From context to collective action: Outcomes of Africa’s first symposium on technology-facilitated gender-based violence

The inaugural, UNFPA-led First Africa Symposium on Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence created a first-of-its-kind continental platform for sharing evidence, strengthening regional collaboration and advancing survivor-centred responses to the problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The symposium was co-organised by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), United Nations Populated Fund (UNFPA) Kenya and Benin, Global Affairs Canada, the Governments of Kenya and Benin, and Réseau pour l'Intégration des Femmes des ONG et Associations Africaines (RIFONGA) Benin. It was held virtually on 5 and 6 November 2025 under the theme, TFGBV in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Context to Collective Action, bringing together over 320 participants from civil society, government, the technical community, and the private sector across the region.

Over two days, the symposium became a space for these stakeholders to learn more about the problem based on real-life experiences, and discuss the paths and strategies needed to translate the diagnosis into effective actions. In this piece, we walk through the conversations that took place over those two days, while also highlighting some key points of APC's call to action.

Situating TFGBV in Sub-Saharan Africa

The increased reach and usage of technology expand the potential to access information, education, movement building and civil participation. However, in a similar measure, technology poses a threat to women, girls, gender-diverse people and journalists among others. TFGBV, such as online harassment, cyberstalking, non-consensual sharing of intimate imagery, doxxing, body shaming, gendered disinformation, hate speech and the like comprises acts of gender-based violence committed in part or fully by the use of information and communications technologies 

An Institute of Development Studies report pointed to TFGBV prevalence ranging from 16% to 58%. A recent report by Paradigm Initiative reveals that out of 276 research participants, 186 individuals (67%) reported experiencing some form of TFGBV, while only 84 respondents indicated that they had not been subjected to digital abuse. This further confirms the evolving and consistent nature of TFGBV calls for enormous efforts towards policy reforms, collaborations, targeted campaigns that counter the negative impacts of TFGBV. Locating this problem in the region and taking the necessary measures is a fundamental step in this process.

The symposium opened with a clear message: Africa’s digital transformation must be accompanied by safety, dignity and accountability for women and girls in all their diversity. The opening session acknowledged the dual reality of connectivity in Africa, expanding access to information, services and opportunity, while also creating new spaces for harm through online harassment, surveillance, image-based abuse and political intimidation. Government representatives from Kenya and Benin outlined progress and gaps. Kenya shared its frameworks – the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, Data Protection Act, and National GBV Policy – alongside worrying statistics: 90% of university students have witnessed online violence and one in four women candidates faced digital attacks during the 2022 elections. 

The Government of Benin highlighted national research showing that women and girls under 18 are among those most affected by online abuse. Benin announced a national TFGBV prevention programme supported by UNFPA, focused on prevention, response systems, public awareness and inter-country learning. Speakers from Benin framed TFGBV as both a technical and moral challenge, urging collective responsibility from states, communities and technology providers. Both countries called for continental collaboration, harmonised digital safety laws, survivor-centred reporting systems and shared knowledge hubs to drive evidence-based action. Canada’s high commissioner, H.E. Joshua Tabah, reaffirmed his country’s commitment through the Making All Spaces Safe programme, and called for collective governance bringing governments, civil society and tech companies to the same table.

“Technology is not the enemy; it’s the mirror. It reflects our society back to us. If inequality exists offline, it will amplify online. If justice is delayed offline, it will disappear online.” 
Queentah Wambulwa, Girls for Girls Africa Mental Health Foundation

In her keynote address, Queentah Wambua shared her experience as a survivor of image-based abuse and her journey to founding Girls for Girls Africa Mental Health Foundation. Her call was for systems that listen to survivors, design technology with safety in mind, and transform silence into structures of care.

Escalation of violence

The first plenary revealed how online violence escalates during periods of political tension, conflict and elections, becoming a direct threat to democracy. APC's Tigist Shewarega Hussein spoke of East Africa, where women journalists and activists face online hate, ethnic harassment and state-linked disinformation campaigns. She urged us to see TFGBV not only on social media but also in the weaponisation of AI, drones and surveillance in conflict zones. 

Geneviève Boko Najo from Benin shared that women in politics are routinely targeted by sexualised attacks and fake news that destroy reputations and drive them out of public life. She called for regional coalitions, harmonisation of laws, and data-driven action. Providence Baraka from the DRC noted that, while the country has a Digital Code on paper, enforcement is weak, leaving survivors without justice. He urged governments to shift from drafting laws to implementing effective mechanisms.

The second plenary shifted from analysis to action, focusing on how TFGBV can be fully integrated into GBV and ICT programmes. Guided by the UNFPA framework of who, why, what, where, when and how, the panel explored practical ways to make digital safety part of national development. Speakers agreed that online gender-based violence is no longer a fringe issue but a public-policy emergency. 

As digital access expands, so does exposure to harm such as cyber-harassment, image-based abuse, and misinformation. Integrating TFGBV into programming ensures these realities are addressed alongside mental-health, economic and social impacts. They called for data-driven programming using research, indicators and partnerships to shape responses. There was emphasis on digital literacy, which must start early, and demanded that tech firms design platforms with built-in safety. 

Towards responses in the region

On its second day, the symposium shifted the conversation further from diagnosis to action, focusing on data, design and sustainable integration of TFGBV responses. The first plenary session explored the availability, use and ethics of data on TFGBV in Africa. The discussion focused on whether Africa truly lacks TFGBV data or simply undervalues existing information, and how to ensure ethical, survivor-centred data collection and usage.

There was a poll to open up the discussion which had the following findings.

•  83% agreed there is not enough TFGBV data in Africa.
• Respondents were split on whether TFGBV data should exclude survivors’ emotional input for objectivity.
• 47% agreed inaccurate data is a bigger risk than survivor harm.
• 60% disagreed that governments should be primary data owners.

The session underscored that Africa’s TFGBV data poses a dual challenge: limited availability and underutilisation. To address this, we need to promote ethical, feminist-informed methodologies, ensuring survivor-centred protection and consent protocols, and collaboration between governments, CSOs and tech companies, apart from recognition of community ownership and context in data-driven responses.

Across both days, a shared understanding emerged: TFGBV is not a side issue or a short-term project: it is a structural challenge that requires coordinated, institutionalised action. 

A collective responsibility

APC was invited to deliver a call-to-action statement at the end of the symposium. It rose to the occasion: "We have worked at the intersection of digital rights and women’s rights for almost 30 years. Over the past decade, technology-facilitated gender-based violence has become a key area of our advocacy because we recognise that the same technologies that connect and empower us can also be used to harm and silence." 
 
APC’s global work on TFGBV addresses the growing harms that individuals and communities experience in digital spaces, and how these deepen existing inequalities. 

APC’s Feminist Research Network research project analyses TFGBV’s impact on women and the LGBTQIA+ population in the Global south. Undertaken in South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Brazil, India, Tajikistan and Palestine. APC did intensive work on gender disinformation that is a form of TFGBV. The report, Placing gender in disinformation, explains the concept, manifestation, impact and the importance of drawing efforts towards countering gender disinformation. APC developed its Policy Explainer on Disinformation that is resourced for advocacy. 

APC’s also just-concluded research study, Bridging the gap; addressing TFBGV in global AI governance, investigated the intersection of AI governance and TFGBV frameworks, focusing on whether and how global, regional and national policy instruments account for the gendered harms emerging from AI systems.

In Africa, APC is collaborating with Pollicy, Zaina Foundation and PROTEGE QV in Uganda, Tanzania and Cameroon respectively to monitor and document cases of gender disinformation and build the capacity of civil society, women journalists and women in politics in countering gender disinformation.

Drawing on accumulated experience, collaboration and evidence, APC’s call to action underscored the importance of the symposium: 

"Spaces like this are essential; they remind us that real progress comes through collaboration and collective action,"  APC’s statement emphasised, concluding: 

"Taking action to end TFGBV cannot stand apart from our broader efforts to eliminate gender-based violence. It must be embedded within them as part of a holistic, inclusive, cross-sectoral response that connects health, education, legal, and justice systems."

Looking ahead, APC underscored the urgent need to: 

• Prioritise TFGBV by integrating it into national and regional GBV strategies, policies and budgets, with strong cross-sector coordination.
• Strengthen survivor-centred justice and support through community-rooted responses that link national frameworks to local systems.
• Harmonise laws and policies to prevent and address TFGBV while protecting digital rights and freedoms.
• Shift from response to prevention by investing in digital literacy, safety by design, and accessible reporting mechanisms.
• Sustain multi-stakeholder collaboration that builds capacity, accountability, and centres the voices of women and girls in all their diversity.

The call to action also served as an opportunity to reflect on the deep-rooted nature of the problem, and to conclude: 

"Understanding how TFGBV manifests in our local contexts is a shared responsibility. We must recognise TFGBV as part of the structural problem of gender-based violence itself. Failing to do so means overlooking decades of struggle and ignoring how deeply TFGBV is rooted in the same inequalities that fuel all forms of gender-based violence.”

Peace Oliver Amuge is APC’s Africa regional strategy lead. She has worked broadly on digital human rights and tech policy across the continent, focusing on freedom of expression, privacy, access and cybersecurity. She is a former member of the UN Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) with the Internet Governance Forum, and currently coordinates the annual Africa School of Internet Governance (AfriSIG). 

Josephine Miliza, based in Nairobi, Kenya, is a leading advocate for digital equity and inclusive technology governance. With over a decade of experience as a telecommunications engineer, she is a pioneer of community networks in Africa and a passionate voice for safe, equitable and people-centred digital ecosystems. Currently serving as global policy and regulation lead at APC’s Local Networks Initiative, she supports governments and regulators in developing inclusive policies, licensing frameworks and digital safety strategies.