“AI is making abuses easier and more harmful, and this is fueling the erosion of hard-won rights. in a context marked by democratic retreat and online misogyny,” said Kalliopi Mingerou, who leads the agency’s team working to end violence against women.
Intimate photos are leaked
Tipping Point: Impacts, Protests, and Redress of Online Violence in the Age of AI It is based on a survey from 2025, in which 641 participants from 119 countries responded.
The findings revealed that 12 percent of female human rights defenders, activists, journalists and other media workers have experienced non-consensual sharing of personal images, including intimate or sexual content.
Six percent have been victims of “deepfakes” – AI-generated images that look real, while one in three have received unsolicited sexual advances online.
Some 41 percent of respondents said they self-censor on social media. to avoid abuse, while 19 percent self-censor in their professional work. for the same reason.
‘Forced to remain silent’
The picture is even more worrying for women journalists and media workers, as harassment has forced 45 percent to self-censor on social media, a 50 percent increase from 2020. In addition, almost 22 percent self-censor in their work.
“When online right-wing groups brand me a ‘traitor’ and thousands of WhatsApp forwarders spread these false accusations, simply living in my own country becomes terrifying,” said an environmental journalist from India.
“We have begun to censor ourselves, withdrawing from investigative journalism. This is because local right-wing agents, prompted by these publications, have confronted my relatives and spoken rudely to them. It is not easy to live freely; we are forced to remain silent.”
Women journalists and media workers were also twice as likely to report incidents of online violence to police compared to 2020 – 22 percent versus 11 percent.
They are also now more likely to take legal action against perpetrators, enablers (such as technology companies) or their employers: from eight percent in 2020 to 14 percent in 2025.
Impacts on mental health
The report documents the serious damage that online violence is having on women’s mental health.
Nearly a quarter of women journalists and media workers, 24.7 percent, have been diagnosed or treated for anxiety or depression.
Nearly 13 percent have been diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
One respondent, a journalist and community organizer, shared how these mental health impacts are related to self-censorship, discussions about the democratic process, and financial difficulties.
“When we talk out loud about democracy, there is no ‘feeling’ of democracy, just a ‘demonstration of madness,'” he told researchers.
“Unable to cope with the relentless pressure, I resigned from my job in December 2023. Now I am sitting at home, focused solely on restoring my mental well-being..”
The situation has caused her serious financial problems, since “she currently subsists on rice porridge, a direct consequence of having been forced to remain silent and be unemployed.”
Lack of legislation
Despite the crisis, significant gaps remain in legal protection against online violence, as World Bank data shows. Less than 40 percent of countries have laws that protect women from cyberbullying or cyberstalking..
Ms Mingerou highlighted that “our responsibility is to ensure that systems, laws and platforms respond with the urgency that this crisis demands.”
The report is the second in a series based on the global survey.
The next edition will address a wide range of issues related to online violence towards women in public roles, including analysis of the characteristics and behaviors of perpetrators and the role of “big tech companies.”
For more information on this and other important updates on press freedom and the rise in the total number of journalists attacked around the world, visit our live coverage of the UN marking the international day on Monday.