'Clicks that hurt': How technology is facilitating gender-based violence

New research has exposed an alarming surge in technology-facilitated gender-based violence across the African continent.

Dubbed ‘Clicks that hurt’, the research by rights group Paradigm Initiative indicates that at least 67 per cent of respondents have been victims of at least one or multiple forms of digital violence.

Released on International Human Rights Day, the research exposes deep systemic failures, weak accountability, and unsafe online spaces driving a rapidly escalating epidemic across Kenya, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Experiences range from sexual harassment, threats, and misogynistic attacks to severe violations such as stalking, non-consensual image sharing, hacking, sextortion, and identity-based harassment.

Personal testimonies the report indicates reveal profound emotional, psychological, and reputational harm.

A key finding of the study is that young people are disproportionately affected, with those aged 18–34 constituting the vast majority of survivors.

Most incidents of TFGBV occurred on Facebook, WhatsApp, and X (formerly Twitter), underscoring how mainstream social media platforms continue to function as structurally unsafe spaces for many users—particularly women, activists, and advocates.

“Victims’ experiences range from sexual harassment, threats, and misogynistic attacks to severe violations such as stalking, non-consensual image sharing, hacking, sextortion, and identity-based harassment,” the report notes, adding, “Personal testimonies reveal profound emotional, psychological, and reputational harm.”

The study, conducted by between March and October 2025 further reveals that women bear the brunt of the abuses with some of 182 women compared to 93 men having reported experiencing TFGBV.

The study also highlights those formal systems such as the police, employers, and public institutions, remain underutilised, largely due to fear, mistrust, or an expectation of inaction.

While 56 per cent of respondents are aware of platform reporting mechanisms, only about 42 per cent actually utilise them, and a significant proportion (38.8%) report receiving no meaningful support.

“Many survivors resort to selfcensorship, withdrawing from platforms, or relying solely on friends and family. Formal systems: police, employers and institutions are underutilised due to fear, mistrust, or anticipated inaction,” parts of the report read.

 Awareness of national laws addressing TFGBV is also uneven, with 47.5 per cent indicating knowledge, 41.3 per cent unaware, and 10.9 per cent unsure.

The report indicates that data on TFGBV prevalence remains limited due to underreporting, inconsistent definitions, and gaps in national statistics.

In its reccommendations, the report says national governments in the said countries must identify the causes and consequences of TFGBV regularly and take appropriate measures to prevent and eliminate them.

There is also need to review or adopt laws that address TFGBV, combating all forms of digital violence, and expanding the definition of gender-based violence to include digital violence against women including cyberharassment, cyberstalking, sexist hate speech amongst other ICT-related violations.

“Countries must develop victim/survivor-centred procedures for reporting and investigation, including specialized TFGBV Victim-Friendly Units within law enforcement agencies that record complaints and investigate TFGBV cases,” the report said, adding, “Undertake mandatory and continuous training for practitioners and professionals dealing with victims of digital violence including law enforcement authorities, social and child healthcare staff, criminal justice actors and members of the Judiciary.”

The report calls for punishment of the perpetrators and implement programmes for the rehabilitation of victims Ensure and facilitate effective cooperation between law enforcement authorities and service providers with regards to the identification of perpetrators and gathering of evidence, which should be in full compliance with fundamental rights and freedoms and data protection rules.

PIN said it recognises that this gap limits both the understanding of TFGBV and the development of effective solutions.

“By prioritising survivors’ perspectives, the research uncovers the emotional, social, and systemic dimensions of digital violence that formal reports and statistics often obscure. It also interrogates how survivors navigate reporting systems, access justice, and play an informed role in digital spaces that are frequently hostile or unsafe,” said PIN.

The group further said TFGBV can foster digital exclusion where self-censorship forces victims to withdraw from an online presence.

“This report centres voices from the margins of technology, as respondents echoed their views of what the digital space has created, a jungle where survival is not guaranteed. A multistakeholder approach is required to tackle the lived realities and bring sanity to digital spaces where everyone can engage without fear of TFGBV,” said PIN.