UN Women and UNFPA launch 16 Days of Activism campaign in Türkiye to end digital violence against all women and girls!
1 in 2 women experiences some form of digital violence in their lifetime. Women are 27 times more likely to face online abuse than men. In Türkiye, 1 in 5 young internet users report experiencing digital violence. UN Women and UNFPA Türkiye are joining forces to address digital violence, one of the fastest-growing forms of abuse worldwide, through the campaign titled “End Digital Violence. Full Stop ”, aiming to foster social awareness and collective responsibility. The campaign launch event was held in Ankara yesterday, accompanied by a digital art exhibition showcasing young people’s creative expressions on digital violence. The campaign is supported by UNFPA Türkiye Goodwill Ambassadors Edis Görgülü, Hazal Kaya, and Songül Öden as well as UN Women Türkiye Goodwill Ambassadors Eda Erdem and Demet Evgâr.
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Ankara, Türkiye – UN Women and UNFPA today launched their joint “End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls. Full Stop ” campaign in Türkiye, marking 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which continues until 10 December, Human Rights Day. The launch event jointly organized with the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye took place in Ankara.
Global estimates show that more than half (58%) of young women and girls have experienced digital violence and women are 27 times more likely to be subjected to digital violence than men (UNESCO, 2021). Most girls report their first experience of online harassment between the ages of 14–16 (UN Women, 2022). The situation in Türkiye is equally concerning: recent data from a UNFPA-supported research indicates that 1 in 5 people in the country has experienced digital violence, with the 18–29 age group at the highest risk (UNFPA, 2021).
Over the 16 Days, the campaign will spark a broad societal conversation on how technology can deepen existing inequalities and create new forms of abuse. It will focus on nearly 30 types of digital violence identified by the United Nations, from cyberstalking to image-based abuse, from deepfakes to doxing and aims to build a strong solidarity network to counter these forms of harm by highlighting the coordinated action required across all sectors to make digital spaces safe, equitable, and empowering for all women and girls. (The Full Stop campaign is developed in collaboration with Publicis Groupe, a member of Unstereotype Alliance Türkiye Chapter)
Digital Violence is Real Violence
With the participation of representatives from the public sector, embassies, civil society, academia, youth groups, and the arts community, United Nations and European Union representatives speaking at the launch event emphasized the severity and pervasive nature of digital violence, underscoring that abuse originating online ofte results in profound psychological, social, and economic harm and forces many women to withdraw from public and political life.
“Digital violence is real violence. It silences women, shrinks their public space, and follows them from screens into homes, schools, and workplaces,” said Maryse Guimond, UN Women Türkiye Country Director. “Nearly half of the world’s women and girls still have no legal protection online. This must change now. Close the legal gaps, build technology that is safe by design, and hold perpetrators and platforms to account. Technology must advance women’s rights, not undermine them. Recognize, define, and document the abuse, and end digital violence against all women and girls. Full stop.”
“The statistics confirm that this is not merely a technology issue; it is a fundamental human rights crisis that demands collective responsibility,” stated Mariam A. Khan, UNFPA Representative to Türkiye and Country Director for Azerbaijan and Georgia. “With the #FullStop campaign, we are calling on governments, tech companies, civil society and every individual to invest in safety by design such that all spaces (including digital spaces) are safe, equitable, and empowering for all women and girls.
“The European Union is proud to jointly organize the launch event of this critical campaign with UN Women and UNFPA. Combating technology-facilitated violence is central to defending human rights and ensuring that all spaces should be free from violence,” said Jurgis Vilcinskas, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye. “We underscore our shared commitment to achieving gender equality and putting a #FullStop to violence against women and girls.”
During the event, the necessity of coordinated and collective action across all sectors was emphasized to create a safer digital world. Governments and tech companies were called upon to regulate technology design and data-collection systems that power social media business models, in order to prevent the spread and monetization of misogyny and discrimination. Parents, guardians, educators, and community leaders were urged to strengthen their knowledge of online safety and proactively engage with young people to build critical thinking skills around online content, consent, and respectful relationships. Embedding digital literacy and online safety education in schools and youth programmes was also highlighted as essential to equip adolescents with the tools to know their rights, recognize and challenge discrimination and violence, and protect themselves and others.
Event Highlights:
- Celebrity Support: The launch event included the teaser video of the campaign featuring UNFPA Goodwill Ambassadors Songül Öden, Edis, Hazal Kaya, and UN Women Goodwill Ambassadors Demet Evgâr and Eda Erdem to amplify the #FullStop message.
- Digital Violence Manifesto: Digital Violence Experts Nurcihan Temur and Pınar İlkiz presented the "Manifesto for a Digital Violence-Free World" and an interactive "Digital Violence Glossary" developed through workshops with youth.
- Innovative AI Solutions: Digital Activist and Artist Beyza Doğuç shared the youth-developed “GPT” (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) tool, created to help combat digital abuse.
- Digital Art Expression: Artists Zeynep Beler and Efe Levent showcased a youth-prepared "Digital Fanzine" created with AI assistance, allowing attendees to directly experience digital art installations related to the theme.