March 2022

A foundational NORC analysis of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (GBV) literature has paved the way for future research by identifying key trends and gaps, including a significant lack of data in low- and middle-income Asian countries. As Internet usage grows globally, studying tech-facilitated GBV is essential to protecting women, children, sexual minorities, and other vulnerable groups. To better understand the scope of the problem, the U.S. Agency for International Development tasked NORC and the International Center for Research on Women with identifying key factors that contribute to tech-facilitated GBV in Asia, analyzing regional and gender-specific trends, assessing COVID-19’s impact, and identifying existing prevention and mitigation strategies.

Researchers examined 97 articles and conducted case studies on Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. Findings revealed a number of challenges related to monitoring and combatting tech-facilitated GBV, including inconsistent terminology, stigmatization of survivors, difficulties navigating online and law enforcement reporting systems, or the perception that complaints would be ignored. While these factors make it difficult to estimate the true prevalence of tech-facilitated GBV in Asia, they outline a direction for future studies and collective action.