Combating technology-facilitated gender-based violence in South-Eastern Europe: UNODC brings together regional experts to address digital violence

5 December 2025 – Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), which includes online violence and any other act of gender-based violence committed, assisted, or aggravated through technology or digital media, is becoming increasingly common. These acts cause serious psychological, social, and economic harm to victims, yet are often underestimated or dismissed.

To mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the UNODC Regional Office for South-Eastern Europe (ROSEE), in collaboration with UNDP and UN Women, convened experts from across the region for a webinar on technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Held on 5 December 2025, the event reached over 80 participants across the region and beyond, including stakeholders from civil society, academia, government and international organizations. It raised awareness about the scope and forms of TFGBV and explored the legal, technological, and social aspects of online violence.

The webinar opened with remarks from Michele Ribotta, UN Women Representative to Albania, who outlined UN Women’s work in Albania on TFGBV and introduced the regional report ”The Dark Side of Digitalization: Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”. He drew attention to the severe consequences of online violence, noting that in some cases, it has tragically led to women taking their own lives.

Sven Pfeiffer, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at UNODC, emphasized the connection between digital and physical violence against women and recalled the alarming reality that femicide rates remain persistently high, with a woman killed by an intimate partner or family member every 10 minutes globally. He also highlighted that human trafficking cases increasingly involve digital platforms. The UN Convention against Cybercrime, adopted last year and recently signed by over 70 UN Member States, provides a crucial framework to harmonize legislation, criminalize acts such as the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and enable international cooperation for more effective law enforcement and prosecution.

Experts from the region then shared their insights on the multidimensional nature of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Neda Chalovska, a lawyer specialized in gender-based violence, discussed North Macedonia’s efforts to prevent digital violence against women, including multisectoral training on TFGBV for public prosecutors, police, centers for social work and CSOs. She also underlined in her presentation that victims often experience repeated violence, leaving them feeling unsafe both online and offline.

Liljiana Pecova-Ilieska, executive director of IMPETUS, addressed emerging challenges such as AI-driven threats and deepfakes, which create new vulnerabilities for women online. She underscored the need for cross-border intelligence sharing and stronger collaboration with social media platforms to improve reporting mechanisms, in order to build prevention systems that allow women to be visible online without compromising their safety.

 

 

Natasha Asibey from the survivor support organization Refuge highlighted the practical realities of technology-facilitated abuse, noting that her tech team saw a 92 percent increase in referrals in early 2024 compared to 2019. She emphasized that in the reports received by her organization, all perpetrators were known to the survivors, underscoring that this crime is not limited to anonymous internet actors. She highlighted that multi-stakeholder domestic homicide reviews confirmed that technology makes survivors more accessible to abusers, who exploit their intimate knowledge to manipulate, trigger, and maintain control. Through an anonymized case study, she illustrated how abuse evolves and escalates—not only during a relationship but also after it ends—demonstrating the persistent nature of technology-facilitated violence.

Dženana Radončić, Assistant Professor and Vice Dean for Scientific Research at the Law Faculty of the University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the legislative challenges in relation to technology-facilitated gender-based violence. She noted that while patterns of abuse are not new, the digital environment dramatically amplifies the speed, scope, and persistence of violence, making updated or new legislation essential. Radončić outlined different regulatory approaches in South-Eastern Europe and stressed the need for comprehensive systems, including specialized training for police, prosecutors, judges, and support services on TFGBV and digital evidence. She called for clear protocols and structured cooperation with private actors and across borders to enable takedown requests, access to electronic evidence, and mutual legal assistance. “Today, perpetrators use technology to amplify gender-based violence; tomorrow, we can turn it into a tool for prevention, rapid protection, and bringing offenders to justice,” she concluded.

The webinar underscored that addressing TFGBV requires coordinated action from governments, civil society, technology companies, and law enforcement. Digital violence must be recognized as real violence—victims need timely support, and perpetrators must be held accountable. By convening diverse stakeholders and expertise, the UNODC Regional Office for South-Eastern Europe and its partners reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional responses to TFGBV and building safer digital spaces where women and girls can participate freely and without fear in digital life.

 

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