Digital Violence Against Women Emerges as Major Risk to MENAAP's Economic Transformation

A World Bank Knowledge Brief warns that technology-facilitated gender-based violence is emerging as a major barrier to women's participation in the digital economy across the MENAAP region, threatening employment, entrepreneurship, education and public engagement despite rapid digital transformation. The report urges governments, development partners and private-sector stakeholders to strengthen laws, improve online safety, and embed gender-responsive safeguards into digital policies to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAAP) region is investing heavily in digital technologies to create jobs, improve public services and build more competitive economies. Governments are promoting artificial intelligence, digital finance, e-commerce and online entrepreneurship as engines of future growth. However, a new World Bank Knowledge Brief, based on research by the World Bank Group, GSMA Intelligence, UN Women, UNESCO, the Digital Rights Foundation, SecDev Foundation, Amnesty International, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), the Economist Intelligence Unit and other research organisations, warns that technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) is becoming a major obstacle to these ambitions. The report argues that digital transformation cannot be truly inclusive if women continue to face harassment, abuse and intimidation whenever they participate online.

Digital Growth Faces an Invisible Barrier

Digital technologies are opening new opportunities for women to work remotely, start online businesses, access financial services and connect with new markets. Yet many women are unable to benefit fully because they either lack safe access to digital technologies or are driven away by online abuse. The report shows that women in MENAAP are 12% less likely than men to use mobile internet, 9% less likely to own a mobile phone, and 13% less likely to own a smartphone. As a result, nearly 60 million women remain without mobile internet access, while 65 million do not own smartphones.

Even those who are online face growing risks. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence includes cyberstalking, online harassment, image-based abuse, sextortion, fake social media accounts, deepfake pornography, doxxing and technology-enabled surveillance. Unlike ordinary cybercrime, these attacks specifically target women and often exploit cultural and social norms related to honour and reputation. The report found that 60% of respondents across 18 countries had experienced at least one form of online harm. Across Arab countries, 49% of women internet users said they felt unsafe online, while 16% had already experienced online violence.

A Growing Threat to Jobs, Businesses and Public Life

The report highlights that online violence is no longer just a social issue but a serious economic challenge. Mobile technologies contributed around US$350 billion, or 5.7% of regional GDP, in 2024, while governments continue investing in digital economies to create employment. Yet women's labour force participation across MENAAP remains only about 20%, one of the lowest rates in the world. According to the report, unsafe digital spaces are becoming another barrier preventing women from joining or remaining in the workforce.

Evidence from Jordan shows the scale of the problem. Nearly 48% of women working in digital sectors reported experiencing online violence. Among them, 44% said it reduced their willingness to continue working, 31% reduced their use of digital platforms, and 29% reported losing customers or income. Annual productivity losses linked to digital violence in Jordan alone are estimated to exceed 4.2 million Jordanian dinars.

Women entrepreneurs are particularly vulnerable because many operate businesses through social media platforms. Abuse from anonymous users, reputational attacks and unwanted messages often force them to reduce their online presence or close their businesses. The report notes that about 93% of women-owned online businesses remain informal, leaving entrepreneurs with little legal protection. Education is also affected. Studies cited in the report found that 42% of Egyptian female students and academics who experienced digital violence reported poorer academic performance, while in Iraq 89% of female university students who experienced cyber abuse never reported it.

The report also warns that women journalists, politicians and activists are increasingly being targeted through organised online attacks aimed at silencing them. During Jordan's elections, 77% of violent online posts targeting women candidates were created by men, while Pakistan documented 117 cases of gendered disinformation during the 2024 elections, 72% of which targeted women, including the use of AI-generated manipulated content.

Why Governments and Development Partners Must Act Now

The report argues that current laws and institutions have failed to keep pace with rapidly changing digital technologies. Many countries have cybercrime laws, but very few specifically recognise technology-facilitated gender-based violence or address emerging threats such as deepfakes and AI-generated abuse. Weak reporting systems, limited institutional capacity and poor coordination with technology platforms further reduce access to justice for survivors.

For governments, the report recommends introducing dedicated legislation that clearly defines TFGBV, strengthening specialised cybercrime units, expanding survivor-friendly reporting mechanisms and integrating online safety into national digital development strategies. Digital safety should be treated as a core public policy issue rather than simply a policing matter.

International development partners also have an important role. The report recommends that investments in broadband, digital skills, financial inclusion, e-governance and entrepreneurship programmes should include online safety measures from the beginning. Privacy protection, digital literacy, survivor support services and safety-by-design principles should become standard components of all digital inclusion projects. Development agencies are also encouraged to strengthen local civil society organisations that provide legal, psychological and digital security support to women experiencing online abuse.

Building Safer Digital Economies for Everyone

The report highlights significant opportunities for the private sector to become part of the solution. Social media companies, technology firms, financial institutions and digital platforms can strengthen trust by introducing better content moderation, faster complaint mechanisms, AI-based detection of abusive content, stronger identity protection and reporting tools in Arabic and other regional languages. Employers should also recognise online harassment as a workplace issue because digital abuse directly affects employee wellbeing, productivity and retention.

The report concludes that protecting women online is not only a human rights priority but also an economic necessity. Countries across MENAAP are investing billions of dollars in digital transformation, yet these investments will not deliver their full benefits if women continue to withdraw from online education, digital employment, entrepreneurship and public life because of fear and harassment. Making digital spaces safer will help expand women's participation in labour markets, strengthen entrepreneurship, improve access to services and increase the overall returns on digital investments. For policymakers, development partners and private-sector leaders, the message is clear: digital inclusion must go beyond expanding internet access and place equal emphasis on ensuring that every woman can participate online safely, confidently and without fear.