As the world commemorates the 2025 edition of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence under the theme “Unite to End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls,” the Journalists for Christ International Outreach (JFC) has called for urgent and coordinated action to curb the growing wave of online misogyny and technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Nigeria.
The organisation’s appeal follows revelations from its recent media monitoring report, #EndMisogynyNG: Media Monitoring Report on Misogyny and Online Violence Against Women, produced with support from WACC Global and Brot für die Welt.
The report paints a troubling picture of Nigeria’s digital environment, showing that women, especially female journalists, are increasingly targeted with abusive, sexualised and demeaning content that undermines their safety, dignity and participation in public discourse.
It added that social media platforms are becoming sharply hostile for women, with attacks that reinforce deep-seated patriarchal norms and attempt to silence women who occupy public platforms. “Women journalists and media professionals are at particular risk, facing harassment that questions their professional competence, morality, and appearance, simply because they speak out or occupy public platforms,” the report reveals.
The report further indicates a surge in forms of tech-facilitated gender-based violence, including cyberstalking, doxxing, non-consensual sharing of images, sexualised hate speech and coordinated online harassment campaigns. It attributes the persistence of these abuses to “weak enforcement of platform safety policies, limited transparency from social media companies, and inadequate national legal frameworks allow these abuses to thrive with little consequence”.
Mrs Ugonma Cokey, Vice President of Journalists for Christ (JFC) stated that this year’s campaign coincides with a significant development in Lagos State, where the Draft Policy on Technology-Facilitated Sexual and Gender-Based Violence recently underwent stakeholder review ahead of its scheduled launch on December 10.
The policy aligns with one of the key recommendations in the #EndMisogynyNG report, which calls for stronger legislation and enforcement to protect women in digital spaces. Cokey expressed JFC’s pleasure to have contributed to the progress through its research and advocacy.
As part of global efforts to end tech-facilitated gender-based violence, JFC is urging Nigerian government agencies to strengthen laws addressing online abuse, support swift implementation of the Lagos TF-GBV policy, and invest in digital safety, forensics and survivor-support systems.
It also called on social media companies to “enforce community standards more consistently, improve reporting and takedown mechanisms, and prioritise the safety of women, especially journalists and young women”.
JFC further encouraged civil society and faith-based organisations to intensify awareness-raising efforts and challenge cultural norms that enable digital abuse, while urging journalists to amplify survivor stories and counter misogynistic narratives.
Reaffirming its position, JFC stressed that digital violence is real violence with psychological, social and economic consequences, and must be recognised as a fundamental rights issue.
The organisation said women and girls deserve to participate safely and confidently in online spaces, and emphasised that the 16 Days campaign offers a crucial moment for all stakeholders to unite against emerging forms of harm in the digital age.