ActionAid Zimbabwe demands a united front to end Digital Violence against women and girls

BY STEVE EPHRAEM

ActionAid Zimbabwe has issued a powerful call for a united national effort to confront the escalating crisis of digital violence against women and girls, as the world marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

The campaign, running from 25 November to 10 December, is being launched under the global theme ‘UNITE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls’. The theme spotlights the urgent need for collective action to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of women and girls in online spaces, which have become a new frontier for abuse.

Digital violence encompasses a range of harmful acts, including cyberbullying, online harassment, hate speech, impersonation, extortion, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. 9It has emerged as one of the most pervasive and underreported forms of gender-based violence in the country. Official figures from the National GBV Strategy (2023–2030) indicate that 28 percent of women in Zimbabwe have already experienced some form of online gender-based violence.

This abuse, ActionAid Zimbabwe stresses, is a crisis that knows no boundaries, cutting across age, geography, income, and political affiliation. Its effect is to silence women’s voices and undermine their participation in public and digital life.

The organisation notes that digital violence worsens the existing inequalities faced by women and girls. As the country grapples with climate shocks, economic pressures, and humanitarian crises, women and girls are placed at even greater risk. In such times, access to reliable, safe, and affordable digital information becomes critical for decision-making, protection, livelihoods, and health. Building a just and inclusive future, they argue, depends on ensuring every woman and girl can use digital tools with confidence, dignity, and freedom from fear.

ActionAid Zimbabwe is urging the government, regulators, and digital platforms to implement the Cyber Security and Data Protection Act with a strong gender perspective. They insist this is vital to ensure women and girls are fully protected from online harassment, exploitation, and abuse. They state that effective implementation must include secure reporting systems, survivor-centred support pathways, and the rigorous prosecution of offenders.

To mark these 16 Days of Activism, the feminist organisation is calling for coordinated national action. It demands that the voices of women and girls be placed at the centre of all legislation, policy formulation, and digital governance. It has also called for a significant increase in public financing for community-based, feminist programmes that build digital safety, resilience, and awareness.

Further recommendations include strengthening legal frameworks to deter perpetrators and protect survivors’ privacy, ensuring rapid takedown systems for harmful content, and establishing clear, survivor-friendly reporting mechanisms. The group also emphasised the need to hold political actors, social media platforms, and public institutions accountable for preventing online misogyny, political abuse, and image-based violence.

Reaffirming its commitment as a feminist organisation, ActionAid Zimbabwe stated its dedication to defending the rights of women and girls across all spaces—physical, virtual, and public. The call extends to government, civil society, technology companies, youth, media, and communities to work in partnership.

The message is clear that creating a digital environment where every woman and girl can speak, learn, work, and lead without violence is not an optional goal, but a national imperative.