Domestic violence is an abuse of power in a personal, intimate or familial relationship, where one partner attempts to control and dominate the other through physical, psychological and/or sexual violence, or threat of such violence, or through control of her finances, mobility and social life. In this context, information and communications technologies (ICT) can be used both by survivors to connect to help, and by abusers to deepen their control.

Online harassment (sometimes also called cyber stalking or online abuse) means using ICT to track and harass someone, causing emotional distress and fear for their personal safety. or cause them emotional distress. This might include transmitting threats or false accusations about them viathrough a blogs, in a chatrooms, or via mobile phones; sending repeated and unwanted communication – often with sexual undertones; stealing their identity or data; or spying and monitoring their computer and internet use without permission. Sometimes, these threats have escalated into physical spaces. . Online harassment can seriously impair women's capacity to participate and use ICT freely, without apprehension or fear.

The United Nations’ Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000) recognises that women are often in an unequal power situation and make decisions because of their lack of choices or the authority of the person or persons with whom they are dealing. In the protocol, trafficking covers a wide range of activities, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, and organ removal. It also holds that consent is not absolute – where secured through threats, deception, abuse of power, or other ways of gaining control over another person, consent is irrelevant.

Information and communication rights are essential preconditions for women to fully exercise their civil and political rights as citizens – in particular their rights to organise, network, make their knowledge and ideas visible and ensure that legislation and public policy in all relevant areas delivers gender justice. Communication rights include not only the freedom of opinion and expression, but also encompass areas such as the right to information, privacy, democratic governance, participation in culture, language, creativity, education, peaceful assembly and self-determination.