Why Online Safety Must Include Young Women

In an increasingly digital world, online safety is more than just privacy settings; it’s survival, especially for young women.

Why Online Safety for Young Women is Non-Negotiable

From revenge porn to doxxing, harassment, and surveillance, the internet has evolved into a space where the threats young women face offline are amplified by technology. Yet, mainstream digital safety frameworks continue to overlook their experiences. If we’re serious about internet safety, we must reimagine what it means through a gender lens.

The Gendered Nature of Online Harassment

Online harassment isn’t just a nuisance, it’s gendered violence. According to a 2023 report by Amnesty International, women, particularly young, marginalized, and outspoken women, are disproportionately targeted with threats, sexualized abuse, and harassment on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and TikTok. In Nigeria, a 2022 survey by Media Health and Rights Initiative revealed that 67% of female students at a federal university had experienced some form of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV).

How Social Platforms Fail Young Women

Despite growing awareness, most social media algorithms are designed to prioritize engagement over safety. Harmful content that objectifies or targets women often goes viral faster than educational or empowering material. This makes the internet a high-risk space for young women especially those discussing sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), feminism, or social justice.

At Love Matters Naija, our recent voxpop on abortion stigma showed how algorithmic silencing affects young Nigerian women. Content flagged as “sensitive” is often suppressed, making it harder for communities to share lived experiences or access vital SRHR information.

Digital Control in Intimate Relationships

Digital abuse in romantic relationships is a growing concern. From unauthorized tracking apps to password surveillance and sextortion, young women often find themselves entrapped in abusive digital dynamics that go unnoticed. These experiences, though real, rarely make it into conversations about cybersecurity or digital rights.

During our recent AI-generated content FGD, participants shared their fears about consent, data safety, and the weaponization of AI to create fake nudes. The findings confirmed a disturbing truth which is that the tools of empowerment can become tools of control if not framed with digital gender justice.

Surviving the Algorithm: What Digital Safety Should Look Like for Young Women

For online safety to be truly effective, it must:

Include digital literacy programs tailored to young women and girls
Address TFGBV as a legitimate form of violence
Integrate SRHR education into cybersecurity conversations
Advocate for safer algorithms and platform accountability
Provide accessible mental health support for survivors

Young women have every right to be online, express themselves, and access information without fear. But to make this vision a reality, online safety frameworks must reflect their realities. The algorithm may not yet favor them, but together, we can build systems that do.

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