In the words of Ranhee Song: “Technology is giving new reach to entrenched forms of violence, with gender-based violence becoming more complex, more harmful, and harder to stop”

Ranhee Song is a representative of the Korea Women’s Hot-Line and a long-standing feminist activist at the forefront of efforts to address gender-based violence in the Republic of Korea.

Speaking at the Dialogue on Tackling Digital Violence in Commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism on Ending Violence Against Women, convened by the UN Women Knowledge and Partnerships Centre on 3 December in Seoul, Korea, Song underscored that technology is not creating entirely new forms of violence, but is radically reshaping existing ones, making them more complex, more malicious, and harder to detect and address.

In Korea, public and policy discussions on technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) have largely centred on digital sexual crimes, such as illegal filming, image-based abuse, and deepfake sexual materials. While these crimes are devastating and require robust legal responses, Song argues that this narrow framing can obscure a wider reality: TFGBV also reinforces and amplifies existing patterns of domestic violence, dating violence, economic abuse, and coercive control.

Song notes that TFGBV is a daily reality for survivors, taking many forms in their everyday lives. Former partners may send abusive messages through repeated micro-transfers of as little as 1 KRW (0.007 USD) via banking apps. Perpetrators may also exploit KakaoTalk – a widely used messaging platform in Korea – and its multi-profile function to direct harassment that is visible only to the victim.

Technology is also used to obstruct women’s efforts to seek safety and justice. For example, phones may be taken away to delete evidence of abuse, while messaging histories can be altered to fabricate consent. Shared accounts and linked devices can enable perpetrators to monitor survivors’ movements, purchases, and communications long after a relationship has ended.

“These are not new crimes,” Song stressed. “They are deeply entrenched forms of violence – jealousy, control, confinement, and exploitation. What is new is the reach technology gives them. It allows violence and abuse to become more constant, more invasive, and, at times, more lethal, while also making perpetrators harder to trace.”

Song also cautioned that the prevailing understanding of digital sexual violence in Korea remains too narrow. Instead, she advocates for adopting a broader framework that recognizes technology not only as a tool but as an enabler that can exacerbate violence against women in all its forms.

Korea has made significant progress through legal reforms and government action, particularly in response to major incidents such as the “Nth Room” case – a 2020 digital sex trafficking scheme in which women and underage girls were exploited through secret Telegram chatrooms. New laws now criminalize the possession, viewing, and production of non-consensual sexual material, expand undercover investigative powers, and strengthen survivor support systems.

However, Song warned that legal and policy responses will remain insufficient unless they are grounded in a deeper understanding of how TFGBV is evolving. What is required, she argued, is a creative and multi-dimensional approach – one that recognizes technology as an active enabler of violence and responds accordingly through integrated analysis, survivor-centred policies, and cross-sector accountability.