Digital sexualized violence: Women are withdrawing from the internet

Because of concerns about digital violence, two thirds of women between the ages of 18 and 74 are changing their behavior online. This is the result of a representative survey that the German Women's Council published on Monday. According to the results, 67 percent of all women surveyed share fewer pictures and personal information and have restricted their online activities overall. The German Women's Council (DFR) and the German Lawyers' Association (DJB) are now calling for improvements to the law against digital violence.

“The survey shows a structural gender dimension,” says sociologist Matthias Quent from the Ernst Abbe University Jena, who is responsible for the scientific evaluation of the study. “We see in the data that digital participation is being immediately restricted,” says Quent. For women between the ages of 18 and 39, 76 percent change their behavior to protect themselves from misuse of photos or videos.

The withdrawal is particularly high among women who have already experienced violence online: 73 percent withdraw from digital spaces. But 57 percent of those who have not previously been affected by digital violence also say they are changing their online behavior as a precaution. Scientists speak of the so-called chilling effect, an effect that describes deterrence and self-restriction.

Young women in particular have had their own experiences with image-based sexual violence. One in five women under the age of 40 reported experiences with sexualized AI representations in the survey. And this “even though today’s possibilities for AI-supported creation of sexualized representations are comparatively new,” says the report.

The digital restrictions are also changing behavior in non-digital life, said actress and presenter Collien Fernandes, who was also present at the press conference: “I'm surprised at how little this has been taken seriously in recent years, how digital has been dismissed as an absurd parallel world.” Fernandes sparked a Germany-wide debate about sexualized digital violence in March 2026 when she made public the digital sexualized violence she had experienced at the hands of her ex-husband Christian Ulmen.

Instead of directing responsibility to the women affected, Fernandes believes that the focus should be on the mostly male perpetrators. “I am very surprised at how little the topic is understood by men and how often I have to explain online what the problem is,” said the moderator. She calls for more education and enlightenment, and for this “we also have to open our wallets”.

The Women's Council and the DJB see a need for action not only in education and enlightenment, but also in the draft law against digital violence from the Federal Ministry of Justice by Stefanie Hubig (SPD). This will soon be discussed in the Bundestag. Theresia Rasche from the DJB welcomed the planned changes to criminal law, but called for improvements.

The law must make it clearer that it is irrelevant for criminal liability whether an AI-generated image is deceptively real or labeled as AI - because “the interference with sexual self-determination remains the same,” says Rasche. The DJB also objects to the classification as a private crime: It is not a trivial crime, says Rasche. Content would have an impact on society as a whole, which is why law enforcement authorities, rather than private individuals, must take action.

The Association of Lawyers also calls for the introduction of comprehensive public prosecution offices for digital violence and the more consistent use of online platforms on which this content is exchanged. Both the DJB and the German Women's Council support faster deletion of violent content.

Digital violence is not just an individual problem, but it affects social and political participation, said Judith Rahner, managing director of the DFR. “And that ultimately makes it a democracy problem.” This falls short in the current approach of the Digital Violence Protection Act. “Being right and being protected quickly are two different things. And a digital violence protection law must guarantee both,” says Rahner.