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In recent months, we have followed the large number of cases of violence against women that have come to light, and we have been faced with an increasingly difficult scenario that deserves everyone’s attention. In 2025 alone, 12 women were victims of violence every 24 hours, a figure 9% higher than the previous year, according to the report “Elas Vivem: a urgência da vida” (They Live: the urgency of life), produced by the Rede de Observatórios da Segurança (Security Observatories Network).
Debates and the search for solutions to combat violence have become more necessary every day, and this conversation should begin in childhood, when girls and, above all, boys are in the process of developing and learning cultural values and behaviors. With a deeply rooted cultural structure, often associated with the concept of toxic masculinity, which runs through different spaces in society and gains even more strength on the internet, exposure to violent speech and behavior makes boys feel obliged to reproduce it in order to fit into this environment of hatred toward women.
We see this, for example, on social media, with movements such as the “red pill,” which fuel misogyny. “We already live in a patriarchal society shaped by structural sexism, and groups like these normalize hatred of women, helping to fuel psychological, digital and physical violence,” says Noaly Avenoso, a psychologist at Instituto C.
With this exposure to the digital environment and to unregulated content comes the urgent need to collectively create safer and less prejudiced environments for children. Recently, the Digital ECA (Statute of Children and Adolescents in the digital environment) was regulated, the first step toward making the internet safer for young people.
What is the Digital ECA and why is it important in helping to combat misogyny?
Approximately 95% of children aged 9 to 17 use the internet, and there is no escaping it: the digital world is part of the lives of both adults and children, but we need to enter it consciously and responsibly. Rodrigo Nejm, a psychologist and digital education specialist at Instituto Alana, explains what the internet is for a child: “they use it to form their identity, to make friends, to study, and even to talk to their own family members. So it’s one more environment they spend time in every day.”
According to the specialist, the Digital ECA changes the entire architecture of the online environment so that platforms are prepared, with minimum safety and privacy conditions, to receive children. The law is also a tool that gives parents and caregivers more control over what children and adolescents consume.
With the regulation, children now have access only to content appropriate for their age. As Rodrigo points out, what children and adolescents consume has a great influence on their lives. “When they watch videos and influencers, they’re not just consuming entertainment. They’re also consuming cultural and social values. They’re also learning how to behave,” he stresses.
In this way, the Digital ECA can be a strong pillar in blocking misogynistic content that reinforces sexism in childhood. One example is restricting access to pornographic content, which, when accessed by children over time, especially boys, can produce a type of masculinity that sexualizes women and normalizes violence.
We need to guide and strengthen education
With frequent exposure to violent and sexist content, parents, caregivers and people who work with children may notice inappropriate behavior by boys toward girls. That is why it is necessary to act before these attitudes start to harm them as citizens.
For Rodrigo, from Instituto Alana, families and schools need to work on digital education together with sex education, which helps children understand the boundaries of their own bodies and of other people’s bodies. “We need to know about and follow children’s digital lives, but also provide this sex education, which isn’t just about sex; it’s about care and respect,” he explains.
Noaly says that it is in everyday life that parents and caregivers can educate in a less prejudiced way, through simple attitudes and by seeking knowledge. She stresses the importance of not reproducing speech and behavior that perpetuate structural sexism, seeking information on the subject and correcting actions and words on the spot.
The internet is not just a villain; it can be an ally
Just as we can find inappropriate content in the digital world, the internet can also offer children a space for learning. Children’s channels with information, cartoons or songs can open discussions about topics that are part of this stage of life, helping parents and caregivers have difficult conversations in a more accessible way.
“Families have in the internet an important place of learning, which can be preserved as a space for participation, where children and adolescents themselves can also take part and have access to quality information,” explains Rodrigo.
Now, it is up to all of us to monitor and ensure that children are safe online, and that the Digital ECA becomes like the Consumer Protection Code, always present in Brazilians’ minds. Caring for childhoods and educating boys against gender-based violence is a collective responsibility: “If, throughout childhood, children are raised to fight for the end of structural sexism, we will have lower rates of violence against women and psychologically healthier men,” says Noaly.
