Digital Hell: Inside the online battle Women are fighting.

From digital abuse to digital #metoo: the Italian case.

In August 2025, Italy made international headlines due to a shocking misogyny scandal. Countless women were digitally abused in a public Facebook group called Mia Moglie (My Wife), where anonymous users shared intimate material of women, from complete strangers to family members and public figures, without their consent. Posts were accompanied by violent, obscene comment^[1].

By the time the group was shut down, it had around 32,000 active male members. “We do not allow content that threatens or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault or sexual exploitation on our platforms” Meta stated. Yet, the platform acted more than a week after the first formal complaint - and months after the first public post in May 2025^[2].

A few days later, following a petition with over 150,000 signatures, the website Phica.net (a deliberately misspelled name referring to the female sex) was closed. The spread of private images, revenge porn, defamation, sextortion, and the incitement of rape and violence are far from being merely a “wrong use of the platform”^[3]. They are crimes against women and clear violations of the pieces of legislation governing the conduct of very large online platforms and protecting people’s fundamental rights.

If data protection is a fundamental right, as stated by Recital (1) of GDPR^[4], we wonder why it still takes so much effort to prevent and combat online gender-based violence (OGBV).

CV, VAWG, TFVAWG, OGBV: names and numbers to recognize cyberviolence against women.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) has increased rapidly over time due to the fast-evolving digital landscape, which not only poses new risks but also requires new terminology to identify and recognize the full spectrum of what is now referred to as Cyber Violence (CV).

According to a recent report by the UN Secretary-General (2024)^[5], between 16% and 58% of girls and women have experienced Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls (TFVAWG), with Generation Z and Millennials being the most affected. Misinformation and defamation are the most prevalent tactics, with 67% of women and girls having encountered at least one of these two forms in their life, followed by cyberharassment (66%), image and video abuse (57%), doxing (55%) and violent threats (52%)^[6].

Women in public positions, such as celebrities, politicians and journalists, are at particular risk with this latter group being the most affected by online threats, harassment and digital security attacks (73%). A high level of self-censorship is reported among journalist who experience OGBV, with many withdrawing from online interaction (20%) or silencing their own voices on social media (30%). Social media are thus weaponised to harm women through gendered disinformation and professional discreditation^[7].

Online VAWG is often the continuum of existing offline violence, leading to severe psychological, economic and social consequences. Low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are just some of the possible impacts on victim’s mental health. A 2023 survey by UN Women^[1] shows that more than one in four women exposed to technology-facilitated abuse felt embarrassed (27.3%), one in five experienced psychological symptoms such as fear, insomnia, distress or similar (19.2%), while 19.3% reported feeling unsafe.

Impaired mental health and wellbeing can lead women to withdraw from social and digital life^[9]. At societal level, victims of cyberharassment often isolate themselves, reinforcing gender-based inequalities and widening the gap between men and women. Self-censorship may also cause withdrawal of women and girls from the online stage, discouraging their participation in democratic and professional life.

Cyberviolence also has a significant macro-economic impact. The European Parliamentary Research Service (2021)^[10] estimated that the overall costs of online gender-based violence range from EUR 49.0 to EUR 89.3 billion. From individual mental wellbeing to societal and economic dimension, the effects cascade like a waterfall (more aptly, a tsunami), overwhelming everything in their path. It’s time to build a dyke.

Digital platforms: where cyber violence takes place.

Violence against women and girls is driven by technological changes. Digital tools have broad reach, accelerate the spread of content, and often provide anonymity to offenders, making cyber violence difficult to eliminate^[11].

Social media platforms are the main gateway for OGBV. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and messaging applications like WhatsApp, Snapchat and Telegram are the services where women and young girls experience cyberviolence^[12]. Various forms of abuse occur here, including insults and threats, revenge porn, incitement to violence and suicide, defamation, nudification and deepfake^[13], and the non-consensual sharing of personal data or images. All of them constitute severe violation of privacy. Yet, these platforms still struggle to implement safety measures to protect their users, detect illicit content, and remove harmful comments.

In a recent study on online VAWG^[14], the UK Department for Science, Innovation & Technology outlined some of the main challenges in addressing digital violence. The lack of policy guidelines targeting digital abuse is the primary challenge, resulting in unclear or ineffective safeguards to protect women and girls. Consequently, victims are left responsible for their own safety.

Women are frequently expected to combat TFVAW after it has occurred, by behaving responsibly and reporting the incident. In this way, empowerment can become a double-edged sword rather than a complementary and necessary tool for protection.

Among TFVAW victims (465 women) surveyed by UNESCO, platforms intervened in only 23.7% of cases, while in 14% the platform advised to ignore the incident. Regarding solutions, 70.4% of women believe that online platforms should improve their policies to protect users and 69.7% agree that raising awareness is crucial: society must be educated to prevent online violence before it happens^[15].

Another challenge concerns the design of certain features and platforms, which can favour perpetrators by making it easier for them to target vulnerable users, without effective barriers to block abusers. Furthermore, the poor and fragmented data on this issue makes it difficult to track and monitor the problem from an external perspective, leaving the task to companies and services that frequently fail to protect users^[16].

However, meaningful progress requires more than good intentions – it depends on concrete legal reforms. The following section examines the European regulations.

Combating violence against women at EU level.

In the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the EU Commission emphasized the need for Member States to work together towards a gender-equal Europe, noting that “online violence targeting women has become pervasive with specific, vicious consequences”^[17]. To achieve this goal, the Commission proposed the Digital Services Act (DSA) to clarify online platforms’ responsibilities. Two years later, on 19 October 2022, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union formally adopted the Regulation.

The DSA^[18] includes specific obligations to address OGBV. The EU digital rulebook defines responsibilities for different platforms and services, such as hosting services, large online platforms (LOPs), very large online platforms (VLOPs), and very large online search engines (VLOSEs), while establishing a set of harmonised obligations to ensure transparency and accountability in the EU digital landscape.

Under the Regulation, online platforms and services must protect users from harmful and illegal content, goods, and services, implement measures to ensure online safety and empower them in content moderation, and protect children from targeted advertisements^[19].

Providers are also required to carry out risk assessments. In this context, online violence against women is taken into consideration by Article 34 (d), which refers to “any actual or foreseeable negative effects in relation to gender-based violence, the protection of public health and minors and serious negative consequences to the person’s physical and mental well-being”. Regarding the risk mitigation (Art. 35, (c)), measures should include “adapting content moderation processes, including the speed and quality of processing notices related to specific types of illegal content and, where appropriate, the expeditious removal of, or the disabling of access to, the content notified, in particular in respect of illegal hate speech or cyber violence”. Gender-based violence in the digital space is therefore recognized as a major risk for online platforms.

By contrast, the AI Act adopted by European Parliament in March 2024 largely lacks a gender perspective and fails to ensure women’s safety in relation to deepfake technologies. The dissemination of sexual digital forgeries is addressed under the GDPR when it involves a natural person. The Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) covers some aspect of violence against women, for instance by requiring companies to integrate privacy by design into their services and offering support to victims of CV, such as non-consensual and sexual material. Violation of data privacy provide a solid legal basis for combating perpetrators, yet enforcement remains challenging due to limited provisions.

Finally, the European Parliament adopted in early 2024 the first-ever EU wide rules on combating gendered violence, including cyberviolence and domestic violence, while providing the victims proper support^[20]. However, the standard for criminalizing online gender-based violence are minimal, making the Directive a tool to address offline violence rather than addressing both equally.

Takeaway.

Online gender-based violence is not a marginal issue — it is a systemic crisis. From deeply personal trauma to macroeconomic costs, from silenced voices to eroded democratic participation, the consequences are vast and far-reaching.

Legal frameworks like the DSA and the 2024 EU directive are important steps in this direction but without effective enforcement, platform accountability, data transparency, and privacy-first design, good intentions will remain just that.

Now is the time to build a resilient structure, implementing the definition of violence against women in the current legal framework, to build a digital public space where women and girls can participate freely, safely, and equally.

By Priscilla Colaci

^[1] In the European Women’s Lobby. (n.d.). Report on Cyber Violence Against Women, https://womenlobby.org/new-publication-report-on-cyber-violence-against-women/ (p. 87), non-consensual intimate image abuse (including deepfakes), is defined as “the non-consensual creation, manipulation and dissemination, mostly online, of intimate or private images/videos or images/ videos of a sexual nature or threats to do so. These images/videos may have been obtained with or without the consent of the person pictured in the image”.

^[2] For a complete reconstruction of the episode: Ore, I. S. 2. (2025, October 27). New sexist site, from Barra to Ferragni stripped by AI. Investigations by the postal police. Il Sole 24 ORE. https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/new-sexist-site-barra-ferragni-stripped-by-postal-police-investigations-AHfdobND; Rijtano, R. (2025, August 21). Il gruppo Facebook “Mia moglie”, dove 32mila uomini condividevano immagini intime delle partner, è stato chiuso, ma chi è vittima di queste violenze come si può difendere? Wired Italia. https://www.wired.it/article/gruppo-facebook-mia-moglie-come-difendersi-dagli-stupri-digitali/; Fiordalisi, M. (2025, August 27). Chiudere il gruppo Facebook “Mia moglie” è stato il primo passo, ora si indaga sui responsabili. Wired Italia. https://www.wired.it/article/gruppo-facebook-mia-moglie-indagini-denuncia-querela-segnalazioni/; Italian Facebook page where men shared intimate images of partners without consent closed after the police probe. (n.d.). CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/americas/italy-mia-moglie-facebook-women-latam-intl.

^[3] In a public statement, the administrators of the adult forum Phica.net said they were pushed to shut down the platform due to “toxic behavior” and a “wrong use of the platform”. De Michele, S. (2025, August 29). Fake images of PM Meloni and other women politicians on porn website spark outrage in Italy. Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/08/29/fake-images-of-pm-meloni-and-other-women-politicians-on-porn-website-spark-outrage-in-ital

^[4] "The protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data is a fundamental right. Article 8(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’) and Article 16(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provide that everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her”. Recital (1) Art. (1) GDPR – Subject-matter and objectives. Art. 1 GDPR – Subject-matter and objectives - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). (2016, August 30). General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). https://gdpr-info.eu/art-1-gdpr/.

^[5] Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women an girls: Technology-facilitated violence against women and girls: Report of the Secretary-General (2024). (2022, August 18). UN Women - Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/10/intensification-of-efforts-to-eliminate-all-forms-of-violence-against-women-report-of-the-secretary-general-2024; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2023). Exposing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in an era of Generative AI [Report]. https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2024/04/Ai-livre-EN-web.pdf.

^[6] Ibidem.

^[7] Posetti, J., Shabbir, N., Maynard, D., Bontcheva, K., & Aboulez, N. (2021). The chilling: Global trends in online violence against women journalists. UNESCO Research Discussion Paper. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377223/PDF/377223eng.pdf.multi

^[8] Babović, M., Litz, K., Ohtamis, E., UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, UN Women Regional Gender Statistics Specialist for Europe and Central Asia, UN Women EVAW Unit, Rafin, R., Bavcic, E., Ciupa, A., Esposito, E., Fabre, C., Costa, D., Gaitan, L., Rotino, F., Licciardello, C., Grant, R., Tiilikainen, K., Ketolainen, L., El-Yassir, A., Puiu, V. (2023). The dark side of digitalization: Technology-facilitated violence against women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. https://eca.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/research-tf-vaw_full-report_24-january2.pdf

^[9] Lomba, N., Navarra, C., Fernandes, M., European Parliamentary Research Service, Jack Malan, James Eager, Clara Burillo Feduchi, Michaela Brady, Ivan Bosch Chen, Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services LLP (CSES), Merja Pentikäinen, Ben Hayes, Dr Stella Capuano, & European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (EU FRA). (2021). Combating gender-based violence: Cyber violence.  https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/662621/EPRS_STU(2021)662621_EN.pdf

^[10] Ibidem. The costs include legal costs, healthcare costs, losses due to lower productivity and participation in the labour market, and more.

^[11] For a deep analysis of the main form of cyber violence against women: Zamfir, I. & European Parliamentary Research Service. (2025). Violence against women in the EU: State of play in 2025. In EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service (Report PE 772.921). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/772921/EPRS_BRI(2025)772921_EN.pdf; and European Women’s Lobby. (n.d.). Report on Cyber Violence Against Women. In https://womenlobby.org/new-publication-report-on-cyber-violence-against-women/.

^[12] Ibidem.

^[13] Deepfake almost exclusively target women (99% of victims), especially ceelebrities, politicians and journalists. Morevoer, the AI noodfication tool are often use to generate deepfake aimed to sextorsion. Romero-Moreno, F. (n.d.). Deepfake detection in generative AI: A legal framework proposal to protect human rights. Computer Law & Security Review, 58. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212473X25000355#cit_297

^[14] Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. (2025, February 6). Platform design and the risk of online violence against women an girls. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/platform-design-and-the-risk-of-online-violence-against-women-and-girls

^[15] The dark side of digitalisation: Technology-Facilitated violence against women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (n.d.). UN Women - Europe and Central Asia. https://eca.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/11/the-dark-side-of-digitalization-technology-facilitated-violence-against-women-in-eastern-europe-and-central-asia

^[16] Aiming to promote freedom of expression and access to information in a digital landscape, UNESCO outlined some guidelines as the core of digital platforms governance. One principle emphasizes the use of both human and automated systems for content moderation, to minimize the spread of harmful content and assess the risk of possible human rights violation. Regarding platforms design, a multi-stakeholder approach including women and affected communities, should be adopted to counter biases, stereotypes and discriminatory algorithm that harm vulnerable users. Establishing a harmonised definition of CVAW, enforcing existing regulations, and improving support and remedies for victims are essential steps in addressing the issue. Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms. (2024, January 25). UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/internet-trust/guidelines

^[17] EUR-LEX - 52020DC0152 - EN - EUR-LEX. (n.d.). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0152

^[18] European Parliament. (n.d.). Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a single market for digital services (digital services act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC | Legislative Train Schedule. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-europe-fit-for-the-digital-age/file-digital-services-act; and Digital Services: landmark rules adopted for a safer, open online environment  | News | European Parliament. (n.d.). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220701IPR34364/digital-services-landmark-rules-adopted-for-a-safer-open-online-environment  

^[19] Article 34 of DSA states that “Providers of very large online platforms and of very large online search engines shall diligently identify, analyse and assess any systemic risks in the Union stemming from the design or functioning of their service and its related systems, including algorithmic systems, or from the use made of their services”. Regulation - 2022/2065 - EN - DSA - EUR-LEX. (n.d.). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng

^[20] Parliament approves first ever EU rules on combating violence against women | News | European Parliament. (n.d.). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20588/parliament-approves-first-ever-eu-rules-on-combating-violence-against-women