In April 2025, Women Political Leaders (WPL), in partnership with MEP Paulo do Nascimento Cabral, and supported by Airbnb and HateAid, convened a high-level Leadership Dialogue at the European Parliament to tackle the growing threat of digital violence against women in politics.

Bringing together 37 leaders from across the EU and beyond – including parliamentarians, digital rights experts, tech representatives and civil society – the roundtable addressed the urgent need for action on online abuse, deepfake threats and algorithmic discrimination. Discussions focused on improving enforcement of existing EU legislation, holding social media platforms accountable and ensuring institutional protection for women in public life.

Key recommendations include:

• Enforcing existing EU legislation and improving social media platform accountability
• Establishing an EU-Wide rapid response mechanism and mandating institutional reporting and gender training
• Strengthen cross-border coordination and recognising digital violence as a threat to democracy
• Ensuring AI Regulation protects women and boosting digital literacy and public awareness

The dialogue marked a critical step forward in uniting cross-sector stakeholders to safeguard democracy by protecting the digital space for women political leaders.

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