Nearly one-quarter of women have experienced online abuse, many of them feeling threatened, as governments and social media firms fail to protect them, Amnesty International says.
An Ipsos MORI poll of 4,000 women in eight countries for the human rights group found 23 per cent reported experiencing online abuse or harassment at least once, with a high of 33 per cent in the United States and a low of 16 per cent in Italy.
The other nations included in the survey of women aged 18 to 55 were Britain, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand.
Amnesty said 41 per cent of women who reported abuse agreed that their online experiences had "made them feel that their physical safety was threatened" at least once.
"The internet can be a frightening and toxic place for women," said Azmina Dhrodia, Amnesty's researcher on technology and human rights.
"It's no secret that misogyny and abuse are thriving on social media platforms, but this poll shows just how damaging the consequences of online abuse are for the women who are targeted," Dhrodia said.
"Imagine getting death threats or rape threats when you open an app, or living in fear of sexual and private photos being shared online without your consent," she said.
Dhrodia said online abuse was especially dangerous because "one abusive tweet can become a barrage of targeted hate in a matter of minutes."
Amnesty urged social media companies to "start taking this problem seriously" and "enforce their own community standards."
