Combating cyber violence against women and girls : developing an EU measurement framework : methodological report

Cyber violence against women and girls (CVAWG) is a dimension of violence committed against women and girls that is enabled by the increased use of digital technologies and amplified by the exponential growth of user online presence. Risks for women and girls online are further increased by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality. This report is based on a study on cyber violence against women and girls in the European Union that was commissioned by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and carried out by the Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (CSES). The aim of this report is to propose a measurement framework to gather statistical data on specific forms of cyber violence against women and girls based on the information available before the adoption of the directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence (Directive (EU) 2024/1385). In this report, EIGE also presents the methodological process which resulted in the development of the measurement framework complete with indicators for the selected forms of CVAWG covered by the VAW/DV directive. The forms of CVAWG that are provided for are cyber stalking, cyber harassment, cyber incitement to hatred or violence and non-consensual sharing of intimate and manipulated material. The study reported here was carried out by EIGE between March 2023 and April 2024. The measurement framework presented in the following chapters will support national authorities and other stakeholders across the 27 Member States to effectively and homogeneously measure the prevalence of four forms of CVAWG in line with the requirements of the VAW/DV directive.