Will Women Be Safe In The Metaverse?

The hype around the development of the metaverse, an immersive digital space that will take real-world experiences online and blur the line between physical and virtual, is palpable.

Accounting organization KPMG predicts that by 2030, we might be spending more time in the metaverse than in the real world. In a survey conducted by Pew Research and Elon University in North Carolina, more than half of the technology experts responded that by 2040, they expect the metaverse to be a fully-immersive, well-functioning aspect of daily life for half a billion people (or more) around the world.

But for many, the excitement around the world’s digital future is something that should be approached with caution. Women, in particular, have been known to experience gender-based violence in the form of online harassment. One study from the Economist Intelligence Unit uncovered that 85% of women have experienced or witnessed online violence, with 38% of women reporting personal experiences with online violence and 65% reporting knowing of other women who were targeted online.

If women are already suffering a disproportionate amount of abuse online, will they be safe in the metaverse?

In 2022, the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights (AUDRi) was formed by two international gender equality and advocacy organizations, Equality Now and Women Leading in AI. For over 30 years, Equality Now has been campaigning for legal and systematic change to address violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world but what they soon came to realize is that the sexual exploitation and abuse they were working against stopping in the physical space could be manifested online.