A/HRC/35/9 the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto with regard to the use of digital media and ICTs.75 C. Online violence against women 34. While the use of ICTs has contributed to the empowerment of women and to a fuller realization of their human rights, it has also facilitated the development of online violence against women. 76 In article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, violence against women is defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts. 77 The General Assembly acknowledged in its resolution 68/181 that information-technology-related violations, abuses and violence against women were a growing concern and could be a manifestation of systemic gender-based discrimination, requiring effective responses compliant with human rights. 35. Online violence against women encompasses acts of gender-based violence that are committed, facilitated or aggravated by the use of ICTs, including online threats and harassment and gross and demeaning breaches of privacy, such as “revenge pornography”.78 Online violence has risen sharply over the past few years, 79 and can result in women limiting their participation on online platforms. 80 36. Specific groups of women, in particular young women, 81 women belonging to ethnic minorities and indigenous women, 82 lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, 83 women with disabilities and women from marginalized groups may be at greater risk and may experience particularly severe forms of online violence. Women human rights defenders, journalists, 84 bloggers 85 and those critiquing sexist media practices online may also face particular harassment or threats online, such as interference with Internet services, computer confiscation, virus and spyware attacks and online defamation campaigns aimed at discrediting them or inciting other abuses against them.86 37. States have obligations to combat online violence against women while safeguarding the freedom of opinion and expression and the realization of other rights, such as the right to access information about sexual and reproductive health and rights. 87 Business enterprises have similar responsibilities. Actions to be taken to protect women against acts of online violence should be preventive, such as education campaigns or the provision of technical features enabling users to block content, 88 and reactive, such as the urgent 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 See the report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the day of general discussion, paras. 85-86, available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CRC/Discussions/2014/DGD_report.pdf. See also Human Rights Council resolution 31/7; A/HRC/31/58, para. 54; A/69/335, paras. 65-78. See A/HRC/32/42 and Corr.1, para. 70. See also Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 19 (1992) on violence against women, para. 6. See A/HRC/23/50, para. 66. See www.pewinternet.org/2014/10/22/online-harassment/. “UN experts urge States and companies to address online gender-based abuse but warn against censorship”, press release dated 8 March 2017. See also Software Freedom Law Centre, India (2016), “Online harassment: a form of censorship”. See A/HRC/29/27/Add.2, para. 23. Jane Bailey and Sara Shayan, “Missing and murdered indigenous women crisis: technological dimensions”, Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, vol. 28, No. 2 (2016). Witness Media Lab, Capturing Hate: Eyewitness Videos Provide New Source of Data on Prevalence of Transphobic Violence (2016). A 2014 study of Twitter in the United Kingdom found that female journalists were one of the categories most likely to suffer attacks (see www.demos.co.uk/files/Demos_twittercelebrities_data.xlsx). OSCE, New Challenges to Freedom of Expression: Countering Online Abuse of Female Journalists (2016), p. 5. For example, the 2015 online attacks targeting #TakeBacktheTech and #ImagineAFeministInternet hashtags (see www.apc.org/en/pubs/take-action-takebackthetech-and-imagineafeministin). See, for example, E/2013/27-E/CN.6/2013/11, para. 34 (ww). See A/HRC/32/38, para. 52. 11