AI deepfakes, mass chat abuse and grooming push digital gender divide into crisis

Traditionally, that divide referred to gaps in access to devices, internet connectivity, or basic digital skills. The study argues that these measures are no longer enough. Modern gender inequality online has moved far beyond access and now resides in the quality of digital use, particularly the extent to which girls and young women are exposed to harmful online practices.

A new academic investigation signals an escalating crisis in the online safety of girls, revealing how digital technologies that once promised global connection are increasingly being turned against minors. The study argues that children, especially young girls, are not simply facing a generalised risk online but are being targeted through sophisticated and evolving forms of gender-based digital violence.

Published in Behavioral Sciences, the study “Reconceptualising the Digital Gender Divide, Accommodating New Forms of Virtual Gender-Based Violence”, the research offers one of the most detailed examinations to date of how online platforms, messaging apps, artificial intelligence tools, and even video game environments have become mechanisms for grooming, sextortion, deepfake exploitation, and the mass circulation of violent and hateful content among minors. The author warns that these harms are growing faster than protective structures and that the digital gender divide must now be redefined to account for these emerging dangers.

Based on more than a decade of documented cases from 2012 to 2025, the study uses a qualitative analysis of widely reported incidents to show how digital risks once considered isolated have evolved into a pattern of systemic gender-targeted violence against minors. The findings reveal a rapid shift from early social-media-driven incidents to the use of highly advanced technologies that magnify the reach and severity of online abuse.

How does the digital gender divide evolve when technology turns into a tool for violence?

Traditionally, that divide referred to gaps in access to devices, internet connectivity, or basic digital skills. The study argues that these measures are no longer enough. Modern gender inequality online has moved far beyond access and now resides in the quality of digital use, particularly the extent to which girls and young women are exposed to harmful online practices.

The author frames the divide not simply as a matter of who gets online, but how online interactions shape autonomy, empowerment, safety and participation. Gender stereotypes and structural inequalities persist in digital spaces: girls are still underrepresented in technological careers, often discouraged from technological proficiency and disproportionately exposed to sexist norms. Meanwhile, boys and men continue to dominate many digital environments, including those where misogynistic content circulates unchecked.

To expose these shifting dynamics, the study analyses cases that meet a strict criterion: only highly mediated incidents reported by at least 20 national or international outlets were included. This ensures that the investigation captures events of strong public relevance and societal impact. The cases are categorised not by the platform used, but by the severity of their consequences for emotional, psychological and social well-being. This shift in analytical approach emphasises the harm inflicted rather than the technological mechanism alone.

Over 13 years of case data demonstrate a clear trend: digital violence against girls has become more complex, more technologically sophisticated and more integrated into the broader online ecosystem. Platforms that were originally designed for connection, entertainment or self-expression have become channels for predatory behaviour, harassment, algorithm-driven exposure to harmful content, deepfake fabrication and aggressive peer-to-peer interactions.

What new forms of gender-based violence are emerging in digital spaces?

The study identifies four major categories of digital gender-based violence shaping the experiences of girls in the digital age. Each category represents developments in both user behaviour and technological capability.

1. Self-harm and suicide linked to grooming, sexting, sextortion and harmful content

The first category documents cases in which online interactions lead directly to severe psychological deterioration, self-harm or suicide among minors. The research highlights widely reported incidents such as the death of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd, who was harassed and blackmailed after an online predator coerced her into sharing intimate images. Her case set the early precedent for understanding how sextortion and online humiliation can push minors into extreme distress, especially when images are repeatedly circulated across platforms.

The study compares earlier one-off cases with more recent, highly organised exploitation networks. One of the most alarming examples is the case of the “764” network, dismantled by US federal authorities in 2025. The group operated across borders with a degree of technical sophistication that allowed perpetrators to coerce minors into sexual acts, self-harm and criminal behaviour. Victims, some as young as thirteen, were subjected to sustained manipulation reinforced by digital tools.

In addition to grooming and sextortion, the study examines harmful content that targets vulnerable girls through algorithmic pathways. Incidents like the death of British teenager Molly Russell demonstrate how recommendation systems push minors toward self-harm material, creating digital echo chambers that reinforce dangerous impulses. the study notes that such platforms do not need to explicitly promote harmful behaviour for damage to occur; the mere combination of vulnerable users and unregulated algorithmic selection can create life-threatening situations.

These patterns form part of a wider ecosystem that disproportionately affects girls, shaped by societal expectations, gender norms and the persistent sexualisation of minors in online environments.

2. Deepfake exploitation and AI-generated sexual abuse of underage girls

A rapidly escalating form of digital violence is the use of AI-generated deepfakes to produce fake nude images of minors. This category highlights cases in Spain and Cyprus where large numbers of girls were targeted by manipulated images created without their knowledge or consent. These images were shared across school communities, messaging apps and social networks, generating cycles of humiliation and psychological distress.

The Almendralejo case in Spain stands out as a defining moment in public awareness. More than twenty girls found themselves depicted in fabricated explicit images generated with smartphone apps using artificial intelligence. The minors experienced immediate emotional harm and long-term social repercussions. The incident exposed major gaps in existing laws, which were not fully prepared to classify AI-generated sexual images of minors under conventional child pornography statutes. Ultimately, several teenage boys were sentenced to probation measures and required to participate in educational programmes on sexuality, digital responsibility and equality.

These cases show how AI multiplies the harm potential of digital tools. While traditional non-consensual image sharing typically relies on real photos, AI now enables offenders to fabricate explicit content without any physical interaction. This expands the pool of victims, lowers the threshold for perpetration and increases the difficulty of prevention and detection.

The study also points to a broader gender dynamic: such misconduct is overwhelmingly committed by boys while girls overwhelmingly experience the harm. The author calls for gender-specific interventions, including education for boys on sexual ethics and responsible digital conduct, and empowerment and solidarity strategies for girls to counteract technologies that weaponise their image and identity.

3. Violent mass chats and social normalisation of harmful content

The third category reveals how large-scale online group chats, most commonly hosted on messaging platforms, have become channels for circulating violent, pornographic, misogynistic and hateful content among minors. Investigations in several regions of Spain uncovered networks of school-age boys sharing material involving sexual violence, child pornography, animal abuse and extremist content.

Many minors were added to these groups without consent, yet few left voluntarily. The study identifies two primary explanations: a lack of awareness that sharing such content can constitute serious criminal conduct, and the strong desire for peer acceptance during adolescence. Remaining in these groups, even passively, reinforces harmful norms and increases the risk that young users internalise sexist messages or mimic violent behaviour.

The author stresses that early exposure to sexual and violent content shapes attitudes during a critical developmental stage. Studies referenced in the analysis show that consumption of this material can normalise sexist behaviour, increase tolerance for aggression and heighten the risk of future involvement in gender-based violence. This creates a feedback loop within youth digital culture: harmful content spreads, peer norms shift and individuals become more likely to participate in the very behaviours that caused harm to others.

4. Incitement to sexual violence through video game environments

The fourth category investigates the emergence of video game spaces that promote or simulate sexual violence against women. One of the most widely reported cases involved a game removed from distribution after public outcry over content that encouraged players to perpetrate sexual assault and incest. The study notes that while video games have long been discussed in relation to violence, the inclusion of explicit sexist and sexually violent content represents a new and troubling development.

These games, as the study argues, do more than entertain; they help produce and reinforce cultural narratives that dehumanise women and girls. Because minors routinely access such content, the risk of behavioural desensitisation is particularly acute. In her analysis, such games contribute to a continuum of hostility that begins with online harassment and extends into real-world violence.

What must education systems and policymakers do to confront these risks?

Confronting these threats demands a re-examination of how societies understand digital competence, digital rights and child protection. The study integrates the European Union’s major digital frameworks, including DigComp 2.2, DigCompEdu, the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, and the Better Internet for Kids strategy, into a comprehensive response model that expands the concept of the digital gender divide to include the online harms documented in the study.

The author argues that schools are the most effective environment for building the skills needed to withstand digital threats. She highlights the need for:

• Critical digital literacy that helps minors understand digital risks, recognise cyberviolence and respond appropriately.
• Sexuality education that explains consent, respect, and gender equality.
• Training programmes that support personal digital resilience, allowing minors to process and recover from harmful online experiences.
• Teacher preparation programmes aligned with European digital competence frameworks so that educators can guide students safely and detect early signs of cyberviolence.

Families also play a key role. Parents must adapt their supervisory practices as children grow, reduce distracted parenting, model healthy digital behaviour and collaborate with schools to identify risks early. The study underscores the need for community-wide involvement in digital protection, as minors often do not recognise the seriousness of online crimes.

The analysis references several European initiatives as essential components of a safer digital ecosystem, including regulations on high-risk AI systems and digital rights frameworks that emphasise child protection. Still, the author stresses that regulation alone cannot eliminate online threats. Even with institutional safeguards, minors will inevitably encounter risks.