Every year from November 25 to December 10, the world pauses to confront one uncomfortable truth: the violence against women and girls which is still deeply woven into our societies.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence was created to shine a relentless light on this reality.

For decades, the conversation centered on physical spaces, homes, streets, and workplaces. But with time, the battlefield has expanded.

Violence has moved into our phones, our inboxes, our comment sections. It has gone digital.

Digital violence is no longer a distant concept discussed in policy rooms. It is a lived experience. From the leaked photo that destroys a reputation overnight, to the anonymous threats that silence a voice to stalking through GPS, harassment in DMs, blackmail via screenshots, and humiliation that never disappears because the internet never forgets.

As the world marks another 16 Days of Activism, the question is no longer whether digital violence is real. The question is how deeply it has already normalized itself in our daily lives.

Unlike traditional forms of abuse, digital violence does not require physical proximity. A perpetrator can be in another town, another country, or completely anonymous.

Yet the impact is just as devastating. Survivors describe constant fear, anxiety, depression, isolation, and in extreme cases, suicide. And in all this young women and girls are the most affected.

In social spaces where identity is still being formed, online attacks land with brutal force. A single post can invite thousands of strangers into a private life and what begins as a personal relationship can easily turn into a digital prison through revenge porn, cyberstalking, and coercion.

During these 16 days, activists are not just raising placards in the streets. They are holding Twitter spaces, hosting campus forums, launching online campaigns, and sharing survivor stories in digital rooms that mirror the very spaces where the violence occurs.

To fight digital violence, the fight itself must also go digital.

From viral videos used to shame women, to leaked intimate images used to extort money and silence victims, digital abuse has quietly grown into one of the most dangerous yet underreported forms of gender-based violence.

Many victims never seek justice. Laws exist, but reporting mechanisms remain unclear, slow, or intimidating. Fear of public exposure keeps many silent. In some cases, survivors are blamed for the very crimes committed against them.

The culture of ridicule online makes it worse. Victims are mocked. Their pain becomes entertainment. Screenshots are forwarded without consent. Memes are made from trauma. The line between justice and spectacle is often blurred.

But fortunately the 16 Days of Activism challenge this cruelty head on.

Activists are now pushing for stronger cybercrime enforcement, better victim centered reporting systems, and real accountability for online platforms that profit from engagement but often ignore harm.

There is also a growing call for digital literacy teaching young people not only how to use the internet, but how to survive it safely.

Parents are being urged to talk to children about online consent. Schools are being challenged to address cyberbullying with the same seriousness as physical bullying. Universities are setting up help desks for victims of digital harassment.

Media houses are being asked to report responsibly and avoid amplifying harmful content without context.

One of the most painful truths emerging during these 16 days is that digital violence often comes from people victims know.

Ex-partners, classmates, colleagues, friends. The betrayal cuts deeper because the weapon is personal information once shared in trust. Trust becomes the entry point for abuse.

Still, in the midst of this darkness, there is resistance.

Young activists are reclaiming platforms that once silenced them. Survivors are speaking out in their own voices and communities are beginning to name digital abuse for what it is.

As the campaign continues, one truth is clear: the fight against gender-based violence can no longer be separated from the fight for digital safety. The two are now inseparable.