk review documents how women in Syria
active in public-facing fields, particularly media and public
life, have faced intimidation and defamation campaigns
that aim to discredit them, damage their reputations, and
push them out of public participation (Human Rights
Council, 2018; SNHR, 2021a). This convergence of offline
gender inequality, conflict dynamics, and expanding
digital participation provides the immediate grounding for
the study’s focus: understanding how GBVO manifests in
Syria, who it targets, how it is enabled, and what practical
measures can reduce harm and protect women’s participation in media and civic life.
– Foundational for action
The study directly supports DW Akademie’s project
goals by establishing a robust analytical baseline. Its
findings are essential for designing targeted capacitybuilding for media professionals, developing ethical
media content and safety policies, shaping effective
public awareness campaigns, informing advocacy for
stronger legal and institutional protections against
GBVO, and providing a critical resource for the wider
GBVO research and policy community.
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