Digital technology now plays a central role in the daily lives of Beninese people: communication, work, trade, education, social life… Screens have become gateways to the world.
But for many women and girls, these gateways also open onto a space of control, restriction and sometimes violence.
Phone monitoring, restricted access to social networks, digital blackmail, hacking, non-consensual sharing of images… This online violence reproduces, and sometimes amplifies, the forms of domination already present in real life.
This article looks at three realities that remain all too common in Beninese households:
- Phone and digital surveillance within couples
- The restriction or confiscation of personal digital space
- Consent online, a fundamental right too often ignored
1. Digital surveillance in couples: when love becomes control
In many households in Benin, monitoring a partner's phone has become a normalised practice:
- demanding passwords;
- going through messages;
- reading private conversations;
- monitoring calls, statuses and notifications.
These behaviours are sometimes presented as proof of love or transparency… but in reality they are a form of control, and therefore of psychological violence.
Why is it a problem?
- it creates a climate of mistrust and fear;
- the person being monitored loses their digital freedom;
- the relationship shifts into a power struggle;
- privacy disappears, even though it is a fundamental right.
In a healthy relationship, personal privacy is never negotiable. A phone is not "shared property of the couple", let alone a surveillance tool.
Love never justifies spying. Trust is built through respect, not by searching through someone's phone.
2. Restricting or confiscating digital space: violence that is still trivialised
In several communes in Benin, some women are not free to:
- own their own phone;
- create a Facebook account;
- post freely;
- join a WhatsApp group;
- interact without having to justify themselves;
- keep their contacts.
They are told "not to post too much" or "not to expose themselves", and in some households their phone is simply confiscated.
Why is it violence?
Because limiting a woman's access to the Internet limits her:
- expression;
- autonomy;
- learning;
- social network;
- access to information;
- professional opportunities.
Digital freedom is a fundamental right. No woman should be silenced, online or offline.
3. Consent online: a right that disappears all too easily
Behind a screen, many people think anything goes: recording, posting, sharing… But consent never disappears.
- non-consensual sharing of photos;
- publishing private images;
- sharing "for revenge";
- sharing intimate messages;
- threats of exposure.
Why is it serious?
Publishing an image without consent is not a trivial act: it is violence that strikes at intimacy, breaks trust and can leave deep wounds. Some victims no longer dare go out, change their phone number or leave social networks.
Respect does not stop online. Sharing without consent is aggression.
A very real phenomenon in Benin: figures and context
Between 2019 and 2024, more than 100,000 cases of gender-based violence were recorded in Benin. Psychological violence — insults, threats, harassment, blackmail — is the most frequent.
With the rise of social networks, digital violence is now added to this: cyberbullying, surveillance, spying, non-consensual sharing, sextortion…
This violence is invisible, but devastating.
Where to find help in Benin
1. National Women's Institute (INF)
- Toll-free number: 114
- WhatsApp support: 01 51 07 88 88
- Present across the country: listening, guidance, support.
2. One-stop social protection centres (GUPS)
Available in every commune: reception, support and legal guidance.
3. AMP BÉNIN — Section for Feminism and the Protection of Women (SFPF)
- Digital awareness-raising
- Support for victims
- Referral to the competent structures
- Community actions and national campaigns
4. Other committed associations
Local civil society organisations, community centres, youth collectives and specialised NGOs work in neighbourhoods, villages and districts.
No victim is alone. Help exists.
Conclusion: behind every screen, a life
Digital violence has become a daily reality in Benin. Whether it is phone surveillance, restricting digital space or sharing images without consent, these practices are not normal: they are violence.
Building a safe Internet requires digital education, respect, vigilance, solidarity and genuine collective commitment.
Behind every screen, there is a life. Let us respect it. Let us protect it. Let us listen to it.
