When gender-based violence moves online and targets the youngest generations

GENDER-BASED violence (GBV) is no longer confined to homes, relationships or workplaces.

- PROFESSOR ARADHANA RAMNUND-MANSINGH

It has shifted into the digital world where Gen Z and Gen Alpha live, learn and love. For many young people, their first sense of intimacy, trust and relationships now develops through digital interactions.This opens doors to connection and self-expression, but it also exposes them to new forms of violence that adults often overlook or fail to understand.

Sextortion, online grooming, non-consensual image sharing and digital coercion are shaping a new GBV landscape. These forms of harm are real, widespread and increasingly normalised in online communities. They influence how young people build identity, how they see relationships and how they negotiate boundaries. The violence is not theoretical. It travels through smartphones and gaming consoles. It takes shape in private messages, disappearing chats and anonymous accounts. It follows them into their bedrooms and stays with them long after the screen goes dark.

Research signals a growing crisis. Unicef reports that one in five teens worldwide has experienced some form of online sexual harassment. A UK study by Ringrose (2020) found that 76% of girls aged 13 to 18 have received unsolicited explicit images. The 2022 Unicef study in South Africa, confirmed that 52% of children shared naked pictures because they thought they were in love. This is indeed part of a pattern in which the digital space becomes a breeding ground for coercion.