New Delhi, April 30 (IANS). A team of global researchers warned on Thursday that deepfakes, AI-assisted sexual harassment and rising online violence are having a negative impact on women. Due to this, many women are being forced to stay away from public life.
The joint report by UN Women, City St George’s (University of London) and data forensics company Dunerve found that online violence against women active in public life has now become more technologically complex and organised. Which is affecting the lives of women.
Julie Pozzatti, lead author of the report and chair of the Center for Journalism and Democracy at City St. George, said AI-assisted “virtual rape” is now emboldening criminals. It is easily available to them, due to which online violence is increasing rapidly.
She said, “This trend promotes the degradation of women’s rights and perpetuates the cycle of oppression. Especially in an environment where power is rigid, democracy is weakening and hatred against women is spreading systematically, this violence takes away hard-won rights from women.”
The study analyzed the experiences of 641 women journalists, media workers, social activists and human rights defenders from 119 countries. The survey was conducted in late 2025.
According to the report, 27 percent of women faced unwanted sexual messages or content, 12 percent had their private photos shared without permission, and 6 percent of women became victims of deepfakes or morphed content.
Due to these reasons mental health was also negatively affected. 24 percent experienced anxiety or depression, 13 percent suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 41 percent limited themselves on social media.
Report co-author Lia Helmuller said the impact of online violence is reducing women’s public participation and, in many cases, forcing them to retreat.
–IANS
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