As the world marks the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the 2025 theme … UNITE to End Violence Against All Women and Girls, rings with urgency and clarity. At BARO, we embrace this call with a deliberate focus on ending violence against women and girls in digital spaces. Because digital violence is not abstract. It is real, relentless, and deeply harmful. It affects one in three women globally, and its impact reverberates through every corner of society.
Picture this: a young girl in Uganda receives threatening messages after refusing to share intimate photos. A woman’s private images are leaked without consent, her reputation shredded overnight. A student is bullied into silence for expressing her views online. These are not isolated incidents, they are part of a growing crisis. As mobile access expands and digital platforms become central to daily life, the risks multiply. Through our Digital Democracy Project, we’ve heard these stories firsthand while educating students on safe internet use and digital rights.
Digital violence is a human rights emergency. But awareness alone is not enough. We need a reckoning. Survivors must be seen not as victims, but as rights-holders. Governments, tech platforms, and institutions must be held accountable. Laws must evolve to protect against online abuse. Justice must be accessible. And digital spaces must be governed by principles of dignity, equity, and inclusion.
In Uganda, change is already underway. Initiatives like the Digital Democracy Project and youth-led advocacy are challenging harmful norms and building safer online communities. These efforts are shaping policy, empowering students, and defending digital dignity. But the fight requires more than a few brave voices, it demands collective action. Men and boys, educators and developers, policymakers and parents, everyone has a role to play.
As Barack Obama once said, “Together we can change our culture for the better by ending violence against women and girls… all of us, in our lives, have the power to set an example.” This year, let’s make the 16 Days of Activism more than a campaign. Let’s make it a turning point. Let’s UNITE—not just in hashtags, but in classrooms, courtrooms, boardrooms, and code. Let’s build digital spaces that are safe, inclusive, and just.
Gender-based violence, online or offline, is not inevitable. It is a choice society makes. And it is a choice we can unmake. From November 25 to December 10, join us in rallying around this theme. Visit our page for daily messages, SMS tips, student reflections, and community resources. Let’s make digital violence a thing of the past. Let’s make Uganda a leader in the fight for digital dignity.
Let’s make it happen … together.
