Online Violence
Working to end online violence and abuse
With the continuous and rapid advancement of technology, we have seen the sudden shift of our daily social, professional, and economic routines to online spaces.
While this has been a positive advancement for many, we have also witnessed a sharp rise in the rate of online violence across the world, including in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Low digital literacy and a culture of shame and societal stigma, has led to violent consequences, especially for women and children, with the likelihood of online violence shifting to offline spaces continuously increasing.
Online Violence (OV) – including violence facilitated by the use of technology – is when someone uses the internet or technology – like phones, social media, or games – to harm, threaten, or abuse others.
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of women and girls experienced TFGBV in the past 12 months
UN Women, 2021
What SEED is doing to reduce and respond to TFGBV
SEED is committed to helping reduce TFGBV across Kurdistan by improving protection and prevention mechanisms, as well raising awareness of its risks, and changing attitudes to ensure survivors are supported and perpetrators are held accountable, including:
Legislative Analysis: Online Violence in Iraq and The Kurdistan Region
Online violence is generally understood to refer to a broad array of harmful acts and behaviors that may be threatened, committed, facilitated, or aggravated through the use of information and communications technology (ICT).
In today’s increasingly digital world, online violence can pose serious threats to safety and security – with the potential for especially profound consequences in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, where high rates of violence, limited protection frameworks, and social pressures can amplify risks for survivors.
This analysis examines key international and national legal frameworks relevant to combating online violence in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. It emphasizes a balanced and comprehensive legislative response to combating online violence — with a focus on prevention, protection, prosecution, reparation, and integrated policies — and concludes with targeted recommendations to support the Government of Iraq (GOI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in developing legislation to address this growing threat.
Toward Safe Digital Spaces
The Importance of Legislation to Address Online Violence in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region
Online violence has emerged as a new and insidious threat in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, with profound implications for the well-being of all, but particularly grave consequences for already vulnerable groups, including women and children.
This technical brief introduces the phenomenon of online violence and the role of legislation in addressing it. By examining relevant international standards for combating violence against women and children in the digital dimension and assessing the current legislative environment in Iraq and the Kurdistan against those benchmarks, this paper establishes the core components of a strong legislative response to online violence and argues that swift and concerted action is needed to preserve essential rights and protections in an increasingly digital world.
The Iraq TFGBV Task Force
Founded in December 2021, the Iraq TFGBV Task Force aims to bring NGOs, civil society, and government entities together to strengthen the prevention of, and response to, TFGBV across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to ensure that survivors and those at-risk are protected, supported, and empowered. SEED jointly established the TFGBV Task Force with other members of the GBV Sub-Cluster in Iraq, and currently serves as co-lead. Its three objectives are:
Join the Task Force: contact@seedkurdistan.org
Responding to Online Violence: A Practitioner’s Guide
In Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, online violence presents heightened and complex risks due to social stigma, limited legal frameworks, and the potential for severe offline consequences. Survivors, particularly women, girls, and children, may not only face digital harm but also serious offline consequences such as social exclusion, family retaliation, or honor-based violence. In this context, how cases are handled directly impacts survivor safety and protection outcomes.
This practitioner’s guide is designed for case managers, frontline responders, and protection actors working within GBV and child protection systems. It provides practical, field-oriented guidance to support safe, coordinated, and effective responses to cases of online violence.
