Two years after it adopted Resolution 522 on digital violence against women, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights decided that Africa needed better evidence. RFLD’s report Online violence against women in West and Central Africa 2026 explains why the study it mandated matters so much for this region, and what RFLD expects from it.
What Resolution 591 says
Resolution 591 (LXXX) 2024 was adopted virtually at the Commission’s 80th Ordinary Session, on 2 August 2024. It mandates a one-year continental study on digital violence against women’s rights.
The study is to be led jointly by two of the Commission’s special mechanisms: the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. Bringing the two mandates together reflects the nature of the problem. Online violence against women is a violation of women’s rights, and it is also an attack on their freedom of expression.
In its press statement of 25 November 2025, the Commission described the study as “a comprehensive study to identify systemic patterns and evidence-based solutions to digital violence in Africa”. The statement gave no findings and no timeline.
Where the study stands
As of the last verifiable statement by the Commission, no published output of the study could be found. The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria advertised a consultancy for research on digital violence, which appears to be linked to the study.
The one-year mandate has now passed. RFLD’s report recommends that the Commission publish the study.
Why West and Central Africa must be included
The report’s main finding is that West and Central Africa is the least documented region of the continent on technology-facilitated gender-based violence. There is no nationally representative prevalence survey on online violence against women in any country of the region.
Existing research leans heavily towards East and Southern Africa. A PLOS ONE scoping review published in August 2026 found 17 studies on the subject in sub-Saharan Africa. Seven were from Kenya. Only two were West African. The authors named West and Central Africa as under-represented.
A continental study built on the existing literature would repeat this imbalance. That is why RFLD asks that the study include primary data from West and Central Africa, collected in the region and in its languages, including French.
What the study could add
A well-designed continental study could fill several gaps that the report identifies:
- prevalence data for francophone countries, where almost no survey exists;
- an assessment of how national laws match the standards of Resolution 522;
- evidence on how platforms respond to reports in African languages and in local forms of French;
- an analysis of police and court data, most of which is not disaggregated by sex.
It could also give states a shared baseline against which to measure progress, and give civil society an authoritative source to cite in shadow reports.
How civil society can contribute
Women’s rights organisations in the region hold much of the evidence that the study needs. RFLD’s report encourages them to document cases of online violence with the informed consent of survivors, and to use this documentation in shadow reports to the African Commission.
Well-documented cases, anonymised and stored securely, can also be shared with the Special Rapporteurs as input to the study. Organisations can prepare by agreeing clear protocols on consent and confidentiality.
Linked recommendations to the Commission
Alongside publication of the study, the report makes two further requests of the Commission. It asks the Commission to question states, during the examination of their periodic reports, on how they have implemented Resolution 522. It also asks the Commission to consider a General Comment on digital violence against women under Articles 3 and 4 of the Maputo Protocol.
Together, the study and a General Comment would give the African human rights system a complete answer to online violence: evidence on what is happening, and guidance on what states must do.
Further reading
The report summary sets out RFLD’s full recommendations to the African Commission. For practical guidance on engaging with the Commission, see RFLD’s manual on shadow reports under the Maputo Protocol.
About the report
This article draws on RFLD’s report Online violence against women in West and Central Africa 2026, published on 4 October 2026. Read the summary, download the English edition or the French edition.
