freedom of expression of women human rights defenders who are often forced off the platform through such harassment. The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women has reported that “[w]omen human rights defenders, journalists and politicians are directly targeted, threatened, harassed, or even killed for their work. They receive online threats, generally of a misogynistic nature, often sexualized and specifically gendered. The violent nature of these threats often leads [women] to suspend, deactivate or permanently delete their online accounts, or to leave the profession entirely” ( A/HRC/38/47 para. 29). The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has identified similar practices and harms specifically for women: “Women human rights defenders are often subjected to online harassment, violence and attacks, which include sexual violence, verbal abuse, sexuality baiting, doxing...and public shaming. Such abuse occurs in comments on news articles, blogs, websites and social media. The online terror and slander to which women are subjected can also lead to physical assault” ( A/HRC/40/60 (2019) para 45). According to a study conducted by UN Women, 70% of women activists and human rights defenders in Arab states reported feeling unsafe from online harassment. In this sense, women who take part in public life through activism or by running for office are disproportionately targeted online, which can lead to self-censorship and even withdrawal from public life. The Board finds this post mocks the depicted woman by using a gendered joke to belittle her, implying she deserved to be physically attacked. Such online harassment is widespread and leads to women being silenced and shut out of public life. It can also be accompanied by physical attacks. Removal of this content is therefore necessary, as less restrictive means would not prevent her image with a joke meant to belittle her from being disseminated. The Board also finds that this post is addressed to women and girls more broadly. It normalizes gender-based violence by implying that physically attacking women is funny and that men are entitled to use violence. The use of the hashtag also indicates the intention of the user to reach a broader group of women than the individual depicted. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women draws the connection between targeting women in public life and intimidation aimed at women more broadly: “In addition to the impact on individuals, a major consequence of online and ICT [Information and Communication Technology] facilitated gender-based violence is a society where women no longer feel safe either online or offline, given the widespread impunity for perpetrators of gender-based violence” ( A/HRC/38/47, para 29; A/HRC/RES/35/18, para. 4, urging states to address