Lebanon today joins the world in launching the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, shining a spotlight on one of the fastest growing threats to women’s safety: digital violence. 

The United Nations System in Lebanon, in partnership with the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) and UN gender and gender-based violence partners, launches a nationwide campaign under the theme: “UNiTE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls.”

Digital violence is real. It is growing. And it is harming women and girls every day.

One in three women worldwide experiences violence in her lifetime and today, abuse follows women into digital spaces. As the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, one of the most progressive international agreements on women's rights, this year’s campaign calls attention to online harassment, cyber-stalking, deepfakes, non-consensual images, and other technology-facilitated abuses that are escalating at alarming speed.

A 2021 UN Women study found that almost one in two women internet users in the Arab States feel unsafe online due to harassment and other forms of digital abuse. In Lebanon, 80% of reported victims of digital violence between 2020 and 2023 were women, according to the Internal Security Forces, (ISF).

“With the rapid expansion of digital spaces, digital violence against women and girls has become an urgent and growing challenge. We must work collectively to adopt laws that criminalize these acts, enforce measures that prevent them, ensure accountability, and provide survivors with essential legal, social, health, and psychological services. Raising public awareness is equally critical to ensure that society rejects digital violence and reports it. Only then we can secure safe and empowering online spaces for all women and girls,” said the First Lady of Lebanon Mrs. Neemat Aoun, President of the National Commission for Lebanese Women. 

Tech-enabled abuse is not “virtual.” Its impact is painfully real.

The campaign calls on governments, tech companies, donors, media, and individuals to take urgent action:

• Governments must pass and enforce laws to criminalize digital abuse and protect privacy.
• Tech companies must make platforms safer and act quickly on reports of harm.
• Donors must support feminist and digital-rights organizations leading prevention and protection efforts.
• Individuals must speak out, support survivors, and challenge harmful behaviors online.

“Digital violence is a growing threat to women’s rights and safety. It silences voices, reinforces discrimination, and pushes women and girls out of spaces where they should be leading change. This campaign is a call to act, to reclaim digital spaces as places of safety, dignity, and equal participation for all women and girls in Lebanon and beyond," said Imran Riza, UN Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon.

A new campaign to reclaim digital spaces

The campaign launches with a powerful video featuring Lebanese artist Maritta Hallani, amplifying the voices of survivors and urging action to make digital spaces safe for all.
A social media package using #16Days #١٦يوم #NoExcuse #لا_عذر will roll out throughout the campaign.

“Digital violence may unfold behind screens, but its impact is painfully real. It silences women and girls, drives them out of public life, and undermines their fundamental rights. Ending digital violence means believing survivors, holding perpetrators and platforms to account, and taking action online and offline to make our digital spaces safe, inclusive and enabling for all women and girls,” said Gielan Elmessiri, UN Women Representative in Lebanon.

About the 16 Days Campaign

Born out of the 1991 Women’s Global Leadership Institute, the 16 Days of Activism is a global call to end violence against women and girls everywhere. Each year, governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, artists, activists, and communities mobilize to raise awareness, demand accountability, and drive change.

*****

Media Contacts:

Roula Rached, Communications and Advocacy Specialist, UN Women 

Phone number: 00961 70 351 088

Micheline Elias Massaad, Executive Director, National Commission for Lebanese Women

Phone number: 009613452570