Opening Remarks at Joint Advocacy Event on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

Good afternoon, colleagues, partners and friends:

It is a pleasure to join you today for this joint advocacy event, and I would like to thank UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF for bringing us together around a critical and fast-evolving issue of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). Your presence today means a lot – it reflects our shared understanding that this is a challenge that we need to recognize and address together.

We are living in a time of rapid digital transformation that makes our lives easier but also brings forward new challenges. Violence nowadays takes many forms: physical, emotional and increasingly digital. Technology, in particular, shapes how people learn, connect and express themselves. It also creates new and faster pathways for harm. 

The data illustrates this best: 58% of young women and girls globally have experienced online harassment. 23% of girls aged 15 to 19 have already experienced intimate partner violence. These experiences can have lasting impacts on their safety, well-being, confidence, and participation in education and in public life.

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is not only about technology, it is about people who use it. Violence against women and girls has existed before digital revolution, so it is a new way of propagating harm and discrimination. 

The issue in front of us is about whether individuals feel safe to engage and participate – whether women and girls can express themselves without fear, and whether our societies can be truly inclusive – online and offline. 

Violence that occurs online has real consequences offline. If left unaddressed, it risks reinforcing the very inequalities we are working to overcome. All too often, online and offline abuse feed off one another and increase fear, isolation and discrimination. These are different faces of the same ugly problem. To be more effective in our response, we must better understand how technology and gender-based violence are interconnected.

Our goal is to help build digital spaces that are safe and protective for all, especially for women, children, minorities and persons with disabilities, who face the highest risk. They should be able to access and use digital spaces safely and with confidence. When people feel safe online, they participate more fully in society, contribute to the economy, and drive innovation.

Safety and inclusion are foundations of sustainable development. Lack of these basic notions means a significant part of the population is held back and excluded from enjoying their rights and the benefits of progress. This is why addressing the intersection of technology and violence is crucial to leaving no one behind.

We must all bind together to make online spaces safer and promote technology free from abuse. This is a shared responsibility. 

The UN System in Lao PDR – every single UN agency – is committed to working alongside you all to deliver meaningful results and promote coordination and partnerships. Today’s session is an opportunity to listen, to learn, and to identify concrete ways forward together.

Let us join hands to ensure that our societies are not only connected but also safe, inclusive and empowering for all.

Thank you.