RFLD published its regional report Online violence against women in West and Central Africa 2026 on 4 October 2026. This article answers the questions we hear most often about it.
What is the report about?
The report examines technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women in West and Central Africa. It covers prevalence, impacts, women in public life, the legal and institutional response, platforms and artificial intelligence, and good practices. It ends with recommendations to states, regional bodies, technology companies, funders and civil society.
Why did RFLD produce it?
RFLD’s member organisations increasingly report that women who speak up online pay for it. Yet the evidence base for West and Central Africa remains thin. The report’s central finding is that this is the least documented region of the continent on online violence against women. RFLD wanted to bring the available evidence together in one place and to show where it is missing.
Which countries does it cover?
The report includes profiles of 17 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
What sources does it use?
The report draws on multi-country surveys, connectivity data, police statistics, national laws and documented cases, up to October 2026. Key sources include the 2019 Internet Sans Frontières survey, the 2020 Pollicy study, the 2021 study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the African Parliamentary Union, and Plan International’s 2020 survey of girls and young women.
How reliable are the figures?
The report is open about its limits. There is no nationally representative prevalence survey on online violence against women in any country of the region. Police data counts complaints, not victims, and is not disaggregated by sex. Several figures come from press reports of official statements. The report separates global figures from regional ones, and labels projections as projections.
What are the headline findings?
Among them:
- 45.5% of women on social media in 18 countries of the region had experienced online gender-based violence, and only 15% had reported it (Internet Sans Frontières, 2019);
- 42% of African women parliamentarians interviewed had received threats of death, rape, beating or abduction, mostly through social media;
- only three of the countries reviewed explicitly criminalise sharing intimate images without consent;
- the AU Convention on Ending Violence against Women and Girls had eight signatures and no ratifications in May 2026.
How does the report define online violence?
It uses the UNFPA definition of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, an act of violence “committed, assisted, aggravated and amplified in part or fully” by digital technologies against a person on the basis of gender. It covers forms such as cyber-harassment, sextortion, doxing, impersonation and sexualised deepfakes.
Is there practical guidance for organisations?
Yes. One chapter sets out a survivor-centred response in six steps, from immediate safety and evidence preservation to psychosocial support and documentation. It also lists preparatory steps for women’s organisations, such as keeping referral lists and training a digital safety focal point.
Does the report name survivors?
No. The report describes cases without exposing individuals, and it asks organisations to document cases only with the informed consent of survivors. Where cases involve intimate images, it describes them without naming the women concerned or pointing to the material.
Which languages is it available in?
The report is available in English and in French. Both editions can be downloaded free of charge.
How can I use it?
Advocates can cite it in shadow reports to the African Commission and in national law reform campaigns. Funders can use it to target support. Journalists can use its figures, with the sources it gives. Parliamentarians can draw on its legal analysis when cybercrime bills come before them. RFLD’s manual on shadow reports explains how to bring evidence before the African Commission.
Where can I learn more?
Start with the report summary. This article is part of a series that explores each chapter in more depth, from national laws to platform moderation.
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.
