How tech fuels violence against women

The notification pings. It could be a message from a friend, a work email, or a stranger telling you that your body isn’t good enough.

For Kenyan women, the smartphone in their pocket has become both a lifeline and a weapon, one that connects them to opportunity while simultaneously exposing them to abuse.

In Kenya today, almost every woman who goes online has experienced some form of abuse. A staggering 99.3 per cent of women and girls reported facing technology-facilitated violence, whether through harassment, threats, exploitation, or emotional torture.

This is according to a new report, Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls (TFVAWG), launched in Nairobi by the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), UN Women, and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA).

The findings paint a grim picture of how the digital revolution has opened new opportunities while also exposing women to risks in virtual spaces.

According to the report, 97.6 per cent of women in Kenya had endured psychological and emotional torture online, the most common form of digital abuse.

This includes constant harassment, threats, trolling, and degrading messages designed to humiliate and silence women.

“Many people dismiss online abuse as something small, but it leaves deep scars,” said Mercy Kamau, a gender and sexual reproductive health rights researcher.

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Kamau, who also heads the grassroots feminist organisation Mother and Children’s Fund for Nairobi, says the findings show why online violence must be recognised as a form of gender-based violence (GBV).

The study identified WhatsApp and Facebook as the leading platforms for digital violence. Survivors said that while these platforms have safety tools, they are often ineffective or difficult to use.

“Every day, women are stalked, their private images shared without consent, or their dignity attacked through voice notes and online groups,” Kamau explained. “This isn’t just about connectivity, it’s about identity, safety, and inclusion. And right now, women are paying the highest price.”

The consequences are devastating. Survivors often withdraw from digital spaces, deleting social media accounts and avoiding the internet.

“They don’t want to access the internet at all because they associate it with abuse. Yet in today’s world, being offline means losing economic and social opportunities,” says Kamau.

For students, the trauma can derail entire academic journeys. Kamau recalls cases of university students whose intimate images were circulated online.

“Some stopped going to class because classmates mocked them. Others dropped out of school altogether. Some even attempted suicide.”

Experts warn that online abuse is not confined to the virtual world. Often, it spills into real-life physical harm.

This intersection between online and offline abuse shows how technology amplifies existing gender-based violence rather than replacing it.

The report found that strangers account for more than 90 per cent of perpetrators in Kenya. However, intimate partners and ex-partners are also significant contributors, with about 40 per cent of cases involving them.

This reflects how online spaces have become extensions of patriarchal control, where both strangers and familiar abusers exploit digital tools to exert power over women.