This report examines cyber violence affecting girls and adolescents in the European Union, analysing its prevalence, underlying drivers and consequences and reviewing the effectiveness of existing policy and legal responses.
It is based on a mixed-methods research design that combines legal and policy analysis, statistical evidence and participatory insights from adolescents across 10 EU Member States, providing a comprehensive understanding of both the structural and lived dimensions of cyber violence and supporting evidence-based policy action at the EU and national levels.
The study was conceived as a bridge between research and policy, ensuring that empirical findings directly inform EU and national measures to prevent and respond to gender-based cyber violence.
The study explores how girls aged 13–18 define, experience and respond to cyber violence, both as victims and as bystanders, and considers the wider social and institutional contexts in which these experiences take place. The analysis of boys’ (15–18) experiences focuses on social norms, masculinity, bystander behaviour and empathy. Particular attention is given to the ways in which gender norms, social expectations and patterns of digital interaction shape young people’s perceptions and behaviours online.
The research is framed within the Beijing Platform for Action, with a focus on Area D on violence against women and Area L on the girl child, and supports EU efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence in all its forms.
