Addressing digital violence through storytelling in Bangladesh

Authors: Shararat Islam and Diego De La Rosa

“After posting content or expressing an opinion, receiving threats of physical assault and rape has become a regular phenomenon,” says Maisha Mahjabeen Priooty, a student, activist and artist, describing her online experiences. “If I turn off the comments section, they message me directly. If I ignore those messages, I receive abusive emails. Once it starts, it becomes a wave. I usually wear a mask when I go out – not because of pollution, but to hide my face and feel a little safer. It affects me in every possible way, every day. I am conscious of what I wear and where I go, because I know that the hatred I face online could at any moment become a reality offline.”

This experience is shared by many young women and girls in Bangladesh. According to an unpublished UN Women study, online harassment rose sharply during and after the civil unrest of 2024, with 66 per cent of women saying they’d received explicit or threatening messages on social media. Global studies suggest that 16–58 per cent of women experience digital violence.

To understand such experiences, thousands of young people have been engaging with the interactive online drama “Safetyforher.Net”, which asks them to step into the lives of women navigating harassment, privacy violations and social pressure – both online and offline. Implemented by UN Women and UNDP, the interactive film invites viewers to make choices for its characters – whether to report, share or stay silent, revealing how everyday decisions can either reinforce harm or create change.

By combining entertainment and education, the initiative has turned awareness into action, encouraging empathy, accountability and dialogue on issues seldom discussed openly.

Last year, more than 480,000 people across Bangladesh viewed the interactive drama, and over 230,000 participated in shaping the storyline – 46.49 per cent were aged 18–24. The findings revealed fewer than half of participants recognized online bullying or workplace harassment as gender-based violence, and many said they’d handle situations privately rather than report them, often due to stigma.

These findings are now helping UN Women and partners to strengthen prevention programmes and design interventions rooted in real behaviour instead of assumptions.

“We need a policy of zero tolerance for all forms of violence/harassment against women and girls in the digital environment, to strengthen data collection efforts to understand the different manifestations, impacts and drivers of tech-facilitated violence, to strengthen partnerships with the technology sector, and to hold perpetrators accountable,” said Gitanjali Singh, UN Women Representative in Bangladesh.

Building on these lessons, UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme in Bangladesh, with support from the Government of Sweden, developed a follow-up experience with a new storyline about a young woman candidate who faces trolling, deepfakes and online intimidation while running for local office. Scenarios explore how to respond to fake photos, hate comments or disinformation, and what to do when someone is threatened or blackmailed.

“In today’s increasingly connected world, ensuring protection against digital harassment is essential to safeguard the safety, dignity, privacy and rights of women and children,” said Mahbuba Akhter, Director of Advocacy and Communication at BLAST, a UN Women civil society partner. “Access to justice must extend to the digital space.”

As Bangladesh marks this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the initiative continues to expand its reach with English subtitles and improved data-collection tools. What began as a storytelling pilot has become a model for how creative technology can challenge discriminatory social norms, address misogyny and content that normalizes violence against women and girls, and inspire collective responsibility to prevent it.