a. An Introduction to TFGBV and the Big Bad Internet
Whenever a space presents hazards for vulnerable groups that are entitled to use and access a space, it is prudent to put in place measures to ensure that these vulnerable groups can navigate the space safely. A good parallel is parenting: in the way that a parent has an obligation and should do their best to make the home environment safe for their newborn baby, the state has a similar obligation to intentionally and conscientiously soften the egregiously sharp edges of the internet that have quickly made the digital space a hostile ground for women who have as much right to use and benefit from online spaces as men do.
The digital age comes the increased use of technology and social media. It is unsurprising that more and more people are able to easily access technology, social media platforms and even open-source artificial intelligence (AI) software in their everyday lives to perform everyday tasks. In a patriarchal paradigm, this increased access has taken on a misogynistic nature that uses the tools and features in technology and social media to perpetrate violence against women and girls; this is referred to as technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV).
TFGBV is the weaponizing of technology to attack women and girls on the basis of their gender. TFGBV is further defined as any “act that is committed, assisted, aggravated or amplified by the use of communication information technologies or other digital tools that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political or economic harm or other infringement of rights or freedoms (Article 19 2025).” TFGBV is distinct from other forms of gender-based violence in its scale,
velocity and impact. It can be perpetrated remotely, cheaply, anonymously and through content that remains available indefinitely. TFGBV can have serious adverse effects on the physical and mental health of survivors including, stress, self-harm,
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and often leads to survivors feeling physically unsafe (Cerise et al. 2024). The various forms of TFGBV are ever evolving and include doxxing, bullying, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, deepfake
videos, among others.
Online violence is often a precursor to offline violence. The main object of TFGBV is to publicly humiliate, shame and silence women users of the internet. TFGBV has very real and tangible adverse effects on the lives of victims ranging from emotional
distress and depression to loss of employment, stigma and in its final form, physical violence including femicide. The risk of TFGBV is therefore on par with the risk of the physical forms of gender-based violence and it is imperative that laws evolve to
ensure prevention of and protection of women from TFGBV.
b. African Solutions to African Problems
The above tagline is often touted to mean that African governments, lawmakers and overall duty bearers are hard at work to provide uniquely African solutions to the various issues on the continent. While this may sound promising, it is a smoke
screen behind which lawmakers hide to escape accountability. An analysis of the legal regime both domestically and regionally reveals a legal system that leaves women vulnerable to the ever-evolving forms of TFGBV. The Kenyan Constitution offers a range of protections through the Bill of Rights which guarantees the right to privacy, the right dignity, the right to freedom of security but these must be balanced alongside the freedom of speech. Parliament has also enacted laws such as the
Cybercrimes and Computer Misuse Act of 2018 as well as the Data Protection Act of 2019. However, rather than being used for the eradication of TFGBV and guaranteeing the safety of online users, these laws have been used and continue to
be used for the protection of powerful personalities, increased surveillance by the State, and continued suppression of the freedom of speech.
At the regional level, the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU CEVAWG) which was adopted in February 2025 was anticipated to contain robust protections against TFGBV, outline the role of the state in prevention and response and recognise the human rights obligations of technology companies, but it falls woefully short. The AU CEVAWG merely mentions “cyberspace” as a sphere where violence against women occurs but fails to provide any analysis of the root causes of said violence. It does not provide specific measures that states must adopt in order to keep up with the proliferation of TFGBV.
It does not expound on the transnational cooperation that must be utilised to effectively identify and bring perpetrators to book, and finally, it fails to highlight the standard that tech intermediaries must be held to in the design, monitoring and moderation of content, algorithms and users. Rather than providing African solutions, the AU CEVAWG merely mentions the problem and swiftly marches forward, leaving the African woman behind to guarantee her own safety online. Due to the manifest
problems with the AU CEVAWG, feminists across Africa have launched the #PauseforPurpose Campaign and are calling on States to pause the process of ratification, re-open the Convention and amend it to ensure it achieves its noble objective, which is to end violence against women and girls.
c. The Role of Big Tech and AI Governance, #BigTechMustGo
We cannot discuss TFGBV without mentioning Big Tech. Big Tech is a term used to refer to a handful of companies which dominate and have a monopoly over the market. These companies wield extraordinary influence over the infrastructure, services and norms that shape our experiences online. Apple, Google, Meta and Amazon are a few of the companies that run the internet to the extent we view these. services as essential to daily life as utility services such as electricity or water (Amnesty International 2025). Big Tech dominates key sectors of the internet: from search engines and social media to cloud computing, ecommerce, and mobile operating systems. This provides them tremendous power to shape public opinion and control the flow of information. The risks of letting a few businesses serve as gatekeepers of the digital public realm are highlighted by documented instances of content removal, uneven moderation, censorship and algorithmic prejudice. The conditions created by the influence and profit-driven practices by Big Tech have a direct impact on the vulnerability of women and their safety online as they create the conditions that allow perpetrators to thrive.
Part of ensuring a robust legal regime with respect to TFGBV entails embedding standards that must be adhered to, including entrenching human rights standards in the design, algorithms and content moderation. Complaint mechanisms must not be victim-driven, relying on victims to make the complaints, verify their claims and jump through unfair hoops to gain justice. Tech intermediaries instead should actively root out harmful content, de-platform misogynistic platforms and provide user friendly
complaints mechanisms. Community standards and guidelines must also be victim- centred with a zero tolerance approaches and radical removal of offenders.
d. Reimagining a Feminist Future
We imagine a future that is feminist and safe for women: where women feel free to post selfies online without the threat of AI undressing them; where Content moderators are trained on spotting and immediately removing offenders; where the monopoly of the internet by Big Tech has been dismantled and replaced by ethical, conscientious and non-profit driven entities; where legal frameworks have provided a safe haven for victims of TFGBV who are able to access meaningful access to justice; and where the AU CEVAWG is amended and lauded as world leader in ending violence against women and girls.