Online violence against girls: the 2026 European research and the measures of the Union

On 29 June 2026 the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) published a report on online violence affecting girls and adolescents in the European Union. This contribution brings together the findings of that research, the figures of the European gender-based violence survey and the measures adopted by the European institutions during 2026.

The report of the European Institute for Gender Equality

The report, entitled From lived reality to policy action: Combating cyber violence against girls in the EU, was produced by the European Institute for Gender Equality together with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and is published by the Publications Office of the European Union (ISBN 978-92-9486-350-8). The research combines legal and policy analysis, statistical evidence and the direct collection of experiences among adolescents in ten Member States: the focus groups involved 133 girls aged between 13 and 18, while the part devoted to boys aged 15 to 18 covers social norms, models of masculinity, bystander behaviour and empathy.

The research is framed within the Beijing Platform for Action, in particular Area D on violence against women and Area L on the girl child. Among its findings, the report describes forms of violence that change with age: in the 13 to 15 age group exclusion from group chats, comments on the body, gossip and public humiliation prevail; between 16 and 18 sexualised and controlling forms appear more frequently, including coercion, manipulated images and grooming. The research also observes that incidents are not confined to a single platform and adapt to the technical features of each service, and that most of the adolescents interviewed witnessed online abuse without intervening.

The figures of the European gender-based violence survey

On 3 March 2026 the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Institute for Gender Equality published the joint report EU gender-based violence survey, Evidence for policy and practice, which analyses the results of the survey carried out together with Eurostat. The survey is based on interviews with almost 115,000 women aged 18 to 74 in all 27 Member States and updates the exercise published by the same Agency in 2014.

In the European Union 30.7% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence, with national values ranging from 57.1% in Finland to 11.9% in Bulgaria, and 18.5% have experienced stalking. In the part of the survey devoted to the technological dimension, 7.0% of working women were harassed online at work and 10.2% of women in a relationship were monitored through social media or location tracking. In the eight Member States where additional questions were asked, 11.7% of women experienced sexual cyber harassment outside work and 8.5% were stalked by digital means; in those same eight countries, 80.2% of the women who repeatedly received unwanted messages, letters or gifts and 77.0% of those whose highly personal information was published report that this happened online. Only 13.9% of the women who experienced stalking reported it to the police.

The legal framework of the European Union

Directive (EU) 2024/1385 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence devotes Articles 5 to 8 to four forms of cyber violence: the non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, cyber stalking, cyber harassment and cyber incitement to violence or hatred. The directive requires Member States to provide investigating and prosecuting authorities with the expertise and tools needed to gather and secure electronic evidence, and to adopt preventive measures that include the development of digital skills to identify and address cases of online violence. The transposition deadline is 14 June 2027.

Alongside the criminal law provisions stands the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires platforms accessible to minors to maintain high standards of privacy, safety and security. On 14 July 2025 the European Commission published the guidelines on the protection of minors provided for by Article 28(1), together with a technical blueprint for age verification, currently in a piloting phase with Member States, platforms and users. The Artificial Intelligence Act completes the framework by prohibiting systems that manipulate or deceive people in harmful ways and by setting rules on the labelling of generated or manipulated content.

The action plan against cyberbullying

On 10 February 2026, on Safer Internet Day, the European Commission adopted the action plan against cyberbullying, announced in the political guidelines for the period 2024-2029 and prepared through targeted and public consultations that also involved children. The plan rests on three pillars: a coordinated European approach, with an invitation to Member States to adopt national policies based on a common understanding of cyberbullying; prevention and awareness, with tools developed together with children, parents, educators and mental health experts; reporting and support, with an online safety app to be rolled out across all Member States, allowing users to report incidents, store and submit evidence and receive assistance.

In its dedicated page on the plan the Commission reports that one in six adolescents has experienced cyberbullying and one in eight admits to having taken part in it, figures drawn from a study of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe of 27 March 2024; over the last five years cyberbullying has been the main topic of the calls to the helplines of the Safer Internet Centres, accounting for 14% of the total. The same page states that the Commission is seeking expert advice on possible age restrictions for access to social media and will launch a European inquiry into the effects of social media on mental health and well-being.

The Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030

On 5 March 2026, ahead of International Women’s Day, the European Commission presented the Gender Equality Strategy for the period 2026-2030, which turns into actions the Roadmap for Women’s Rights endorsed in 2025 by all Member States. The official press release lists among its priorities the fight against gender-based violence with particular attention to online violence, including measures against sexually explicit content produced or manipulated with digital tools, a structured dialogue with very large online platforms based on the safeguards of the Digital Services Act, and support for the full implementation of the directive on violence against women and of the action plan against cyberbullying. According to the estimates of the European Institute for Gender Equality quoted in the press release, at the current pace it would take fifty years to reach full gender equality in the European Union.

Outlook

The known timetable provides for the transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1385 into national law by 14 June 2027, the rollout of the cyberbullying reporting app in the Member States, the continuation of the pilot phase of the European age verification blueprint and the announced inquiry into the effects of social media on mental health. What remains to be defined is the common understanding of cyberbullying on which national policies are to be built, the criteria for measuring the effectiveness of the measures adopted by platforms and the way Member States will follow up the recommendations of the European Institute for Gender Equality, which point to educational programmes addressed to boys as well, peer support, bystander training and anonymous reporting channels.

In dialogue with the 2030 Agenda

Goal 5 (Gender Equality). Online violence against women and girls is treated by the European institutions as a form of gender-based violence that extends from digital to physical spaces.
Goal 4 (Quality Education). Preventive measures rely on digital literacy and on educational programmes addressed to girls and boys.
Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being). The documented effects concern the psychological well-being of adolescents and are the subject of the announced European inquiry into social media.
Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). Reporting, access to justice, electronic evidence and platform accountability are at the centre of the legal framework.
Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities). The action plan against cyberbullying pays specific attention to young people in situations of greater vulnerability.