Every year, the International Women’s Day offers a chance to spotlight advances in the field of women’s rights and equality. As this year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on Cybercrime, it provides a special opportunity to reflect on this pioneering and solid international treaty, highlight the ongoing work under this international framework, and consider its usefulness to combat cyberviolence, which disproportionally affects women and girls across Europe and beyond.
The 2025 Report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Towards a new democratic Pact for Europe emphasises that “Cybercrime has become a systemic problem with a deep impact on our societies, with rising incidents of ransomware attacks, online fraud and AI-driven cyber threats undermining privacy, freedom of expression and democratic processes.” In a context of “rising digital manifestations of violence against women” the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), with its 81 States Parties, is a major global treaty to tackle computer-related offenses. Its provisions are critical in safeguarding the rights of women and girls in the digital space. For example, the Convention defines illegal access to the whole or any part of a computer system without right (Article 2) which often represents the initial step in offences of cyberstalking or doxxing, disproportionately affecting women. Furthermore, its procedural powers and international cooperation provisions apply to electronic evidence with respect to any offence, including those against women and girls.
As part of the continuous work to facilitate the effective use and implementation of the Convention, the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) adopted in June 2025 a questionnaire on cyberviolence offences. The results of this exercise will allow to map national responses to cyberviolence, including national legislations, case law, and national campaigns to combat cyberviolence, identifying gaps and best practices. Findings will be shared through the Cyberviolence Resource with the aim of informing policy makers and law enforcement practitioners. This will enable to design further capacity building activities to support national efforts to combat cyberviolence and enable international coordinated action.
In parallel, the International conference on combating cyberviolence against women (CYBERVAW), organised by the CyberSEE joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe in cooperation with the CyberSouth+, GLACY-e, Octopus projects and CyberKOP Action, with the support of criminal justice authorities from South-East Europe, highlighted a shared recognition of the importance of integrating cyberviolence provisions into broader criminal law reforms. Participants agreed that international standards and practical experiences can guide national efforts to strengthen legal frameworks, improve investigations and prosecutions, and ultimately enhance protection of victims. In addition, given the limited jurisprudence in this area, participants highlighted the value of establishing a Directory of case law on gender-based cyberviolence to be used by practitioners which is also the aim of the T-CY questionnaire on cyberviolence and of the Cyberviolence Resource.
As we mark International Women’s Day, these initiatives demonstrate a firm commitment to both protecting women and girls from cyberviolence and carrying forward the enduring legacy of the Convention on Cybercrime. With enhanced legal frameworks and international cooperation, Europe is taking meaningful steps towards securing the digital space for all.