A/HRC/38/47 acceded to all core human rights treaties. This creates multiple barriers to access to justice for women victims and a sense of impunity for perpetrators. 80. Some States have updated their existing legal frameworks to address online violence against women. The legal instruments most frequently used in this regard are cybercrime laws, criminal laws, laws on domestic violence and violence against women, hate speech laws and laws on data protection and privacy. 81. In some legal contexts, current laws may be sufficiently broad and flexible to be applied to some forms of online violence, but this may not be the case everywhere. Where there is no specialized law, victims are compelled to sue perpetrators through a patchwork of related crimes that may not be adequate; for instance, some victims have brought claims under laws relating to the protection of privacy or to defamation. In cases where gaps in criminal laws exist, victims have attempted to seek recourse through civil means, but this does not adequately address their rights to justice and remedy, and contributes to continuing impunity. 82. In many States, the non-consensual online dissemination of intimate or sexually explicit images of an adult person, even if identifying information is included with the image, is not per se illegal. In States where such acts are not criminalized, prosecutors are limited to charging perpetrators with other crimes, such as stalking, harassment, unlawful surveillance or the dissemination of child pornography. Without criminalization, victims cannot protect their human rights to privacy and dignity. Even where criminal laws specifically criminalize the non-consensual distribution of sexually explicit images, many such laws have shortcomings; for example, many criminal laws require evidence of the intent to cause harm or emotional distress to the victim, which may be difficult to prove, making convictions harder to achieve. Moreover, many laws currently in place do not address threats to release a certain image or video. 83. Some States have enacted specific laws to address online stalking, online harassment and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, while others have applied other domestic laws to address these crimes. There is an example of a State classifying the nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images as an aggravating circumstance in domestic violence-related offences, which allowed for penalties for convictions on charges of domestic assault, stalking or violations of a restraining order. Other States have developed legislation on ICT-related offences, such as the unauthorized modification of or access to data and communications. 84. Other States have also expanded the application of family violence protection orders issued by courts to cases of non-consensual distribution of intimate images and cyberstalking. In other cases, victims subjected to online bullying have been given the opportunity to request the court to issue a protection order against an individual. Some States also require electronic service providers to assist courts in the identification of individuals responsible for cyberbullying, which allows victims to sue perpetrators for damages. 85. Even when a specialized legal framework is in place, legal and regulatory mechanisms, including law enforcement officials, are not always trained or equipped to implement it effectively owing to the lack of adequate gender-sensitive training and the general perception that online abuse is not a serious crime. 5. Civil society-led initiatives 86. Certain non-governmental organization-led initiatives, such as specialized helplines, have been organized with a view to providing support to women and girls who have been subjected to online gender-based violence. One example is the Access Now Digital Security Helpline, 48 which helps women at risk to improve their digital security practices and provides rapid-response emergency assistance for women already under attack. The service, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in eight languages, aims to respond to all requests it receives within two hours. Another example is the Digital Rights 48 See www.accessnow.org/help/. 17