Online gender-based violence (OGBV) is any act that is committed, assisted, aggravated or
amplified by the use of information communication technologies (ICTs) or other digital tools
which results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political or
economic harm or other infringements of rights and freedoms. These are forms of violence that
are directed against women because they are women and that affect women and adolescent girls
disproportionately. Young women and girls, who are more likely to use tech for learning,
accessing information and connecting with peers, also face heightened exposure to online
violence. One global study found that 58 percent of girls and young women have experienced
some form of online harassment.
OGBV occurs within a continuum of multiple types of violence against women and girls which are
often connected to violence in the offline world. It encompasses many forms, including intimate
image abuse, doxing (the sharing of personal or identifying details), trolling (posting messages,
images or videos and the creation of hashtags for the purpose of provoking or inciting violence
against women and girls).
OGBV also includes misogynistic or gendered hate speech as well as efforts to silence and
discredit women online, and can escalate to threats of physical violence.
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