The National Models for Women’s Safety Online (NMWSO) Program is a catalytic initiative that seeks to address threats to women’s engagement and leadership in digital spaces. The program works with public and private sector actors in Kenya and the Philippines to document, test, and advance system-level responses to prevent and mitigate online abuse targeting women leaders.   

Digital spaces, products, tools, and platforms provide opportunities to advance public and private sector leadership, economic growth, and learning and innovation. Unfortunately, for women they also harbor risks and harms as they face hostility, abuse, and harassment in digital spaces. Globally, 66% of women have experienced online violence of some kind, and over 85% report having witnessed online violence against other women. (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, 2024). In addition to the severe negative impact on individuals targeted with online abuse, it has a “chilling effect” on the future of leadership and undercuts the benefits that women’s participation brings to societies worldwide.

NMWSO works to promote safe and inclusive digital spaces; empower the digital participation of women in public life and digital economy; and support those impacted by online violence. Because the burden of violence prevention and response should not fall on those who experience it, NMWSO deliberately engages duty bearers, particularly government and tech stakeholders, to gather evidence and create survivor-centered, scalable models for safety online.

Specifically, NMWSO supports tech partners in Kenya and the Philippines to explore, co-create, and trial safety by design tech features to prevent, mitigate, and respond to online violence against women. NMWSO also prioritizes collaboration with relevant government entities to explore regulatory approaches for promoting online safety to prevent and address online violence against women. Throughout these efforts, NMWSO supports women in public life and leadership with tools for protection and response so they can stay safely and productively engaged in digital spaces and inform the design and monitoring of online violence mitigation efforts. Ultimately, the learning and evidence derived from this work will inform what policy, regulatory, and technology approaches could work to address online violence against women in other contexts globally.

The NMWSO Program will:

• Build upon and coordinate with other global initiatives to mitigate, prevent, and address threats to women’s engagement online and to promote online safety more broadly.
• Probe and address the extensive gaps that IREX has documented in effective strategies to address and mitigate online violence against women, supporting the design of system-wide models for prevention and response by government and tech stakeholders.

• Deepening understanding and evidence of online violence tactics and impact: The initiative creates and disseminates critical research and insights on the impact of online violence on women in leadership and the general public.
• Improving digital infrastructure with ‘safety by design’: NMWSO engages private sector actors to trial innovative strategies to prevent, mitigate, and respond to online violence by integrating of ‘safety by design’ features.
• Strengthening regulatory pathways to prevent online violence against women: The initiative partners with public sector stakeholders to co-create regulatory approaches for online safety that will ensure protections for women and girls.
• Support resilience and perseverance in digital spaces: While system-level responses advance, the program also adapts and shares self-defense and capacity-building materials for women in public life and leadership to support their ability to persevere in digital spaces.

• Katya Vogt, Program Director, kvogt@irex.org