Digital violence affects how long women stay in politics

The Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TGNA) Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (KEFEK) came together in Nevşehir, in cooperation with the British Embassy Ankara and UN Women Türkiye, to strengthen the joint fight against technology-facilitated violence against women.

The “Knowledge-Sharing Meeting on Strengthening Women’s Participation in Politics and Decision-Making”, held in Nevşehir on 28–29 March 2026, focused on the prevention of technology-facilitated violence against women and girls and on strengthening accountability in this area.Members of Parliament, together with international guests joining online from UN Women Headquarters and the government of United Kingdom, and experts, discussed the new barriers to women’s political participation in the digital age and the steps needed to overcome them.

Nevşehir MP Emre Çalışkani KEFEK Chair Çiğdem Erdoğan and Nevşehir Governor Ali Fidan gave opening remarks, highlighting the role of women in the economic, cultural and social life of Türkiye’s geography, and underscored the symbolic value of holding the meeting in Nevşehir.

In her opening remarks, Çiğdem Erdoğan, Chair of KEFEK, stated that digital violence poses an obstacle to the participation of young women in politics, and also negatively affects their tenure time. She emphasized that “violence against women in politics often appears as a multi-layered form of oppression, going beyond what is visible. This violence is far more frequently perpetrated through language, representation, and reputation than through physical threats. Female politicians face systematic defamation, targeting, digital harassment, and psychological intimidation.” Erdoğan stressed that KEFEK will continue to work towards a Türkiye and a world where women can exist without fear in both the physical and digital worlds, and where their voices are not targeted. While highlighting the success of tools like the KADES application and electronic ankle monitor in protecting women, Erdoğan underlined the need for new legal regulations in combating violence through technology.

In the first session, Onur Dinçer, Expert at the Ministry of Family and Social Services, presented the “Recommendation on Equality and Artificial Intelligence” and the “Recommendation on Accountability for Technology-Facilitated Violence against Women and Girls”.

In the second session, Rachel Grant from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), shared the United Kingdom’s experience in combatting technology-facilitated violence against women and girls in the online sphere. 

In the second session, Rachel Grant, Senior Specialist in the Prevention of Violence against Women and Global Partnerships Department at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), delivered an online presentation in which she referred to the “United Kingdom Women and Girls Strategy” published in December 2025 and the UK’s commitment to combatting violence against women and girls. She shared the UK’s experiences and emphasized the importance of international cooperation. 

The subsequent discussion addressed the need for social media platforms to implement instant blocking of harmful content, the accountability of technology companies, and the scale of online violence experienced by women politicians in particular.

UN Women’s model framework for legislation

Caroline Meenagh, Policy Specialist at UN Women Headquarters’ Ending Violence against Women and Girls Section, presented the Model Framework for Legislation on Technology-Facilitated Violence against Women and Girls. Grounded in agreed global norms and standards, the framework aims to guide legislative bodies by offering common principles and standards that can be adapted to the national legal systems. 

Draft ethical principles

The second day of the meeting opened with a presentation by Prof. Dr Gülriz Uygur, Head of the Department of Philosophy and Sociology of Law at Ankara University’s Faculty of Law, on draft ethical principles for the prevention of technology-facilitated violence against women.

During the discussions, Members of Parliament shared their views on the ethical use of artificial intelligence, UNESCO’s 2021 ethical principles, the importance of inter-institutional coordination, and the sharing of good practices in preventing violence. 

Over the course of the two-day meeting, Members of Parliament reached consensus on the need for cross-party legislative action to address technology-facilitated violence against women. The meeting also generated concrete proposals on the prioritisation of crimes committed in the digital sphere, the right to be forgotten, combatting disinformation, the accountability of technology companies, and the establishment of rapid legal intervention mechanisms for victims. 

“As KEFEK, we will prepare a recommendation note on this issue and launch preparations for cross-party legislation. We can be a role model for other countries. Every sentence we forged in Nevşehir is a torch on the road to a future in which no woman’s voice is silenced in the digital world.”

— Çiğdem Erdoğan, Chair of KEFEK

As UN Women, we will continue our efforts to promote international norms and standards, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action.

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About UN Women

UN Women is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States in setting global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design the laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that these standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide.

About TBMM KEFEK

The Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (KEFEK) was established in 2009 under Law No. 5840 to contribute, within the parliamentary framework, to ensuring equal opportunities for women and men and combatting gender-based discrimination. KEFEK exercises both legislative and oversight functions within the scope of the powers set out in the aforementioned law. In this context, in addition to deliberating on legislative proposals and Presidential decrees issued during states of emergency referred to it by the Presidency of the TGNA, the Committee examines applications concerning allegations of violations of gender equality and gender-based discrimination. The Committee also prepares reports on issues within its area of expertise through its sub-committees, and carries out various projects and activities in collaboration with national and international organisations.

About the British Embassy Ankara

The United Kingdom’s Diplomatic Mission, which includes the British Embassy in Ankara and the Consulate-General in Istanbul, works to sustain and enhance relations between the United Kingdom and Türkiye. 

For more information:

UN Women Türkiye / inforturkiye@unwomen.org