“Western agendas”, and the use of negative religious discourse and gender-based
stereotypes. Not even women ministers were free of TFGBV.7
2. UNDERSTANDING ONLINE HATE SPEECH
AND TFGBV
While definitions vary across academic and policy contexts, hate speech generally refers to
expressions that promote, justify, or incite discrimination, hostility, or violence against
individuals or groups based on protected characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, religion,
nationality, or sexual orientation. In the context of this project, particular attention is given to
gendered hate speech and other forms of TFGBV, which targets individuals—most often
women and LGBT+ people—because of their actual or perceived gender.
KVINFO applies UNFPA’s definition for gender-based violence in cyberspace:
“Technology-facilitated gender-based violence, or TFGBV, is an act of violence
perpetrated by one or more individuals that is committed, assisted, aggravated
and amplified in part or fully by the use of information and communication
technology (ICT) or digital media, against a person on the basis of their gender.”8
This definition is used in order to emphasise how gender-based violence in cyberspace results
in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political, and/ or economic
harm, or other infringements of rights and freedoms, leading to withdrawal from public and
political participation, thus causing a democratic deficit. See also KVINFO’s strategy on
TFGBV, annexed to this publication.
MANIFESTATIONS
Online gendered hate speech manifests in multiple forms and degrees of severity. These
range from sexist language, misogynistic stereotypes, and sexualised insults to threats of
violence, calls for exclusion, coordinated disinformation and harassment campaigns. Such
expressions, whether intentional or not, often lead to the silencing of certain groups and
individuals, discourage their participation in public debate, and reinforce existing power
imbalances. Importantly, gendered hate speech does not exist in isolation. In many instances,
it intersects with other identity-based forms of abuse, including racism, xenophobia, religious
intolerance, or political persecution. This intersectionality intensifies harm and
disproportionately affects women and other persons who belong to multiple marginalised
groups.
7 Democracy Reporting International (2024) Online Public Discourse in the MENA Region, Persistent
Tactics of Disinformation and an Increase in Online Gender-Based Violence, 65b21f4539b6e.pdf
8 Coined by UNFPA, see https://www.unfpa.org/TFGBV, see also UN Women Expert Group Meeting
report: Technology-facilitated violence against women: Towards a common definition,
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/03/expert-group-meeting-reporttechnology-facilitated-violence-against-women
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