UN Women is calling out the massive spike in online abuse targeting women and girls as AI makes harassment way easier to pull off, while most countries still have zero legal framework to actually deal with it. Tanzania has laws scattered across different acts that kinda sorta address cyber harassment and revenge porn but nothing specifically tackles AI-generated deepfakes that wreck lives and careers. The group says 1.8 billion women worldwide are basically unprotected from tech-facilitated violence and 95 percent of deepfake content is pornographic with 99 percent of victims being women.
Executive Director Sima Bahous pointed out that digital abuse does not stay contained online because it bleeds into physical safety and mental health, while sometimes escalating to real-world attacks. Activists are pushing tech companies to hire more women and actually moderate their platforms while governments need to catch up with legislation that reflects how fast digital spaces are evolving beyond what current laws can handle.
Executive Director Sima Bahous pointed out that digital abuse does not stay contained online because it bleeds into physical safety and mental health, while sometimes escalating to real-world attacks. Activists are pushing tech companies to hire more women and actually moderate their platforms while governments need to catch up with legislation that reflects how fast digital spaces are evolving beyond what current laws can handle.
