No Excuse to Online Abuse ! Female Ambassadors Serving in Islamabad Gather to Raise Awareness

Tazeen Akhtar

Eight Female ambassadors serving in Islamabad gathered to raise awareness against online abuse of girls and women. They included ambassadors of Bulgaria, Germany, Nepal, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, High Commissioners of India and Rwanda. Male Ambassadors of Austria and Belgium also joined them to express their solidarity.

The ambassadors marked 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. They highlighted that Online abuse pushes women & girls out of digital spaces. The digital world should offer opportunity, not fear & abuse. They stressed that there was no excuse to online abuse.

Online abuse is a broad term for using the internet to bully, harass, or intimidate others, and includes illegal or harmful activities like cyberstalking, spreading false rumors, or sharing private information. It can also involve more severe criminal acts such as cybercrime, online fraud, and non-consensual image sharing, including the exploitation of children online.

Studies show that up to 58 per cent of women and 20 per cent of girls face some form of digital violence, though the true scale remains under-reported and insufficiently recognized.

The UNITE to End Violence against Women initiative is a multiyear effort to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls around the world.

The initiative, launched in 2008 under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General, was created to support the civil society led 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign around the world.

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Managed by UN Women, UNITE calls on governments, civil society, women’s organizations, young people, the private sector, media, and the UN system to join forces to address the global pandemic of violence against women and girls.

This year, during the 16 Days of Activism, from 25 November to 10 December, UNiTE is drawing attention to the alarming escalation of violence against women under the theme: “End digital violence against all women and girls”.

The campaign aligns with the broader framework of action to mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

#NoExcuse campaign calls for:

1- Governments to pass and enforce laws that criminalize digital violence, protect personal information and strengthen tech sector accountability.

2- Tech companies to ensure platform safety, remove harmful content, enforce codes of conduct and publish transparent reports.

3- Donors to invest in feminist organizations working to end violence against women and digital rights advocates.

4- Individuals to speak out, support survivors, and challenge harmful online norms.

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In solidarity under the Secretary-General’s UNiTE campaign this year, we call upon governments, civil society, and technology companies inter alia to:

• Ensure accountability for perpetrators of online and offline violence through robust, rights-based legislation aligned with digital governance frameworks such as the Global Digital Compact;
• Strengthen law enforcement and justice systems with enhanced cross-sector and cross-border cooperation;
• Guarantee specialized support and comprehensive reparations for all victims and survivors;
• Protect and amplify women’s and girls’ voices and leadership online, and build digital literacy and resilience across all sectors;
• Embed safety, privacy, and security-by-design principles in all stages of technology development;
• Leverage digital tools to address misogyny and promote positive masculinities; and
• Secure sustained, flexible, and core funding for women’s and children’s rights organizations to strengthen digital resilience and advocacy efforts.