ENoMW Event
The European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW) co-organised, together with Por Ti Mujer, an event examining the growing risks that digital technologies and artificial intelligence pose to women and girls.
The discussion highlighted the importance of understanding digital violence as an extension of “offline” male violence against women and girls, rather than as a separate or purely technological issue.
The Rise of Non-Consensual Sexual Manipulation
The proliferation of tools capable of generating and manipulating images, audio and video has intensified a growing problem for women and girls: the creation and mass dissemination of non-consensual manipulated sexual material, including deepfakes.
These practices frequently involve identity theft, digital defamation campaigns and public humiliation, targeting women and girls in ways that replicate existing patterns of sexual violence and misogyny in digital environments.
Beyond Psychological and Social Harm
Technology-mediated sexual violence goes beyond psychological or social harm.
The creation and circulation of manipulated sexual material can generate direct material consequences for victims, including impacts on physical safety, administrative status, professional trajectories and participation in community life.
Recognising these harms is essential for developing responses that treat digital abuse as a form of violence against women, rather than simply as a problem of online harassment.
Sexual Violence in the Digital Age
During the event, participants discussed strategies to reduce risk exposure, document aggressions and build collective responses capable of addressing the structural nature of digital violence.
A key element of this work is shifting the focus away from victim-blaming and toward the accountability of aggressors, technological platforms and complicit institutional structures.
International Debate and Platform Responsibility
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence systems has also intensified international debate on the corporate responsibility of digital platforms, including the need for independent controls and audits of AI systems and the implementation of transparency mechanisms to identify artificially generated or manipulated content.
The risks associated with technology-mediated sexual violence are no longer speculative. They represent a defining dimension of the contemporary digital environment and demand informed, coordinated and politically situated responses that prioritise the safety and dignity of women and girls.