This report examines the intersecting failures of P/CVE and cybersecurity policies to adequately address online violent extremism by centering the experiences of victims and survivors of online abuse. Drawing on feminist, decolonial, and Black feminist scholarship, it argues that misogynist and racist online abuse - often dismissed as low-level harm - should be recognised as forms of extremist violence rooted in male supremacist and racialised power structures.
The report develops a feminist theorisation of cybersecurity that challenges state-centric and militarised approaches to online threats. It demonstrates how current frameworks prioritise the identification of perpetrators over the protection and empowerment of those targeted by online abuse, particularly women, people of colour, and LGBTIQ+ communities. Through interviews, digital ethnography, and engagement with existing models of practice, the analysis highlights how gender-blind cybersecurity responses ultimately undermine effective P/CVE efforts.
The report concludes by proposing three key shifts: recognising misogynist and racist abuse as violent extremism, moving from reactive responses to structural approaches, and centring victims and survivors as a core component of online P/CVE strategies.