Title page 1

Contents 3

Executive summary 7

Introduction 11

1. The phenomenon of cyber violence against girls and young women 13

1.1. Concepts and definitions of cyber violence 13

1.2. Prevalence and contexts of cyber violence 17

1.3. Perceived causes and contributing factors 21

2. Perceptions of cyber violence among girls and boys 24

2.1. Experience and understanding of cyber violence 24

2.2. Understanding cyber violence through young people's voices 26

3. How girls experience cyber violence 30

3.1. Where and how cyber violence happens: roles and interactions 32

3.2. The pervasive and normalised nature of cyber violence 36

3.3. Young people's perspectives on intersectional risks in cyber violence 38

3.4. Role of bystanders and peer influence 44

4. Effects of cyber violence 46

4.1. Impacts of cyber violence and social dynamics 46

4.2. Young people's voices on the consequences of cyber violence 47

5. Preventing and addressing cyber violence 49

5.1. International and EU frameworks addressing cyber violence against women and girls 49

5.1.1. International frameworks addressing cyber violence 50

5.1.2. EU regulatory developments on gender-based cyber violence 51

5.2. National approaches in Member States 52

5.2.1. Legal approaches across the EU 52

5.2.2. Beyond legislative approaches at the national level 60

5.2.3. Young people's perceptions of responses to cyber violence 72

6. Conclusions 76

7. Policy recommendations 80

References 89

Annex 99

Table 1. Forms of cyber violence associated with different digital platforms according to focus group participants 33

Table 2. Examples of cyber violence-specific legislation at the national level 53

Table 3. Examples of national legislation extended to cover cyber violence 55

Table 4. Examples of provisions related to cyber violence that have been added to existing national legal frameworks 59

Table 5. Examples of educational and awareness-raising measures related to cyber violence in different Member States 61

Table 6. Examples of Member State national action plans containing actions targeting cyber violence 65

Table 7. Examples of Member States collaborating across sectors to address cyber violence 67

FIGURE 1. Council of Europe's conceptual framework of cyber violence 14

FIGURE 2. Main terms used by girls to describe cyber violence in the form of general aggression and violence 26

FIGURE 3. Main terms used by girls to describe cyber violence in the form of verbal and psychological abuse 27

FIGURE 4. Main terms used by girls to describe cyber violence in the form of sexual cyber violence 27

FIGURE 5. Main terms used by girls to describe cyber violence in the form of coercion, manipulation and blackmail 27

FIGURE 6. Main terms used by girls to describe cyber violence in the form of body shaming, judgement and beauty standards 28

FIGURE 7. Perpetrators and associated forms of cyber violence, according to focus group participants 35

FIGURE 8. Timeline of examples of leading international legal and policy instruments addressing cyber violence 50

FIGURE 9. Timeline of examples of main EU regulatory developments on gender-based (cyber) violence as of December 2025 52

Boxes 5

Box 1. The most frequent forms of cyber violence 15

Box 2. Forms of cyber violence against women and girls considered for this research study 17

Box 3. Examples of surveys on cyber violence carried out in Member States 20

Box 4. Examples of EU-funded projects that promote a collaborative approach 68

Box 5. Examples of campaigns for safer online environments - Germany and Italy 70

Box 6. Examples of different approaches to tackling cyber violence - Belgium, Estonia, Ireland and Spain 71

Box 7. Examples of training programmes for teachers and specialised professionals - Poland and Sweden 71

Box 8. Details of the methodological approach used for the study 99

Table A1. Examples of international policy and legal documents addressing cyber violence 116

Table A2. Examples of EU regulatory developments on gender-based (cyber) violence 118

Table A3. Examples of specific case-law related to cyber violence 120

Table A4. Experiences of cyber violence among young people, by age and sex 121

Table A5. Types of cyber violence experienced or witnessed by female focus group participants (13-18-year-olds, focus groups conducted... 122

Table A6. Children who have been cyberbullied at least once in the past couple of months by Member State, sex and family affluence... 128

Table A7. Prevalence of problematic social media use among children, by Member State, sex and family affluence 132

Table A8. Common types of perpetrators of cyber violence 136

Table A9. Factors influencing the behaviour of young bystanders (under 20 years of age) witnessing cyber violence 137

FIGURE A1. Thirteen-year-olds who have been cyberbullied at least once in the past couple of months, by sex and Member State (%, 2021-2022) 102

FIGURE A2. Fifteen-year-olds who have been cyberbullied at least once in the past couple of months, by sex and Member State (%, 2021-2022) 103

FIGURE A3. Thirteen-year-olds who report problematic social media use, by sex and Member State (% 2021-2022) 104

FIGURE A4. Fifteen-year-olds reporting problematic social media use, by sex and Member State (% 2021-2022) 105

FIGURE A5. Women who have experienced controlling behaviour from partners who insist on knowing their whereabouts, by age group... 106

FIGURE A6. Women who have experienced cyber violence, by type of violence and age group (%, 18-74-year-olds, EU, 2021) 107

FIGURE A7. Women who experienced cyber violence, by form of violence (%, EU, 18-74-year-olds, 2021) 108

FIGURE A8. Women whose experiences of cyber violence occurred before the age of 15 (%, EU, 18-74-year-olds, 2021) 109

FIGURE A9. Adolescents who have received unwanted sexual requests, by age group and Member State (%, 12-16-year-olds, 2020) 110

FIGURE A10. Adolescents who have received unwanted sexual requests, by sex and Member State (%, 12-16-year-olds, 2020) 111

FIGURE A11. Children who have experienced harm from online victimisation (to the degree of being at least a bit upset), by sex and... 112

FIGURE A12. Children reporting harm from online victimisation (at least a bit upset), by age group and Member State (%, 9-16-year-olds, 2020) 113

FIGURE A13. Thirteen-year-olds who have cyberbullied others at least once in the past couple of months, by sex and Member State (%, 2021-2022) 114

FIGURE A14. Fifteen-year-olds who have cyberbullied others at least once in the past couple of months, by sex and Member State (%, 2021-2022) 115