9 in 10 women face online violence: BBS

Nearly nine out of every 10 female social media users in Bangladesh have experienced online violence at least once, according to a recent study by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Population Fund.

The study found women aged 18 to 30 are the main victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), while children, adolescents and gender-diverse individuals are also increasingly targeted.

Researchers said around 75% of victims do not report incidents due to fear of social stigma, embarrassment and discrimination.

According to the Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication, misuse of digital platforms has risen sharply alongside expanded access to technology and online services.

Victims face cyberstalking, cyberbullying, hacking, doxxing, impersonation, image-based abuse, child grooming, online blackmail, leakage of personal information, technology-assisted sexual harassment and gender-based hate speech.

Md Mehedi-Ul-Sahid, director general (administration) of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, said the commission received 13,023 complaints last year seeking the removal of harmful social media content.

He said more than 12,000 harmful contents were removed and nearly 90% of complainants were women, highlighting the scale of online harassment targeting female users.

Data from Police Cyber Support for Women showed that 60,808 women sought assistance over cybercrime-related incidents by September 2024.

Among the reported cases, 41% involved doxxing, 18% Facebook account hacking, 17% blackmail, 9% impersonation and 8% cyberbullying.

Mohammad Azizul Haque, Joint Secretary of the ICT Division, said Bangladesh already has laws to address TFGBV, but public awareness remains low.

He stressed the need to strengthen policies, improve victims’ access to justice, ensure accountability of technology companies and raise awareness at family and community levels.

He also suggested linking social media accounts with national identity cards and introducing country-specific digital services to reduce fake accounts and online abuse.

Masuda Yesmin, deputy director of the Legal Aid Department, said free legal assistance was available through district legal aid centres and hotline 16699.

She noted that investigations often become difficult because many victims avoid legal action due to fear and social pressure.

Additional Superintendent of Police Suman Ahmed said women account for nearly 48% of doxxing victims.
He said complaints can be filed through the Police Cyber Support for Women hotline at 01320000888, its Facebook page or by email.

Former director of Bangladesh Women in IT Kaniz Fatema warned that online violence leaves long-term psychological impacts on women.

She called for stronger victim support systems and mandatory national identity verification for opening social media accounts to curb fake profiles and anonymous harassment.