26pc of Kenyan women experience digital gender-based violence, survey shows
26pc of Kenyan women experience digital gender-based violence, survey shows
More than one in four Kenyan women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced technology-facilitated gender-based violence, with intimate partners emerging as the leading perpetrators, according to the latest national health survey.
The 2025-26 Kenya Mini Demographic and Health Survey (KMDHS) found that 26 per cent of women in the age group have experienced some form of digital abuse, including online harassment, hacking, cyberstalking and controlling behaviour.
Online control was the most commonly reported form of abuse, affecting 19 per cent of women, followed by hacking and online harassment at five per cent each, while three per cent reported experiencing online sexual harassment or cyber sexual abuse.
The survey further established that 27 per cent of women who have ever had a husband or intimate partner experienced digital abuse from a current or former partner, with 22 per cent reporting such experiences in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Current husbands or intimate partners accounted for 61 per cent of reported perpetrators among women who had ever been married or had an intimate partner, while former partners accounted for 22 per cent.
Among women who had never been married or had an intimate partner, strangers were the leading perpetrators at 45 per cent, followed by online attackers at 23 per cent and friends or acquaintances at 20 per cent.
The findings also reveal significant regional differences in exposure to digital violence, with Nairobi recording the highest proportion of women who had ever experienced technology-facilitated gender-based violence at 33 per cent.
Murang’a and Baringo followed at 32 per cent each, while Trans Nzoia recorded the highest proportion of women who experienced digital abuse in the 12 months preceding the survey at 29 per cent.
Machakos and Kericho followed at 28 per cent each.
The survey identified online control as including partners demanding access to passwords, insisting on reading private messages and call logs, or using digital devices and tracking software to monitor a woman’s movements without consent.
It further established that 61 per cent of women who had ever had a husband or intimate partner had experienced at least one form of controlling behaviour from their current or most recent partner.
Additionally, 27 per cent had experienced at least three forms of controlling behaviour, while 54 per cent reported experiencing some form of control in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Jealousy or anger when a woman speaks to other men was the most commonly reported behaviour, affecting 50 per cent of women, while 36 per cent said their partners insisted on knowing their whereabouts at all times.
The report also found that digital abuse frequently occurs on social media and messaging platforms.
Among women who had experienced technology-facilitated gender-based violence by non-intimate partners, 67 per cent reported abuse through social media, with Facebook accounting for 59 per cent.
Messaging applications accounted for 47 per cent of reported experiences, with text messages and iMessage at 27 per cent and WhatsApp at 26 per cent.
The experience TFGBV was highest among women aged 20–24, at 37 per cent, compared to 10 per cent among teenagers aged 15–19.
The survey also found that women with more than secondary education reported higher rates of TFGBV, at 32 per cent, compared to eight per cent among women with no education.
Urban women reported higher prevalence of TFGBV at 30 per cent, compared to 23 per cent among women living in rural areas.
The survey describes technology-facilitated gender-based violence as abuse committed, assisted or amplified through information and communication technologies or digital media.
It includes online sexual harassment or cyber sexual abuse at three per cent, cyberbullying at 2.2 per cent and cyberstalking at 1.9 per cent.
The survey also recorded doxxing, involving the malicious sharing of private information, at 1.8 per cent, while blackmail or sextortion accounted for 1.7 per cent.
Revenge pornography, involving the sharing of explicit images or videos without consent, was reported at one per cent.
The findings come amid growing concerns over violence against women and girls, with the report noting that online harassment can contribute to or intensify physical, sexual and psychological abuse offline.
Beyond digital violence, the survey examined community attitudes towards gender-based violence and found that 36 per cent of household respondents had heard of people blaming women or girls for the violence they experience.
Another 38 per cent considered domestic violence a private matter that should be handled within the family, a view most prevalent in Mandera 74% and Tharaka-Nithi 68%.
Eight per cent of household respondents also believed that some social, cultural or religious beliefs justified violence against women and girls.This belief is highest in Samburu 25%, Migori 24%, and Mandera 22%.
The survey found that 90 per cent of household respondents considered women and girls in their communities safe, somewhat safe or very safe, although perceptions varied significantly across counties.
When asked what action they would take if they suspected a woman or girl was at risk of being killed, 60 per cent said they would report the matter to National Government Administrative Officers, while 48 per cent would report it to the police. Only six per cent said they would take no action.
The survey notes that technology-facilitated gender-based violence is a human rights violation that can have serious health, social and demographic consequences.
Despite Kenya’s existing legal and policy frameworks aimed at addressing gender-based violence, concerns remain regarding the prevalence and consequences of TFGBV and the need for evidence to inform prevention and response strategies.
The report cites findings by the 2025 Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence Including Femicide, which indicated that some cases of violence against women and girls are preceded by online and offline harassment involving digital tools.
The 2025–26 KMDHS therefore sought to establish the extent of the problem by collecting information from women aged 15–49.
Of the 22,507 women interviewed in the survey, 15,614 were selected and interviewed for the technology-facilitated gender-based violence module.
“Nationally representative data are therefore
important for monitoring the extent of TFGBV and assessing perceptions of safety and risk among women and girls,” reads the report.
