While huge efforts have been made across the globe to strengthen legislation and regulatory frameworks on OGBV, there remain gaps and challenges with existing legislation.
Reviewing legislation efforts shows that while civil society has made great progress in getting the online dimension of gender-based violence explicitly recognized by bodies such as GREVIO, the European Parliament, European Commission, OHCHR, there is still a long way to go in many parts of the world. Especially outside of Europe, existing legislation often either focuses on violence against women but misses an online dimension, or focuses on online violence but misses a gender dimension. While the stated aim of legislation might be to improve online safety, deep-seated misogyny within governments and law enforcement agencies means that legislation can be misused and/ or new bills can have negative rather than positive consequences for women.
Governments must recognize OGBV as a priority issue and consider public policy strategies and legislation which go beyond criminalization, center the lived experience of survivors and have a clear focus on both prevention and survivor support.
Working alongside governments, tech companies and civil society organizations, we need to develop policy blueprints and principles that are informed by a multi-stakeholder approach and put the experiences of those affected by OGBV at the center.
Legislations and regulatory frameworks that are informed by a multi-stakeholder approach and that include clear plans for implementation will be an effective way to reduce the prevalence of OGBV by ensuring buy-in across stakeholders.
