Marion, a young digital service agent based in Kigali, once believed her job was empowering. She helped people access services online, guiding them through Rwanda’s growing e-government platforms.
But that changed when she shared her phone number with a client—strictly for work. He began calling late at night. Then one day, he showed up uninvited. What followed was an incident too traumatic to forget: he assaulted her.
With no digital trail to prove his intent, and fearing blame or disbelief, she stayed silent.
“Her safety, job, and peace of mind were stolen,” reads her anonymous story in a recent report.
Carine, a feminist activist, thought the internet would amplify her voice. It did—until it turned against her. For posting about gender equality, she became a target. Trolls dug up old photos, insulted her appearance, and spread rumors about her personal life. The constant mockery and lies pushed her into isolation.
“The harassment silenced her voice and drove her offline,” the report recounts.
Marion and Carine are just two of many voices in Scars Beyond the Screen, a landmark report released in June 2025 by Proteknôn Rwanda and the Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC).
The report looks into the rise of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) in Rwanda— a form of GBV that is amplified, or enabled by technology and internet to abuse, stalk, shame, harass, and intimidate. Researchers call it a “growing crisis hiding in plain sight.”
This includes tools like phones, cameras, recorders, and GPS devices. For example, linking your phone number to someone else’s in order to listen in on their calls is a form of TFGBV, even though it doesn’t involve the internet or social media. Or using a USSD phone to call or send short messages that continually harass or torment someone.
A Crisis Hiding Behind Screens:
Such forms of violence like cyberbullying, once dismissed as online mischief should be recognised and handled as real acts of violence with serious consequences. Campaigners argue it’s time to acknowledge and address the issue with the urgency they deserve.
In order to highlight these issues, RWAMREC under Generation G project launched an awareness campaign titled “Be Safe Ku Mbuga” (Be Safe Online). The campaign includes a range of activities such as radio shows, X Spaces, and more, with one of the key radio programs airing on KT Radio aimed at raising awareness throughout June and into July.
“Technology is meant to help us—but sometimes, it’s being used to destroy people’s lives. There is a need to create awareness on its dangers because many are not aware of what TFGBV is,” said Flora Ufitinema, a gender expert at RWAMREC.
Ufitinema noted that the BeSafeKuMbuga campaign has come as a response to research based concerns raised over crimes committed online, especially online GBV that mostly affects women and girls.
The findings are sobering. The most common forms of TFGBV include cyber stalking, doxing (publishing private information without consent), non-consensual image sharing, sextortion, impersonation, and AI-generated deep fakes. Women aged 18 to 45 are most affected, along with LGBTQI+ individuals, sex workers, university students, and public figures.
Platforms like X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube are frequently misused. WhatsApp, in particular, exposes victims because of the personal nature of phone number-linked accounts.
The report also links some harassment cases to traditional media and online influencers, highlighting a culture that thrives on “likes” and public humiliation.
The consequences of this abuse go far beyond digital space. Victims have reported mental health crises such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
Many have experienced economic loss, including losing jobs or dropping out of school. Others face social exclusion, suffering reputational damage, family breakdowns, or even eviction. In many cases, victims retreat from online spaces entirely, choosing silence and withdrawal.
“In Rwanda, people still don’t understand that online harassment is violence,” a faith leader told researchers. “They don’t see the scars because they’re not physical—but the damage is deep.”
Faced with a barrage of harassment, some victims consider suicide with the hope of safety.
Law and Culture Falling Behind:
Despite Rwanda’s progress in fighting gender-based violence—such as the 2008 GBV law and the 2018 cybercrimes law—TFGBV is still not clearly defined in the Penal Code. This makes it difficult to report and prosecute offenders.
The report reveals that very few victims file complaints. Many are deterred by fear of retaliation, victim-blaming, and a general lack of awareness about digital rights and protections.
“The burden of proof is too high,” notes one survivor. “You must explain why you posted a photo in the first place. They say it’s your fault.”
While gaps still exist in the law, better enforcement of current regulations could already make a big difference. That’s why the #BeSafeKuMbuga campaign was launched to raise awareness and drive change through talk shows, expert panels, and survivor stories aired on KT Radio and Radio Rwanda, X (twitter) spaces,podcasts and articles.
Its core message is clear: digital harm is real harm. As awareness grows, we can also begin exploring better ways to close the legal and practical gaps.
“We are trying to shift public perception,” says Denyse Teta… a Policy and Advocacy expert at HDI. “If it’s wrong to harass someone on the street, it’s also wrong to harass them online. The law and our culture need to catch up with technology.”
Time for a National Response:
Campaigners are calling not only for legal reforms but also for a deeper shift in how society understands and responds to Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence.
This includes challenging harmful social norms that normalize silence, justify entitlement over others’ bodies, reinforce power imbalances, and perpetuate victim blaming.
While legal updates, such as defining TFGBV in the Penal Code, strengthening cybercrime enforcement, and training police and judges, are important, they must go hand in hand with efforts to shift public attitudes and promote accountability at every level.
Experts also want to see promotion of digital literacy for parents, youth, and vulnerable groups, enforce ethical guidelines for media and influencers, and partner with social media companies to moderate Kinyarwanda content and respond to flagged abuse.
“We can’t leave this problem to victims to solve alone,” Ufitinema said. “It’s a national issue that needs a national response.”
With 12.5 million active mobile phone users and nearly 5 million Rwandans online, the digital space is becoming as central to life as any physical one.
The challenge now is ensuring that space is safe for everyone—especially for those, like Marion and Carine, who have been made to suffer in silence.
Gloriosse Musekeweya, a legal expert said that cultural mindset and gender stereotypes play a key role in causes of women and girls being victims of online abuse.
“These gender stereotypes are carried from the real life social behaviours to life online and this results in crimes but also abuse of women’s rights. Culture is therefore used as a tool to abuse women physically, mentally and economically, even when there are punitive laws. Therefore prevention is needed,” Musekeweya said.
Musekeweya stated that there is need to have extensive education and awareness about online GBV but also improve human-formed care where the online community learns to treat others as humans.
She also emphasised the need for peer-education on dangers of technology facilitated GBV which have been taken as normal.
For Teta, she thinks that there is a need to change the current social norms without tolerating them especially if they promote GBV.
“Cultural norms can change and educational interventions have to be done to see this change. Any technology can be harmful if the users are not aware of its dangers,” Teta said.
