ISD CEO Sasha Havlicek shared data from multiple ISD investigations as a keynote speaker at an official ministerial roundtable during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly last week.  

The Republic of Croatia and UN Women convened the G77 and Emerging Partners Ministerial Roundtable, “Addressing Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls,” which featured members of government, civil society and the private sector.   

Opening the roundtable, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia underscored both the opportunities technology creates and the risks when it is misused: “Online violence is not simply a digital problem.”

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

In UN Women’s article on the roundtable, the organization highlighted Sasha’s emphasis on the wider online ecosystem of misogyny and the role algorithms can play in amplifying harmful content targeting young men. 

Sasha spoke about ISD research showing 181 nudification websites attracted more than 40 million visits a month and that 30 manosphere YouTube channels had accumulated around 1.78 billion views.

During the discussion, the UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous highlighted the urgency of addressing technology-facilitated violence to protect women’s participation in public and digital life. 

“We must remove the barriers that keep women from participating safely and from shaping the technologies of the future.” 

The full article is available on UN Women.