Every year, the International Women’s Day is an opportunity to take a look back at the steps taken in the field of women’s rights and equality. In particular, the past year has seen significant advancements in strengthening legal frameworks to combat cyberviolence.
In May 2024, European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union adopted the Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence. It provides an EU-wide legal basis for preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence, including online. The directive aims to ensure a minimum level of protection across the EU against such violence. The law criminalises, amongst others, the following offences across the EU: non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyberstalking, cyberharassment, and cyber incitement to hatred or violence. It applies to all victims of violence against women and domestic violence, regardless of their gender.
On the 25 November 2024, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe drew attention to the fact that the year 2024 marked the 10th anniversary of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention. The Convention requires Parties to develop laws, policies and support services to end all forms of violence against women, including psychological violence, stalking and sexual harassment. With 39 Parties to date, the Istanbul Convention is the largest instrument to set out binding obligations to prevent and combat violence against women and girls. Even if many advances have been witnessed over the years, the Secretary General emphasised that “more should be done”, and that “countries should better counter online sexual harassment, stalking, or psychological violence, which have become growing problems across Europe”, reminding all countries that “protecting women and girls from violence is a year-round obligation.”
The new Committee of Experts on Combating Technology-Facilitated Violence against Women and Girls (GEC/PC-eVIO) convened its inaugural meeting on 1 and 2 October 2024 in Strasbourg. Within the framework of the Reykjavik Declaration, the Committee is expected to formulate a Recommendation addressing technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.
In December 2024, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; Strengthening International Cooperation for Combating Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes. The new Treaty, to be opened for signature in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2025, covers many of the aspects of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), reaffirming its relevance and reliability, despite the many technological developments of the past two decades. The UN Convention also covers more specifically current growing concerns such as the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images.
The Council of Europe, through its different sectors, has continued to support countries in advancing laws and policies to improve protection measures, enhance the capabilities of relevant institutions and raise awareness of digital and sexual violence as distinct forms of violence against women, in line with the Istanbul Convention and the Budapest Convention.
One such example is the second phase of the project “Combating digital and sexual violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, launched in January 2025 and implemented by the Council of Europe. In addition, the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC), through its Octopus Project will support countries in Southeast Asia in addressing gender-based violence online. The Council of Europe gratefully acknowledges the voluntary contribution of the Government of Japan to support this stream of action against cybercrime and cyberviolence against women.