A/HRC/38/47 23. The definition of online violence against women therefore extends to any act of gender-based violence against women that is committed, assisted or aggravated in part or fully by the use of ICT, such as mobile phones and smartphones, the Internet, social media platforms or email, against a woman because she is a woman, or affects women disproportionately. 24. It is important to note from the outset that the Special Rapporteur report does not aim to define and catalogue all forms of online violence against women and girls. The rapid development of digital technology and spaces, including through artificial intelligence (AI), will inevitably give rise to different and new manifestations of online violence against women. She therefore aims to address some major concerns and to highlight some contemporary online forms of violence against women and girls brought to her attention. As digital spaces morph and develop, so too must the application and implementation of human rights norms to these areas. The Special Rapporteur considers online pornography and virtual manifestations of violence in video games, or violent interactive environments to be outside the scope of the present report. 2. Harm 25. The consequences of and harm caused by different manifestations of online violence are specifically gendered, given that women and girls suffer from particular stigma in the context of structural inequality, discrimination and patriarchy. Women subjected to online violence are often further victimized through harmful and negative gender stereotypes, which are prohibited by international human rights law. The Internet has become a site of diverse forms of violence against women and girls, in the form of pornography, sexist games and breaches of privacy. For women who engage in public debate through the Internet, the risk of harassment is experienced online; for example, an anonymous negative campaign calling for the gang rape of a woman human rights defender, with racist abuse posted in her Wikipedia profile. Female ICT users have publicly protested about sexist attacks (A/HRC/23/50, para. 66). 26. Acts of online violence may force women to retreat from the Internet. Research indicates that 28 per cent of women who had suffered ICT-based violence intentionally reduced their presence online. 15 Other common outcomes are social isolation, whereby victims or survivors withdraw from public life, including with family and friends, and limited mobility, when they lose their freedom to move around safely. 27. Online and ICT-facilitated acts of gender-based violence against women and girls include threats of such acts that result, or are likely to result, in psychological, physical, sexual or economic harm or suffering to women. 16 They can cause a high degree of psychological harm due to the scale and repeated occurrence of such acts. Victims and survivors experience depression, anxiety and fear, and in some cases may also develop suicidal tendencies. Technology-facilitated violence may also lead to physical harm (including suicides), as well as economic harm. In some instances, the threat of physical harm becomes a reality, when sexually explicit images or videos are posted on specialized advertising sites for prostitution together with private information, such as a victim’s home address. Economic harm can be done when the explicit image of a victim of cyberabuse covers several pages of search engine results, making it difficult for the victim to find employment, or even preventing the victim from even attempting to find employment because of the shame and fear of potential employers discovering the images. Risk of harm arises from both online content (sexist, misogynistic, degrading and stereotyped portrayals of women, online pornography) and behaviours (bullying, stalking, harassment, intimidation facilitated and perpetrated via social media, tracking applications, and profiling technology). 15 16 See Japleen Pasricha, “‘Violence’ Online in India: Cybercrimes Against Women & Minorities on Social Media”, Feminism in India, 2016. See webpage of the Association for Progressive Communications on violence against women online at www.genderit.org/onlinevaw/countries. 7