What if you log in one day, only to find out your life no longer belongs to you?

A young woman in Kandy wakes up to find her private photos shared once in trust with her partner, circulating through WhatsApp groups she had never even heard of. In Jaffna, a university student who dared to speak up about women’s rights and equality for all, receives a series of anonymous messages threatening him. A young graduate from Colombo, just weeks into his first job, becomes a target of relentless gender trolling owing to his preferred gender identity. An activist with a disability from Batticaloa, fighting for inclusion finds herself excluded, bullied and targeted with hate speech.

- By Phuntsho Wangyel

These stories represent people from all walks of life, but the violence that has followed them into the digital sphere, remains the same. It is swift, merciless and for the most part, anonymous. Cyberspace, where harm spreads fast with long-term consequences, enables perpetrators to hide behind their screens and keyboards, while survivors face backlash compelling them to suffer in silence. This is the reality of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV).

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) defines TFGBV as any form of gender-based harm or violence that is perpetrated, supported, or amplified through digital tools or technology by one or more individuals. This can happen on online platforms like social media, messaging apps, or web sites, or through other technological means, even if they are not connected to the internet.

There is no doubt that technology is a great tool that connects people, empowers them with learning, opening a multitude of opportunities for all. Over time, advancements in technology have contributed to equality and progress across the world, enabling people to access comprehensive knowledge and skills at their fingertips.

However, for too many, including women, girls, and marginalised groups technology has exposed them to a new form of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), where stigma is weaponised against survivors more brutally than ever before. This brings me to the question, what exactly does TFGBV refer to?