The UK Government has announced new measures to strengthen online safety for children, including closing legal loopholes so that AI chatbot providers and other tech platforms must abide by safety duties and face enforcement under the Online Safety Act. The plans also include consulting on age restrictions for social media use (including limits on AI chatbots and harmful features like infinite scrolling) and ensuring tech companies act quickly to prevent harmful or illegal content affecting children.

Global public health officials warn of a rising “silent pandemic” of digital violence, fuelled in part by AI, which disproportionately affects women, journalists, activists and others through harassment, deepfakes, gendered disinformation and coordinated online abuse that can spill into real-world harm. The United Nations notes that technology-facilitated violence against women and girls is increasing sharply as AI creates new forms of abuse and amplifies existing ones, leading to serious psychological and safety impacts.

Campaigners welcomed the introduction of a law making the creation of non-consensual AI-generated explicit images a criminal offence but argue it doesn’t go far enough, calling for stronger protections such as civil takedown orders and better support services for victims. They delivered a petition with over 73,000 signatures to Downing Street urging further reforms, including improved education and funding for specialist services to help those harmed by deepfake image abuse.

Technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (TFGBV) is rapidly rising worldwide, exposing millions to stalking, harassment, deepfake abuse, doxing, cyberbullying, sextortion, and other harmful acts that blur the line between online and offline danger. This violence causes serious psychological, social, and physical harm, disproportionately affecting young women, women facing multiple forms of discrimination, and those in public life such as journalists and activists.

Stopping TFGBV requires coordinated action: stronger laws and accountability for tech companies, better data, survivor-centred policies, digital literacy education, challenging harmful gender norms, and empowering women to shape the tech sector.

Equimundo’s State of UK Men 2025 report, produced with Beyond Equality, offers one of the clearest pictures to date of the emotional, economic, and cultural pressures facing men and boys in the UK.

Key findings show widespread financial insecurity, with half of all men worrying about keeping a roof over their heads. Mental health concerns are stark: over 40% have recently thought about self-harm or suicide, and most report symptoms of anxiety. Despite this, friendship emerges as a defining value, with 91% identifying it as central to masculinity, even as many men feel they must cope alone.

The report calls for societal action: rewriting narratives around masculinity, funding community-based support for men, engaging men and boys as allies in gender equality, countering harmful online influences, and embedding relationship and consent education across schools and workplaces.

Laura Bates spoke to Year 10 and 11 students from three GDST schools about the growing influence of AI and its embedded gender biases. Building on her Everyday Sexism project, she outlined how AI can perpetuate unrealistic standards, stereotypes and harmful systems despite its positive potential.

Bates encouraged students to challenge inequality by speaking up, asking questions and educating themselves.

The event aligned with the GDST’s commitment to combining technological innovation with equality, diversity and inclusion - preparing girls to become informed, empowered leaders in a rapidly changing digital world.

Shein has banned the sale of all sex dolls worldwide after French authorities found listings of dolls with childlike features. The company removed the products, suspended its adult category, and says it will tighten seller controls. France has opened an investigation and warned Shein it could be banned from the country if such products reappear.

South African activist Leonora Tima developed Grit, a community-designed app that helps people, especially women, record, report, and get support during incidents of gender-based violence. Sparked by the murder of a young relative and the lack of justice that followed, Grit offers a rapid-response help button, a secure evidence vault, and Zuzi, an AI chatbot providing guidance and links to local support.

With 13,000 users, the platform is gaining international attention. Experts note that AI can assist survivors but should not replace human support. Leonora emphasises that tackling GBV through technology requires diverse creators, especially women of colour and voices from the Global South, to ensure tools truly reflect the needs of those they aim to protect.