In November 2025, Ofcom published ‘A Safer Life Online for Women and Girls’, guidance for online service providers. It has now launched a Call for Evidence to assess whether the guidance is making a difference in practice and to inform a report on what services are doing in order to protect women and girls.
This is an opportunity for organisations and individuals to contribute to Ofcom’s report and potentially shape policy going forwards.
What the guidance covers
Ofcom published the guidance to address the disproportionate impact of online harms on women and girls. It covers four overlapping areas:
- misogynistic abuse and sexual violence;
- coordinated harassment including pile-ons (where individuals target a specific woman, girl or group);
- stalking and coercive control; and
- image-based sexual abuse.
The guidance sets out how online service providers can protect users by embedding safety into the design and operation of their services. It includes more than 60 examples of good practice steps for providers to adopt.
Ofcom’s Call for Evidence
Ofcom is seeking evidence from a range of stakeholders, including academics, survivors, victim support groups and civil society organisations, on the changes women and girls are experiencing online. This includes evidence of positive changes resulting from the guidance, as well as areas where little or no change has been seen and further improvements are needed.
The Call for Evidence closes at 5pm on 4 November 2026. Ofcom is then due to publish a report on its findings in 2027.
What other measures should organisations be aware of?
The guidance forms part of wider recent measures taken by Ofcom to make the online environment safer for women and girls.
By 30 September, platforms must introduce automated technology (known as ‘hash-matching’) to detect and prevent the sharing of illegal intimate images. Platforms that do not have this technology in place must demonstrate that they have equally effective alternatives in place.
Additionally, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (which received Royal Assent earlier this year) introduced duties on online service providers to take down non-consensual intimate imagery within 48 hours. Ofcom have said it is aiming to consult on this new duty by the end of 2026.
If you would like to discuss implementing the guidance, wider Online Safety Act compliance measures, or responding to the call for evidence, please contact Natasha Davies. Further information about how we can help organisations with the Online Safety Act is available here.
The material in this article is provided for guidance and general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice on which you should rely. In particular, the information should not be used as a substitute for a full and proper consultation with a suitably qualified professional. Please contact the Bates Wells team if you require further information.