The Council of Europe has issued recommendations to its 46 member States aimed at ensuring accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.
The Recommendation is the first international legal standard focused on this topic. The stress on accountability emphasises the duty of states to ensure those responsible for this kind of violence are held accountable.
Technology-facilitated violence against women and girls often persists – and becomes normalised – in an environment of impunity. Anonymity of perpetrators, fragmented legal frameworks, complex reporting processes, risk of victim-blaming, cross-border challenges and difficulties in securing digital evidence allow harmful conduct to continue unchecked. Strengthening accountability helps to ensure that victims can access justice, and reinforces trust in institutions and in their ability to respond effectively to digital harm.
The Recommendation provides guidance for member States on enhancing their legal, institutional and regulatory responses to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. It proposes a comprehensive notion of accountability, extending beyond criminal law to civil and administrative fields.
Central points of the Recommendation are its victim-centred and trauma-informed approach, together with an emphasis on the engagement of multiple stakeholders – civil society, victims, the private sector, the media, education institutions. The Recommendation also calls for accessible justice systems, including to prevent secondary victimisation, and for a safety-by-design approach to make sure that products and services of technology companies do not facilitate violence.
Building on existing standards, it provides guidance to member States by proposing a comprehensive approach, including prevention measures to foster an environment of accountability in which such violence is neither facilitated, condoned, accepted nor ignored.
The Recommendation was prepared by the Council of Europe Committee on Crime Problems and the Gender Equality Commission (GEC).
It is noteworthy to recall that many of the criminal law conventions of the Council of Europe relevant to counter violence against women and girls facilitated by technology have been developed under the authority of the Council of Europe Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC): the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as “the Istanbul Convention”, the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, and the Convention on Cybercrime. Furthermore, the AI Framework Convention governing the digital sphere also refers specifically to the situation of women and girls. If the crime is transnational, the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters is also relevant.
The Recommendation will be launched on 10 June 2026 at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg. The launch, titled “From standards to action: making accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls a reality” will focus on the way forward for implementation and explore concrete steps that different stakeholders can take to implement the Recommendation in their work. The event will bring together representatives from member States, including prosecutors, police and regulatory professionals, as well as civil society and other stakeholders: It will be broadcast online to enable broad participation.
Registration for online participation in the launch event.
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