On June 12th, the first session of the Policy Dialogue Series on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) took place, co-organized by the SVRI Community of Practice on TFGBV and UN Women. These dialogues aim to bring together diverse perspectives on a persistent and evolving phenomenon in which new technologies amplify existing forms of violence and create new ones that are harder to detect and address. This first session focused on aligning global standards and commitments on TFGBV.

2024 marked a turning point in global norm-setting for TFGBV, with a suite of landmark instruments responding to CSW67’s call for gender-responsive digital governance. Key milestones included the UN Statistical Commission’s mandate to measure Tech-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls (TF-VAWG), the adoption of the Pact for the Future and Global Digital Compact, a comprehensive UNGA resolution on digital violence against women and girls, and the UN Convention against Cybercrime — together forming a robust framework for prevention, accountability, and international cooperation.

This webinar featured an expert panel that brought together their different experiences in shaping global norms on TFGBV. This included Azucena Sahagún, Director for Multilateral Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Mexico; Catherine Van De Heyning, Rapporteur for the Mandate on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence of the Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council, and Karla Velasco, Association for Progressive Communications. The discussion was moderated by Sandra Aceng from the Women of Uganda Network and opened by Sarah Hendriks, Director of the Policy, Programme, and Intergovernmental Support Division for UN Women, and Liz Dartnall, Executive Director of SVRI. The webinar was attended by over 200 participants from across the world, representing multiple sectors including academia, policy, government, and civil society.

Aligning with global standards and commitments on TFGBV

The key takeaway that emerged from the session was the urgent need to bridge the gap between global commitments and lived realities, with speakers calling for concrete, survivor-informed implementation of global standards. They stressed the need for intersectional approaches that address the specific risks faced by women in diverse contexts, including humanitarian settings.

Inputs from the participants through the interactive Miro board echoed these priorities, highlighting gaps in enforcement, the absence of corporate accountability, and the marginalisation of survivor voices in global processes. Participants called for more inclusive policymaking, improved data disaggregation, and deeper engagement with feminist movements to ensure that digital governance frameworks are not only adopted but meaningfully applied.

Understanding the global normative framework on TFGBV

The dialogue highlighted key global milestones from 2024 towards building a global normative framework on TFGBV, including the UN General Assembly’s landmark resolution on digital violence against women and girls, and the adoption of the UN Convention against Cybercrime. These instruments call for stronger legal frameworks, cross-sector partnerships, and a human rights-based approach to regulating technology.

Catherine Van De Heyning, Rapporteur for the mandate on technology-facilitated gender-based violence of the Committee to the United Nations Human Rights Council, brought her extensive experience from researching the impact of digitalisation of crime on human rights. She emphasised shared state and tech industry responsibilities to prevent and prosecute online violence as crimes and called for a human rights-based regulatory approach. She underscored the absence of a gender perspective in discussions around AI and deepfakes, where the abuse disproportionately targets women.

Azucena Sahagún, Director for Multilateral Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Mexico, reflected on her experience on the adoption of the Cybercrime Convention. She reinforced the value of these instruments as frameworks for international cooperation, emphasising their role in protecting survivors, holding perpetrators accountable, and promoting online safety.

Karla Velasco, Association for Progressive Communications, shared the key advocacy role that civil society plays in ensuring that feminist principles are adopted in global normative frameworks, such as the recently created Global Digital Compact (GDC). Karla highlighted the importance of building and leveraging networks of feminist organizations such as those that came together recently to develop a set of key Feminist Principles for Member States to consider as they drafted the GDC. In particular, they focused on advocating for lives free from TFGBV. Thanks to this collective effort, the GDC does recognise the issue of TFGBV and commits to addressing it.

Remaining gaps in the global normative framework on TFGBV

Despite these efforts, panellists highlighted critical gaps. Velasco raised the possibility of exploring other angles when approaching the issue of TFGBV, for instance, those centred on joy, pleasure, and resistance, as well as how we use technology in our daily lives. Azucena Sahagún noted obstacles in access to justice for survivors of TFGBV and the need for tailored legislation, resources, and survivor support services. Sahagún also highlighted inadequate data to fully understand the scope and nature of violence against women and girls online, and that all these efforts require sufficient financing.

Catherine Van De Heyning’s key message was the importance of mainstreaming gender into all discussions on technology. Van De Heyning also pointed out that humanitarian contexts often remain overlooked in TFGBV discussions, despite their heightened risks.

Across the board, speakers agreed on four key needs:

1. Stronger laws and policies
2. Accessible services for survivors
3. Robust data systems
4. Adequate funding

Co-creating advocacy for global frameworks on TFGBV

To close, Ayesha Mago (SVRI) led a participatory activity where participants were invited to share their thoughts on what they felt was missing from the current global frameworks and requests for policymakers to apply these global norms to their local contexts via a Miro board. The goal was to co-create advocacy messages that the community can take forward.

What is missing in the global normative framework?

Participants pointed to weak enforcement mechanisms and limited accountability for tech companies. They emphasised the need for stronger regulation, improved data collection, and greater attention to TFGBV in humanitarian and conflict settings. An intersectional lens was seen as lacking, particularly in addressing the experiences of LGBTQI+ people, persons with disabilities, and women in marginalised contexts.

Who is missing from these processes?

Survivors, grassroots feminist movements, and women from the Global South were identified as largely absent from global decision-making spaces. Participants also noted the insufficient engagement of private tech companies in co-developing and being held accountable to these frameworks.

What is your one request for duty bearers to make these standards relevant to your context?

The strongest call was for concrete action: invest in survivor-centred implementation of TFGBV legislation, ensure accountability across sectors—especially the tech industry—and support local organisations with sustained funding and political will to bring global commitments to life.

To know more about global frameworks on TFGBV, we encourage you to take a look at these shared resources:

1. TFGBV Shared Research Agenda
2. Normative Advances on Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women
3. Meeting Recording

And check the TFGBV CoP Events Calendar for more sessions of the TFGBV Policy Dialogue Series.

This blog was written by Alexandra De Fillippo and Khwezi Magwaza, Facilitators of the TFGBV CoP, and Andre De Silva, UN Women.