From the 25 November 2025 to the 10th December 2025, DCU is taking part in the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence under the theme:

“UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls”.

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16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence

Violence against women and girls affects one in three women.

It is a global human rights emergency that must stop.

We all have an important part to play in ending gender based violence.

This year, we are asking all DCU staff and students to join us in making our university and the world a safer place by pledging to be Digital Activists.

Over the next 16 Days we’ll be sharing how you can make that happen, whether you have ten minutes to dedicate to learning more or you want to join us at an event, every small action is crucial.

Together, we can make a difference.

Becoming a Digital Activist

Digital Activists tackle digital abuse by uniting and taking a stand. To make your journey to Digital Activism easier, we have put together a series of actions to complete over the next 16 Days.

Step One: Learn

The first step in tackling gender based violence is to equip ourselves with knowledge. Below you will find information about Digital Abuse, legislation and where to find the relevant DCU policies.

Digital Abuse

Digital Abuse utilises technology to perpetrate harm, whether physical, sexual, psychological or social.

This form of violence doesn’t just happen online. It can often lead to or exacerbate offline violence such as physical abuse, coercion or domestic violence. Digital violence is harmful and can have a long-lasting impact on survivors. Digital violence can happen to anyone and be perpetrated by anyone, however, women and girls tend to be targeted more.

Image-based abuse/ non-consensual sharing of intimate images – often called revenge porn or leaked nudes.

Cyberbullying, trolling, and online threats.

Online harassment and sexual harassment.

AI-generated deepfakes such as sexually explicit images, deepfake pornography, and digitally manipulated images, videos or audio.

Hate speech and disinformation on social media platforms.

Doxxing – publishing private information.

Online stalking or surveillance/tracking to monitor someone’s activities.

Online grooming and sexual exploitation.

Catfishing and impersonation.

Misogynistic networks – e.g. manosphere, incel forums.

Legislation

The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 was brought into force in Ireland on 9 February 2021.

The Act changed and broadened the law relating to harassment and created a new offence to deal with the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, both online and offline, and provides anonymity for the victims of those offences.

Dublin Rape Crisis Centre have a resource about the legislation and how to get support here.

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DCU Policies and Procedures

Dublin City University (DCU) is committed to providing an equal, inclusive and diverse environment in which all members of the University community can expect to feel safe while being respected and valued for their unique perspectives and contributions.

There are a series of policies outlining DCU’s commitment to tackling all forms of sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct is a serious and unacceptable experience for any person, of any age, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity or religious community.

DCU has a zero tolerance policy towards sexual misconduct.

Sexual Misconduct Policy Toolkit for Staff and Students

Dignity and Respect Policy Toolkit for Staff and Students

Step Two: Take Action

Once we have equipped ourselves with knowledge, the next step towards Digital Activism is to take action. Below you will find all of the options for how you can step up to action over the next 16 Days.

Webinars and Training

Across the 16 Days we are putting on a series of webinars from experts in the field.

We’ll be hosting Too Into You for a session about Healthy Relationships on the 4th December, you can register here.

We’ll also be putting on a Back to Basics Session with Lorna Greene, our Dignity, Respect and Sexual Misconduct Response Manager who will talk through the foundations of Dignity & Respect you can register for that session here.

Resources

Dublin City University (DCU) is committed to providing an equal, inclusive and diverse environment in which all members of the University community can expect to feel safe while being respected and valued for their unique perspectives and contributions.

There are a series of policies outlining DCU’s commitment to tackling all forms of sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct is a serious and unacceptable experience for any person, of any age, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity or religious community.

DCU has a zero tolerance policy towards sexual misconduct.

Sexual Misconduct Policy Toolkit for Staff and Students

Dignity and Respect Policy Toolkit for Staff and Students