Digital violence against women: Platform analyzed for human rights approach

Carlotta Rigotti, postdoctoral researcher at eLaw—Center for Law and Digital Technologies, and Professor Clare McGlynn of Durham University have co-authored a new article in the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, titled "Online and technology-facilitated violence against women: The EDVAW platform's contribution to human rights protection and monitoring."

In the context of rapidly expanding digital harms, the EDVAW Platform—comprising independent expert mechanisms on discrimination and violence against women—has emerged as a vital actor in fostering collaboration across international and regional human rights bodies. In 2022, it published its first thematic report, focusing on the urgent need to address online and technology-facilitated violence against women.

This article offers the first in-depth analysis of that report. It begins by examining how the EDVAW Platform conceptualizes these forms of abuse—abuses that, while technologically mediated, are deeply rooted in entrenched systems of inequality and subordination. It then identifies key themes from the report, including the need for coordinated action among expert bodies.

Throughout, Carlotta Rigotti and Clare McGlynn emphasize the importance of integrating responses to online violence into broader human rights frameworks, while advocating for policies that prioritize intersectionality, victim-centered approaches, and proactive accountability from private sector actors.

More information:
Carlotta Rigotti et al, Online and technology-facilitated violence against women: The EDVAW Platform's contribution to human rights protection and monitoring, Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (2025). DOI: 10.1177/09240519251334080

Provided by Leiden University