International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2025
The NUJ sends a message of solidarity to women and girls worldwide who experience violence in any of its many forms.
This year's International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women focuses on ending digital violence - a rapidly developing issue that laws and policies have failed to keep pace with.
Research has shown that AI and other emerging technology is proliferating gendered disinformation, AI-generated violence, and deepfakes. The exponential spread of online gendered violence is fed by algorithms and disproportionately affects women, causing psychological harm.
Online misogyny and hate speech normalise abuse and creates fear for women in all areas of life and can cross over into physical assaults and femicide. This limits women's rights to express themselves freely and participate in political, cultural, and social life.
Natasha Hirst, Equality Council co-chair, said:
"Victims and survivors are not merely statistics. They are daughters, mothers, sisters, friends and colleagues who are loved and valued. The harm and trauma caused by men's violence against women doesn't disappear, and all of society pays a price for this.
“Governments and policymakers are letting women down with weak legislation and a failure to hold tech companies and social media platforms to account. Violence against women is not inevitable, it is never acceptable, and the tech giants must also accept that they have a responsibility to take action. We call on the government to provide more resources for victims and survivors of abuse and to improve policing and regulation to tackle digital violence against women and girls (VAWAG)."
In addition, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Gender Council have warned that the global rise of extremism poses an unprecedented threat to women’s rights and to the safety of women journalists.
In a new declaration published on 24 November, the IFJ Gender Council called for stronger legislation to protect women’s rights, better protection for journalists reporting on extremist groups, and firm public condemnation of all forms of extremism targeting women and the media.
It also urged newsrooms to introduce higher ethical standards aimed at preventing the normalisation of extremist narratives, plus closer cooperation with digital platforms to curb online threats and harassment, and expanded media-literacy efforts to counter disinformation and misogynistic narratives.
UNESCO reported that 73% of women journalists surveyed experienced online violence. The NUJ’s own evidence recorded that 51% of UK journalists reported online abuse in a single year.
These attacks have consequences that go beyond the individual. An attack on journalists is an attack on truth, the right to know, and undermines democracy.
The NUJ surveyed members on the issue of journalist safety in 2020.
- 96% said that abuse and harassment risks silencing journalists and censoring debate
- 88% said that social media platforms should do more to combat abuse and harassment
- 78% agreed that “abuse and harassment has become normalised and seen as part of the job”
It’s clear that things have only got worse over the last five years. At the Delegate Meeting in April, members raised that women journalists, in Belfast and Derry in particular, have been singled out for violent and graphic online threats.
The NUJ launched the online Journalists' Safety Tracker in 2024. This important tool allows journalists to capture and report the abuse they encounter as part of their work, and forms an evidence base in our campaign for improved journalists’ safety.
Men who want to be allies in the fight to tackle VAWAG can make the White Ribbon promise.
Domestic abuse awareness webinar
This important webinar, which all members are invited to, will raise awareness of domestic abuse and highlight ways branches and workplaces can offer meaningful support to those who need it.
The online session will take place on Tuesday 2 December from 5pm - 6:30pm, and will be delivered by UK charity SafeLives, together with Caroline Holmes, NUJ trainer, and Natasha Hirst, NEC rep.
It will cover key topics, including the definitions and various forms of domestic abuse, and explore the dynamics involved in this type of violence, with a focus on coercion and control, and the impact it can have on survivors.
Register for free here.