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One in Four American Women Face Online Harassment
March 2025 by National Organization for Women (NOW) and Incogni
A comprehensive new study released today by the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Incogni, a data privacy company, reveals that one in four American women have experienced online harassment, with ethnic minorities and younger generations facing disproportionately higher rates of abuse. The novel research, which surveyed adult women across the United States, also found that more than half of victims report these experiences—including sexually-motivated harassment, cyberbullying, doxxing, stalking, or swatting—have severely or significantly impacted their lives. One in eight women also indicated that they suffered from cybercrimes resulting from having personal data available online.
The research, carried out jointly by NOW and Incogni, a data privacy company, focused on identifying the most common forms of online abuse experienced by women and analyzing the data by age, ethnicity, and place of residence. The study also examined the impact of the data exposure of personal information online on enabling this kind of abuse, and how women feel about taking down or removing their information from the web.
According to the survey results, one in four American women have experienced online abuse, with women from mixed ethnic backgrounds reporting the highest rates of online abuse at 37%, followed by Latina or Hispanic women at 31%. The most frequent type of online abuse experienced by American women was cyberbullying (10%), followed by sexual harassment (9%), and trolling (8%). Women with mixed racial backgrounds experienced online abuse most frequently, including cyberbullying (23%), hate speech (21%), and sexual harassment (16%). Latina or Hispanic women also experienced some of the highest rates of online abuse, including cyberbullying (13%), hate speech (10%), and sexual harassment (13%).
Young women aged 18-34 consistently reported higher rates of harassment across most categories of abuse. Women in this age group were also experiencing visibly more often sexually-motivated online abuse, with sexual harassment occurring most frequently among women aged 25-34 (17%), 18-24 (16%), and 35-44 (13%), and revenge porn reported among 6%, 5%, and 4% respectively. The occurrence of AI deepfakes stood out among women aged 25-34 (4%).
Most types of abuse were having in majority severe or significant impact on victims’ livelihood, with 78% claiming they were severely or significantly affected by swatting, 70% claiming they were severely or significantly affected by revenge porn, and 68% claiming they were severely or significantly affected by AI deepfakes.
"This research exposes the pervasive nature of online abuse, how it extends to real-life threats, and its impact on women’s livelihood, affecting their self-esteem, mental health, and financial wellbeing," said National NOW President Christian F. Nunes. "The disproportionate targeting of minority women and younger generations is particularly concerning and is further proof our federal and state legislatures need to pass laws to protect women".
Geographic analysis revealed that women in Washington state experienced the highest rates of online abuse (33%), while the West South Central region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas) collectively reported the highest regional rates at 29%.
Moreover, 85% of American women think that their personal data might be used by hackers or unauthorized parties, with 29% of respondents being personally negatively affected by this issue. One in eight women also indicated that they suffered from cybercrimes resulting from having personal data available online.
The study also exposed significant gaps in current legal protections, with 69% of women thinking that laws protecting victims of online abuse are insufficient. With the absence of effective data privacy laws in the US and consistent anti-doxxing legislation, many women remain vulnerable to various forms of digital abuse.
"The findings underscore the role of personal data exposure in enabling cybercrimes that are aimed at intimidating and silencing women" added Darius Belejevas, Head of Incogni. "Unfortunately, without effective legislation preventing these crimes and protecting the victims—in juxtaposition with sophisticated technologies used by abusers—we anticipate an increase in online harassment activities, especially those resulting from how easy it is to find and exploit sensitive data."
Methodology
This study was conducted by the Incogni Research Team in collaboration with NOW. A nationally representative sample of 5,110 adult female residents of the United States was surveyed using the Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) method. Quotas for age, ethnicity, and place of residence were established based on US demographic data to ensure a representative sample. Data collection took place between January 23, 2025, and February 2, 2025.
