WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE?
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence, or TFGBV, is an act of violence perpetrated by one or more individuals
that is committed, assisted, aggravated and amplified in part or fully by the use of information and communication
technologies or digital media against a person on the basis of gender.
It can occur through social media, messaging apps, email, gaming platforms, websites and other digital spaces. It has
no limits or geographical boundaries. It can start online and escalate to physical spaces, or vice-versa, creating a
dangerous continuum of online-offline abuse that can end in the most extreme forms of violence, including femicide.
The Core Principle
TFGBV is not separate from gender-based violence. Technology is the means through which the violence is
committed, enabled, intensified or extended, while gender inequality and discrimination are at its root.
It can target women, girls and people of diverse gender identities, and can occur in both public and private digital
spaces. Online and offline violence exist on a continuum. Harm that begins online can escalate into physical
violence, and violence that occurs offline can be facilitated or amplified through technology.