Asociation between online misogyny and increased levels of Violence Against Women and Girls

A new report from a research team which included Shout Out UK, commissioned by London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) shows an association between online misogynistic content and an increase in police-recorded, city-wide violence against women and girls. It also reveals that social media algorithms promote and expose young people to violent content and can rapidly escalate real-world conflict. In response, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a £5m investment for his Violence Reduction Unit to lead a coordinated public health approach to tackling online and digital safety for young people. 

The VRU commissioned analysis by M&C Saatchi, Nisien.Ai and Shout Out UK to better understand the role played by social media in fuelling offline violence and misogynistic attacks. It found that young people did not necessarily seek out harmful content, but were still exposed to substantial amounts of violent and abusive content served to them algorithmically.

Data was tracked across posts on X, previously known as Twitter, as it is the only social media platform that provides location data. Although X is not the main platform used by young people, the findings are clear enough on this platform to assume that the same effect is likely to be compounded across those more routinely used by young people, such as Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram.

The VRU research found that social media ‘changed the scale’ of existing disputes between young people, making them public, mass events, generating pressure to respond and making it harder for young people to escape them. 

Additionally, in-depth analysis of London data found that there was an association between an increase in misogynistic posts online and a rise in police-recorded violence against women and girls on the same day. This does not infer causality, but demands further research.

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