Digital Dignity, An Everyday Essential for Human Rights
By H.E. Toyin Ojora Saraki, Founder & President of The Wellbeing Foundation Africa

On Human Rights Day 2025, the world reasserts a continued promise that human rights are the everyday essentials of a life lived in freedom and dignity. Seventy-seven years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations,” a global blueprint for laws and policies, and a bedrock of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In today’s turbulent and unpredictable times, this common standard remains our moral compass. Human rights are not abstract ideals; they are the daily necessities we rely on, the freedom to speak, to learn, to work with dignity, to feel safe and equal. Recommitting to these values now is more than symbolic; it is an essential investment in the collective wellbeing of humanity.

Human rights shape our everyday lives in ways we may not always notice. They are in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the care we receive, and the opportunities we pursue. As society has evolved, so too have the arenas in which our rights are exercised and threatened. Today, a large part of our lives unfolds in digital spaces. We work, learn, share, and connect through online platforms. These spaces offer extraordinary opportunities for expression, engagement, and inclusion, but they have also become the new battlegrounds where human rights are under daily siege. Too often, digital environments are exploited as arenas for abuse, disinformation, and violence that deeply undermine the core of our human dignity.

Across the world, we are witnessing an alarming rise in digital human rights violations. These include online harassment, cyberstalking, sexual exploitation through non-consensual images, misogynistic hate speech, and malicious disinformation campaigns. These acts are not simply “internet problems” or “mere insults”, they are forms of violence and discrimination with lasting, real-world consequences. In some African countries, nearly one in three women reports having experienced online violence. Meanwhile, an estimated 90 to 95 per cent of all deepfake videos online are non-consensual, sexualised images of women. These are not abstract statistics. They are a reflection of lives and reputations shattered, of voices silenced, and of digital tools being weaponised to humiliate, threaten, and erase.

We must be unequivocal in that digital violence is real violence. When a woman receives a barrage of threats on social media, when malicious falsehoods are spread virally to destroy her credibility, or when a fabricated explicit video is released to shame and intimidate her, the trauma inflicted is as tangible as any physical attack. These abuses violate the most basic rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration, the right to security of person, to privacy, to honour and reputation, and to be free from degrading or inhumane treatment. They also attack the very right to speak freely, by forcing the target to withdraw from the public sphere. Online abuses, in this light, are not merely inconvenient insults; they are antithetical to the everyday essentials that human rights protect.

In our current digital age, the battle for human rights is also a battle for truth. The spread of disinformation, doctored imagery, and algorithm-driven hostility is not just a threat to journalism or politics; it is a direct attack on human dignity. “Ododo kì í ṣeré; bí o bá ti kó, ó máa tàn,” says a Yoruba proverb: “Truth is not a toy; once gathered, it will shine.” When truth is manipulated or weaponised, our shared reality is fractured. Rumours and lies, disproportionately targeting women, minorities, and public figures, become tools of social coercion and intimidation. We see this in fake narratives designed to justify abuse, in videos meant to incite rage, and in conspiracies that turn digital spaces into dangerous echo chambers of secondary victimisation. Protecting truth in the digital sphere is therefore not a partisan pursuit; it is a human rights imperative. A society that permits the erosion of facts will soon permit the erosion of freedoms.

Critically, upholding truth and dignity online is not in contradiction with freedom of expression; it is its guarantor. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the right to free speech, but it never grants permission to harass, defame, or endanger others. Rights come with responsibilities. A healthy digital democracy requires not just open discourse, but respectful discourse, one in which no one is silenced by fear. When women are pushed out of conversations, when human rights defenders are vilified, or when survivors are mocked into silence, the loss is not personal; it is civic. The line between expression and violence must be drawn clearly, and it must be defended.

There is a dangerous idea that women in public life, particularly those in leadership, should expect or accept abuse as part of their role. This idea must be rejected entirely. Dignity does not diminish with visibility. Whether one is a private citizen, a teacher, a midwife, a journalist, or a public advocate, the same rights apply. To suggest otherwise is to carve out an inequitable two-tier system of human worth. Such a double standard cannot coexist with the principle that all persons are born free and equal in dignity. It is not just morally wrong; it is a betrayal of the universal standard to which every human being is entitled. When society shrugs at the abuse of prominent women online, it sends a chilling message to future generations that leadership comes at the cost of safety. That is not empowerment; it is silencing by design.

As we mark the close of this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, on the International Day for Human Rights 2025, we must remember that the digital domain is not separate from the world we seek to improve; it is its mirror and magnifier. Digital violence against women and girls is not a niche concern. It is a modern continuation of gender-based violence that transcends borders, identities, and screens, and so, as the 16 Days campaign ends and Human Rights Day begins, we are reminded that our work is not seasonal, but continual. Human rights must be defended every day, in every space, for every person.

To move from principle to protection, governments must update laws to recognise and address digital harms with urgency and care. Technology companies must be held accountable for the content and systems they host and amplify. Civil society must be supported in its efforts to educate, respond, and advocate, and we, as individuals, must refuse to normalise cruelty online. Every choice to uphold another’s dignity, every act of truth-telling, and every effort to build safer digital communities contribute to a future that is freer and more just.

At the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, I have long witnessed the power of rights-based approaches in health and education. This insight applies equally to the digital landscape. If we want technology to empower rather than endanger, we must infuse it with values that reflect our shared humanity. That means embedding human rights into the architecture of digital life, designing platforms and policies that protect dignity, foster inclusion, and enable everyone, especially women and girls, to participate fully and safely.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was one of history’s most visionary declarations. Our task now is to realise its promise in an age defined by algorithms and connectivity. Truth is not a toy; once gathered, it will shine, and neither is dignity; it is not optional, conditional, or selective. It is our everyday essential. Let us protect it, for ourselves and for each other, wherever we are, on the street, in the home, and yes, on every screen.