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Academics and other speakers on Tuesday emphasised that digital violence was deeply intertwined with social norms and power structures and needed integrated approaches across prevention, protection and accountability.

Their observation came at a panel discussion titled ‘Preventing technology-facilitated violence in Bangladesh: gaps, challenges and recommendations’ organised at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka, said a press release issued by the UN Women. 

Panellists, including  Mahmud Hossain from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Nasima Akhtar Khatun from the University Grants Commission, Ummey Sharaban Tahura from the Law and Justice Division, and Labonno Binte Hafiz from the Youth Policy Forum highlighted the critical gaps giving perpetrators the upper hand.

The major gaps they highlighted are insufficient evidence-based policymaking, weak enforcement mechanisms, limited digital literacy among women and girls, and the absence of a coordinated national framework for reporting and responding to online harms.

At the event, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the Local Consultative Group on Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality, and the United Nations formally inaugurated the 2025 global ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ with a call to ‘UNiTE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls’.

Addressing the event as chief guest Sharmeen S Murshid, adviser to the women and children affairs ministry, said that earlier a girl could not go out on the street without fear of verbal sexual harassment and ‘now you cannot enter your cyber space without being stalked.’

‘And the stalkers are all across the world. It’s not just a boy from a neighbourhood anymore—it’s anybody anywhere in the world who can attack your dignity.’

‘Technology has to advance, but it’s our own attitude that will determine its course. So the 16 Days of Activism is just a reminder and perhaps a concerted effort that we need to make every single day of our lives,’ she said.

Ministry senior secretary Mamtaz Ahmed emphasised the need for stronger laws, coordinated institutional responses and public awareness, while international partners reiterated the global nature of digital violence that called for concerted action.

The speakers also underscored the need for stronger laws, greater accountability from technology companies, survivor-centred support mechanisms, and expanded investment in digital literacy and norm change.

According to World Bank data, fewer than 40 per cent of countries have laws protecting women from cyber harassment or cyber stalking, leaving 44 per cent of the world’s women and girls—1.8 billion—without legal protection.

Susan Ryle, high commissioner of Australia to Bangladesh, called for collaborative effort across sectors to turn technology to a tool for empowerment rather than a weapon to inflict harm.

Nicolas Weeks, Swedish ambassador to Bangladesh, stressed the importance of enforcement of existing laws to enable access to justice for victims of gender-based violence.

Gitanjali Singh, UN Women representative, said that between 16 and 58 per cent of women and girls worldwide faced online violence or harassment.

UNFPA representative Catherine Breen Kamkong said, ‘Technology facilitating gender-based violence is real and it deserves the same serious attention as any other form of gender-based violence.’