Press Statement on the Occasion of the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women”
25 November 2025, Banjul, the Republic of The Gambia
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed this year under the theme “UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls,” the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR or Commission) joins the global community in reaffirming its commitment to ending all forms of violence—particularly the rising threat of digital violence—against women and girls across Africa.
This day reminds us that efforts to eliminate gender-based violence must evolve with emerging challenges. The growing prevalence of cyber-harassment, online abuse, non-consensual image sharing, and gendered disinformation continues to undermine the dignity, safety, and rights of women and girls. Behind each incident stands a life whose agency and potential has been diminished. This reality underscores the urgent need to strengthen prevention, protection, and accountability mechanisms.
The Commission continues to advance this agenda through key normative frameworks, including Resolution ACHPR/Res. 522 (LXXII) 2022 on protecting women from digital violence and Resolution ACHPR/Res. 591 (LXXX) 2024, which mandates a comprehensive study to identify systemic patterns and evidence-based solutions to digital violence in Africa.
In the context of armed conflicts, displacement, and increasing digital insecurity, the Commission reiterates its call for States Parties to sign, ratify, and domesticate the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG). To date, only seven Member States—Angola, Burundi, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, and The Gambia—have signed the Convention. With 15 ratifications required for entry into force, the Commission urges all States to expedite this process.
Adopted in February 2025, the AU-CEVAWG recognises cyberspace violence as a pressing concern and obligates States to enact comprehensive legal, policy, and institutional safeguards. The Convention complements the Maputo Protocol and the Commission’s Resolutions 522 (2022) and 591 (2024), establishing a robust continental framework for combating digital gender-based violence.
As we begin the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the 2025 theme serves as a powerful reminder that violence—online or offline—is unacceptable. Digital spaces hold immense potential for empowerment, innovation, and connection, but they can also mirror and magnify gendered harms if unregulated. The actions we take today must reflect both urgency and ambition. Digital safety is not a 16-day campaign—it is a lifelong right.
To all State Parties, civil society organisations, technology actors, human-rights defenders, women’s rights organisations, and all women and girls across Africa — let us unite, act, and ensure that no woman or girl is silenced, intimidated, or harmed in the spaces she inhabits — whether online or offline.
Together, let us say #NoExcuse and #ACTtoEndViolence.
Honourable Commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
