The United Nations has raised fresh concern over the rapid rise of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TF-GBV) in Nigeria, warning that online abuse is silencing women, undermining democracy, threatening livelihoods and, in some cases, leading to physical harm.

Speaking Tuesday during the commemoration of the 2025 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed M. Fall, said while some forms of physical violence are slowly declining, a new and alarming wave of digital violence is emerging across the country.

“Technology-facilitated gender-based violence hides behind screens, strikes in private messages, spreads on social media, and silences women online. It blocks voices in politics. It interrupts education. It threatens livelihoods. It can even trigger harm offline,” he stated.