Imagine receiving a message from a stranger that contains chillingly accurate details about your daily routine. Or finding your photo digitally manipulated into explicit content and published across platforms you use for work, creativity, study or activism.

These are not hypothetical scenarios—they are a frightening reality for millions of women and girls navigating the digital world today. The digital space that once promised opportunity and connection is increasingly becoming an arena of harassment, intimidation and abuse.

And every time a woman logs off in fear or a girl stops posting her opinions, we lose a voice, strength and contribution we cannot afford to silence. This is not just a gender issue. It is a democratic issue.

Nepal’s digital transformation has been rapid. The 2021 census shows that most households now own mobile phones. A 2019 report from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology showed mobile usage exceeds 100 percent, and internet penetration keeps rising. But this expansion has also led to an alarming spike in online abuse.

According to the Nepal police, 19,730 cybercrime cases were registered in FY 2023-24, a staggering 119 percent increase in a single year. Behind each reported case is a woman or girl whose dignity, security or freedom was violated. And those numbers barely scratch the surface, as fewer than 30 percent of survivors facing severe digital abuse report it.

Most are silenced by fear or by the systems not built to protect them.

Digital violence takes many forms. Sexual harassment and stalking remain the most reported, but women and girls also face image-based abuse, cyber-sexual violence, doxxing, cyberbullying, unwanted messages, hate speech, defamation, revenge porn and more. These tactics are not random; they are designed to shame, punish and silence.

And the targets are clear. Women who lead. Women who speak. Women who dare to be visible.

Journalists, activists, public servants, influencers and especially women politicians—all face disproportionately high levels of digital abuse. For Dalit women, women with disabilities and LGBTIQA+ individuals, the threats multiply.

A democracy where women cannot speak freely is not a democracy at all.

This year, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign focused on ending digital violence against all women and girls and for good reason. Nepal is heading towards elections. Online spaces already host misinformation, disinformation and coordinated harassment. When women in public life are attacked to the point they withdraw their voices, voters lose choices, and democracy loses diversity.

To shift this trajectory, awareness alone is not enough. It must drive reform, investment and accountability. Addressing digital violence and ensuring women’s full, equal and safe participation in Nepal’s democratic life requires a whole-of-society response.

The Government of Nepal, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations in Nepal (ILO, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women) are already working together through the joint programme Empowered Women, Prosperous Nepal (EWPN) designed to expand women’s agency, challenge harmful social norms, prevent gender-based violence and support survivors, and promote women’s economic and political participation. Building on its achievements, Nepal needs to further strengthen women’s digital security and broaden civic-tech opportunities to curb cybercrime and enhance women’s democratic participation.

Below are four urgent actions Nepal must prioritise now:

Strengthen legal and policy frameworks

Nepal has taken important steps through the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA), Privacy Act, Penal Code and related guidelines that partially address digital violence. As digital landscapes evolve, Nepal’s laws and policies must adapt. Nepal needs comprehensive, survivor-centred laws that explicitly recognise and address all forms of digital violence—from deepfake pornography to coordinated political harassment—and provide clear pathways to justice for women and girls.

Invest in prevention and protection

Legal change without institutional capacity is ineffective. Nepal must invest in capacity building across the justice chain: for police cyber units, judges and prosecutors. Expanding accessible survivor-centred services, offering health services, psychological support and multisectoral referrals, including legal assistance; and establishing permanent cyber helpdesks nationwide will ensure survivors access justice and timely and compassionate support. Nepal needs to ensure safe and inclusive workplaces for women and girls offline and online, and ratify the ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment.

Long-term investments in digital literacy and resilience through school curricula, youth networks, women’s groups and local government programmes remain essential.

Strengthen women’s political participation

The Election Code of Conduct in Nepal already prohibits the spread of false and misleading information—including on social media. The Election Commission, political parties and mainstream media must comply with the code and adopt a zero-tolerance policy for online abuse. Election observers should be mandated with digital-space monitoring. Government, tech companies and civil society all play a role in ending online violence and gendered disinformation by building and enforcing proactive systems that prevent, monitor and swiftly remove online hate speech and harassment against women in politics.

Hold platforms and society accountable

The government must collaborate with tech companies, media and civil society to improve content moderation, transparency and public awareness to ensure that these platforms are safe for women and girls, including women and girls with intersecting identities. This includes building Nepali-language moderation capacity and publicly reporting abuse trends.

A call to immediate action

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an opportunity to move from rhetoric to reform. Digital violence against women and girls is not only a technological or social issue; it is a human rights violation and a direct threat to democratic participation.

The European Union and the United Nations in Nepal remain committed to upholding these values and supporting Nepal in ensuring that women and girls are safe from violence in digital spaces.

As Nepal approaches the 2026 elections, ensuring safe, inclusive and equitable online spaces is critical to upholding democracy and social justice. Hence, all of us, including the state, international partners, law enforcement agencies, civil society and other stakeholders, need to work together to ensure that women and girls can use the internet confidently, safely and without fear.

Ending digital violence is not optional; it is urgent and essential for Nepal’s democratic future!