When the Internet Turns Against You: The Silent Trauma of Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

She stopped posting selfies. Stopped sharing thoughts. Every notification made her chest tighten. After strangers found her profile through a leaked image, the internet, once her space of expression, turned hostile. She began questioning her worth, her choices, and her safety. The screen felt like a threat. Her body, no longer hers. She withdrew—not just from apps, but from friendships, from joy. This is what tech-facilitated gender-based violence does: it invades the psyche, makes identity feel unsafe, and turns connection into isolation. It doesn’t just steal data—it chips away at dignity, one click at a time. But her story is not unique. It reflects a much broader, systemic crisis that we’re only just beginning to name.

This is not an isolated incident. It’s a reality for thousands across the world—especially for women, queer people, and marginalized communities who dared to be visible online. Behind every headline about “online abuse” is a silent psychological toll: anxiety, trauma, self-blame, even PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress disorder isn’t just a theoretical diagnosis- it manifests in hypervigilance, sleep disturbances, recurrent flashbacks and emotional numbing to a great extent. For many, simply opening a social media app can trigger distress- a constant reliving of harm. And yet, because it’s digital, it’s dismissed. Because it’s not physical, it’s not considered “real.” But the fear is real. The shame is real. The consequences are real.

That’s why tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) must be recognized for what it is—gendered violence with devastating emotional consequences. It takes many forms: online stalking, non-consensual sharing of intimate content, deepfakes, hate speech, and tech-enabled domestic control. As platforms grow, so do the tools of harassment. And yet, responses—from tech companies to legal systems—remain painfully inadequate.

This isn’t just a digital issue. It’s a feminist one. A mental health one. A justice one.

Technology As Hostility: The Rising Tide of Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

Technology was supposed to set us free — to amplify voices, build stronger communities, and make opportunities more level in the era of limitless connectivity. Yet for queer individuals, gender-diverse people, and millions of women, the internet has turned into a battleground of another sort — one where violence doesn't require fists to scar.

Tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) is more than just a buzz term.

It's a rapidly expanding, acute crisis.

It encompasses any type of harm that is carried out through digital media or technology, which is against someone because of their gender, sexuality, or presumed identity. TFGBV is not cyber; it is bitterly real, and its effects tend to spread far wider than the screen.

In Solidarity, Not Silence

Tech-enabled gender-based violence is not a bug — it's a design error in a system that wasn't designed for everyone. But the internet can also be a place of resistance, healing, and solidarity. Survivors are organising. Feminist activists are resisting. Communities are mobilising. It's time to take back our spaces — online and otherwise — and to demand that safety, dignity, and justice aren't extraneous perks, but fundamental rights.

We must hold tech companies, policymakers, and ourselves accountable for creating digital spaces that centre care and equity. Join, support, or amplify the voices for those building safer, more inclusive online worlds—because collective action is the only way forward. Social & Media Matters works very closely for the safety of women and girls in the digital spaces and extends support to them. For any help, reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..