What comes to mind when you hear GBV? If you think of physical fights or sexual assault alone, you might be wrong. Recent youth forums in Nairobi have brought to light that young people are facing new forms of violence in form of cyberstalking, doxing (sharing your private information publicly), deep fake images, AI-generated sexual content and sextortion (being blackmailed with intimate images).

This article will help you understand every form of GBV and give you a clearer understanding on how to protect yourself and support others.

What Is Gender-Based Violence (GBV)?

GBV can be described as "harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender, rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power, and harmful norms."

In the digital era, Gender-Based Violence manifests in many other ways ie;

• Physical violence involves using force to hurt someone, such as hitting, kicking, or choking.
• Sexual violence involves forcing someone into sexual acts like rape or sexual assault.
• Emotional or psychological violence includes hurting someone's feelings to control them through insults, threats, or isolation.
• Economic violence involves controlling access to resources like money, food, or medicine to force dependency.
• Digital or Technology-Facilitated GBV uses technology to harm individuals based on their gender, including cyberbullying, doxing, deepfakes, and online harassment.

GBV includes acts that inflict physical harm, sexual harm, mental and sychological harm, emotional harm, economic harm and harmful cultural practices.

The Most Overlooked Form: Digital GBV (TFGBV)

Digital or Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) is a unique form of abuse that weaponizes technology to inflict harm based on gender. This abuse encompasses various methods. Forms of digital control include cyberstalking, where someone tracks your online activity, location, or communications, often by demanding your live location or monitoring your messages.

Another major threat is doxing, which involves sharing your private information, such as your address or phone number, publicly without your consent. Finally, consistent and abusive messaging is classified as online harassment, which includes daily hateful DMs or being tagged in humiliating posts. Trends in AI are rapidly escalating these risks, particularly with the spread of misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes on social media.

More invasive forms of digital GBV focus on sexual and intimate content. These include the non-consensual use of images, such as deepfake imagery, where AI is used to generate fake sexual content using your face from social media. Similarly, revenge pornography is the act of sharing intimate images after a breakup without your consent.

A coercive tactic often used is sextortion, where an individual blackmails you with intimate images or videos to force you to provide money or more content, with threats like, "Send me more or I'll share this with your family". Abusers may also use digital manipulation, coercing you into sharing content through emotional pressure, such as saying, "If you loved me, you'd send this. Don't you trust me?".

In Kenya, women aged 18–35 are the demographic most affected by GBV and Nairobi reports the highest number of cases. However, it is crucial to recognize that GBV against men and boys is significantly underreported. Cultural stigma and rigid gender expectations often prevent male survivors from seeking help.

Young adults (up to 24) are more likely to experience violence from people they know and trust rather than from strangers. Potential perpetrators often include relatives (father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, grandparents), professionals and people in authority (teachers, religious leaders, police, healthcare providers), caregivers, friends and neighbors.

The person who hurts you may not look like a "monster," but that does not make the violence less real or less wrong.

The Path Forward: Understanding, Action, and Response

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a critical matter with devastating consequences, inflicting physical injuries, STIs, mental health crises like PTSD and suicidal thoughts, and, in extreme cases, death. Recognizing this national emergency, immediate action is underway in Kenya, marked by the establishment of the Presidential Taskforce (2025) to address the rise in offline and online cases, alongside robust legal frameworks and the crucial availability of confidential support via the national HAK 1195 helpline.

Your role is vital: we must actively close the reporting gap by becoming informed, recognizing red flags like digital manipulation and constant demands for monitoring. If you or someone you know is affected, prioritize safety immediately, document all digital abuse with screenshots and reach out to a trusted professional for support.