Published: 11:53 PM, 10 September 2026
Dhaka seeks collective efforts to end digital, AI-facilitated violence against women
Speakers at a dialogue on Thursday called for collective efforts to tackle digital and AI-facilitated violence against women, stressing the need to ensure their everyday safety online as technology-enabled abuse is evolving faster than the law.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs brought ministers, members of parliament and civil society leaders together at a city hotel to examine legal, technical and institutional responses to the growing use of artificial intelligence to harass, defame and endanger women online.
The meeting was part of Bangladesh's efforts to establish the Dhaka Dialogue, a government-led platform introduced at the 10th Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa on April 20, 2026, UNB reports.
The initiative seeks to address gaps in shared definitions, political attention, legal and technical capacity, evidence and partnerships - areas that no single government or company can address alone.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman, drawing on his experience as Attorney General, highlighted gaps in law and evidence that continue to hamper the investigation and prosecution of AI-enabled abuse, including difficulties in proving harm when images or voices are synthetically generated.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam described the dialogue as a flagship initiative of the Ministry, linking Bangladesh's foreign policy with the everyday safety of women online.
State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin Putul highlighted the role of national social protection systems and survivor support when abuse moves from the street to the screen.
Barrister Jahrat Adib Chowdhury, MP, drawing on her background in Bangladesh's telecom industry, said technology platforms must build safety into their systems from the outset rather than introduce safeguards after harm occurs.
She also stressed that transparency around synthetic media should be a baseline expectation.
Sanjida Islam Tulee, MP and founder of Mayer Daak, drew a connection between support for families of the victims of enforced disappearance and support for survivors of digital and AI-facilitated abuse.
She called for institutions that believe survivors from the moment they come forward, as well as helplines and reporting systems that provide direct support instead of sending survivors from one office to another.
Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam moderated the session and outlined the five levels at which the dialogue is designed to operate.
Participants discussed legislative gaps, platform accountability, the handling of synthetic content and approaches used by different countries to support survivors.
The dialogue committed to developing shared language, standards and voluntary guidelines for states on prevention, investigation and remedy.
It also aims to establish common definitions and typologies to enable countries to report and compare cases, as well as benchmarks for platform accountability, including transparency and the labelling and provenance of synthetic media.
The initiative will keep the issue on the international agenda through regular high-level meetings and a network of political champions involving heads of government, ministers and parliamentarians.
It will also help states, particularly in the Global South, draft and review laws; train police, prosecutors and judges in digital evidence and AI forensics; strengthen survivor helplines; and gain access to tools capable of detecting and removing synthetic content without compromising freedom of expression, privacy or minority rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The dialogue will bring together governments, UN entities, technology companies, civil society, academia and survivor networks. It will also seek voluntary safety-by-design commitments from AI developers and platforms and work with regional organisations to adapt the agenda to local contexts.
The Ministry will invite an initial group of interested member states to join as 'Friends of the Dialogue' and establish a technical working group to draft a reference document on shared definitions and standards for adoption by consensus among the participating states.
