The unchecked spread of AI-generated deepfake abuse is devastating the lives of thousands of women and girls daily, with justice remaining largely out of reach. This form of digital violence, often sexualized and non-consensual, escalates rapidly, leaving survivors to grapple with profound trauma and a system ill-equipped to provide protection or accountability.
What is Deepfake Abuse and How Prevalent Is It?
Deepfakes are manipulated images, audio, or videos created using artificial intelligence (AI) to falsely depict individuals saying or doing things they never did. While the technology is not new, its weaponization against women and girls is a rapidly accelerating and alarming trend.
- According to a 2023 report, deepfake pornography constituted 98% of all deepfake videos online, with 99% depicting women.
- Deepfake videos saw an estimated 550% increase in prevalence between 2019 and 2023.
- The tools to create deepfakes are widely accessible, often free, and require minimal technical expertise.
- Once disseminated, AI-generated content can be endlessly replicated, saved, and shared across platforms, making complete removal virtually impossible.
Why Survivors Often Don’t Report and Their Experiences When They Do
Underreporting remains a significant barrier to accountability. For those who do come forward, the justice system can become an additional source of trauma.
- Survivors frequently face repeated requests to view and describe abusive content to police, lawyers, and platform moderators. They may encounter disbelief or victim-blaming questions, such as “Are you sure it’s not real?” or “Did you share intimate images before?”
- If a case proceeds to court, survivors often find their personal lives, relationships, and past behavior scrutinized, rather than the perpetrator’s actions.
- A UN Women survey revealed that 41% of women in public life who experienced digital violence also reported offline attacks or harassment linked to it, demonstrating that the harm extends beyond the online sphere.
Why Deepfake Creators Rarely Face Justice
Despite the widespread harm caused, prosecutions for deepfake abuse are infrequent. Platforms often fail to act effectively, and survivors are frequently re-traumatized during their pursuit of help. Several key factors contribute to this failure:
The Law Has Not Kept Pace
Less than half of all countries have laws addressing online abuse, and even fewer have specific legislation for AI-generated deepfake content. Many existing “revenge porn” or image-based abuse laws were enacted before deepfakes existed, creating significant legal loopholes. In numerous jurisdictions, deepfake pornography or AI-generated nude images fall into legal grey areas, leaving survivors uncertain about whether the abuse is illegal and if perpetrators can be prosecuted.
Enforcement Is Lagging
Even where laws exist, effective enforcement is hampered by a lack of resources and expertise. Investigators require specialized digital forensics skills, cross-border cooperation, and platform collaboration to build cases. However, most justice systems lack adequate resources for these demands. Evidence disappears rapidly as content spreads and multiplies, while perpetrators often hide behind anonymity or operate across different jurisdictions. Platforms can be slow or unwilling to share data with law enforcement, particularly in cross-border cases. Furthermore, backlogs in digital forensics further delay or stall cases before they can even begin.
Tech Platforms Are Failing Survivors
Technology companies have historically relied on “intermediary” status to evade responsibility for user-generated content, often hindering efforts to address deepfake abuse effectively.
Urgent Actions Needed to Combat Deepfake Abuse
While some nations and regions are beginning to take action, combating deepfake abuse necessitates immediate and coordinated efforts from governments, institutions, and tech platforms. The following five key actions are crucial:
1. Enact Laws That Address Deepfake Abuse
Governments must pass legislation with clear definitions of AI-generated abuse, emphasizing consent, establishing strict liability for perpetrators, mandating fast-track removal of abusive content by platforms, and implementing cross-border enforcement protocols.
2. Equip Justice Systems for Investigation and Prosecution
Law enforcement agencies require enhanced training, resources, and dedicated capacity for collecting and preserving digital evidence. Addressing digital forensics backlogs and establishing functional, rapid international cooperation frameworks are also essential.
3. Hold Platforms Accountable
Tech companies must be legally obligated to proactively monitor and remove abusive content within set timelines. They should be required to cooperate with law enforcement and face significant financial penalties for failing to act.
4. Provide Genuine Support for Survivors
Survivors need access to trained, trauma-informed law enforcement and legal professionals, as well as free legal aid.
5. Implement Preventive Education
Digital literacy programs, including education on consent, online safety, and reporting mechanisms for abuse, should be implemented from a young age and reach all segments of the population, recognizing that prevention is as vital as prosecution.
UN Women warns that this is not merely an internet issue but a “global crisis.”
- In a notable case from December 2025, UK journalist Daisy Dixon discovered AI-generated, sexualized images of herself on X, created using the platform’s Grok AI tool. It took days for X to geoblock the function, allowing the abuse to spread widely.
- In certain cultural contexts, deepfake abuse can act as an online catalyst for “honor-based crimes,” where perceived breaches of honor norms on digital platforms can lead to extreme physical violence or even death for women.
- Recent research indicates that over half of deepfake victims in the United States contemplated suicide.
Meanwhile, a few jurisdictions are beginning to implement measures:
- Brazil amended its criminal code in 2025, increasing penalties for causing psychological violence against women using AI or other technology to alter their image or voice.
- The European Union‘s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act imposes transparency obligations concerning deepfakes.
- The United Kingdom‘s Online Safety Act prohibits the sharing of digitally manipulated explicit images but does not specifically address the creation of deepfakes and may not apply if intent to cause distress cannot be proven.
- The United States‘ Take It Down Act explicitly covers AI-generated intimate imagery and mandates platform removal within 48 hours.
