Nearly half of women aged 16-24 experience online violence, report shows

Nearly half of women aged 16-24 and 36% of women more widely reported experiencing some form of online violence against them, a new report shows.

A joint research report from Refuge and the End Violence Against Women coalition (EVAW) drew on nationally representative polling of 2,000 women aged 16 and over in the UK for its findings.

The survey showed that one in five 16-24-year-olds who use social media say they are recommended content that is humiliating, degrading or sexually violent towards women most or every time they use it.

The report also highlights how online violence against women and girls (VAWG) can be compounded by other forms of discrimination and inequality.

The research suggests that LGBT+ women (57%) and disabled women (34%) are disproportionately affected by online misogyny and sexual violence.

Of those who reported experiencing online VAWG, one in five said it was perpetrated by a former partner, rising to 25% among 16-24-year-olds.

The organisations warn the findings expose how online VAWG can form part of post-separation abuse, with perpetrators using digital spaces to harass, abuse and exert control even after a relationship ends.

Janaya Walker, EVAW interim director, said: "This report is a stark reminder of the ways in which online VAWG is a major feature of women's everyday lives to devastating effect, particularly for young women.

"The status quo is untenable and the government's efforts to prevent VAWG need to confront the business model of big tech, with a regulatory system which has the teeth to hold them to account."

AI fears

Meanwhile, almost half (44%) of the women surveyed said they use an AI chat system on a regular basis, rising to 80% of women aged 16-24.

And one in six women in this age group say they have received dating, sex and relationships advice from an AI technology that they perceive to be inappropriate, unhealthy or unsafe.

Reflecting these concerns, two-thirds of the women surveyed were concerned about the role of AI in enabling VAWG and are not confident that the government is doing enough to regulate AI in the context of women's safety.

In response to the findings, EVAW and Refuge are calling on the government to make Ofcom's guidance on VAWG legally enforceable, introduce mandatory design standards for online services, and establish robust AI regulation that prioritises the safety of women and girls.

Refuge said that while guidance for tech companies introduced last year was a "welcome step," the organisation "has long been clear that voluntary guidance lacks the force needed to address the shocking levels of abuse and violence faced by women and girls online every day".

Halving VAWG

Labour has promised to halve VAWG within a decade and has unveiled multiple policies since coming to office aimed at doing so - most recently on Monday, when the prime minister announced that specialist courts to deal with rape and sexual offences would be introduced across England and Wales.

As part of the plans, every crown court will have at least one courtroom dedicated to such cases within the next two years.

Andy Burnham said the move - estimated to cost £23m - would "rebalance the scales of justice and put victims first" and was "long overdue".

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The charity Rape Crisis said it was a "significant step forward" and the package of reforms would ensure courts "properly meet the needs of victims and survivors".

The day before the announcement, the government also launched a national taskforce aimed at tackling misogyny across society.

The group will seek to root out harmful attitudes online, in workplaces and within communities, bringing together representatives from women's organisations, academia, local leaders and ministers.

The government has been contacted for comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Nearly half of women aged 16-24 experience online violence, report shows