Restrictions on women and the media in Afghanistan are well documented, but how they are enforced is less understood. Drawing on Afghan Witness monitoring from January 2022 to April 2026, this report examines how nationally issued restrictions are implemented in practice, and finds that variation across provinces and institutions reflects the structure of Taliban governance rather than inconsistent policy.

A CIR investigation into Telegram's "nudification" bots found that they are only the visible layer of a wider, commercially organised abuse economy that allow operators to rebuild the moment a single bot is removed.

Research conducted by SEEN for Civil Peace, a Syrian civil society organisation, in collaboration with CIR, examined the complex interactions of hostile dynamics during the critical transitional phase, following the collapse of the Syrian regime in late 2024. This research is the first of its kind in Syria.

‘Digital Safety for Women and Girls’ is a booklet developed by Afghan Witness to provide accessible and practical support in minimising risks online.

An investigation examining how online gendered narratives targeting African women intersect with incidents of conflict-related sexual violence linked to Russian-controlled forces.

Online abuse moves fast and too often, bystanders don’t know how to respond. To mark International Women’s Day, CIR introduces The Six R’s of Digital Bystander Intervention, a practical framework that helps turn uncertainty into action and empowers users to challenge harm safely in digital spaces.

As Grok’s AI image tool is used at scale to generate abusive content, a rapid analysis by CIR investigators draws out five emerging lessons for platforms, regulators and policymakers. Based on a review of over 1,600 abusive prompts, the findings highlight how even basic safeguards can have a substantive effect in limiting the ease, scale and severity of abuse.

After our No Safe Scroll report exposed the scale of gendered hate on TikTok and YouTube in Ethiopia, TikTok reached out to engage directly with the findings. Together, we co-hosted a forum in Addis Ababa, bringing together media, civil society, and community voices to tackle tech-facilitated gender-based violence and push for safer digital spaces.

Working to make ethical, secure, and survivor-centred approaches central to OSINT investigations into gender-based violence.

Since the Taliban’s return in 2021, Afghan women have faced escalating restrictions that limit their mobility, visibility, and access to basic services. This report together recent directives verified by Afghan Witness, as well as a timeline of restrictions since 2021 to show how measures eroding women's rights across Afghanistan have developed.

One year on from the Southport and Bondi Junction knife attacks, CIR researchers explore the narrative trajectories that emerge in the wake of violence, and the implications of what is left unsaid.

A new study by CIR reveals that open source research is a field defined by innovation but also imbalance when it comes to gender equality. It presents concrete recommendations for how to strengthen gender sensitivity and inclusion as essential for relevant, accurate, and ethically grounded investigations.