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New toolkit aims to help keep young women and girls safe from online abuse on the dark web
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The project is also being supported by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT), and West Midlands Police, including the Regional Cyber Crime Unit.
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The CyberDIVA (Dark Web Investigation of Violence & Abuse) initiative is being funded by Innovate UK
Aston University is launching a new online safety resource – said to the first of its kind in the UK - designed to help protect young women and girls from violence and abuse on the dark web.
The new toolkit features helpful tips for parents and guardians on warning signs of abuse as well as an emoji definition guide which can be used to identify hidden meanings behind the graphics when used on social media.
The CyberDIVA (Dark Web Investigation of Violence & Abuse) initiative was formally launched on 25 February during an event at Aston University with West Midlands Police.
The project is being funded by Innovate UK and is being led by Dr. Anitha Chinnaswamy at Aston University in partnership with Forensic Pathways. It is also being supported by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT), and West Midlands Police, including the Regional Cyber Crime Unit.
The website is designed to strengthen prevention, governance and response to technology-facilitated abuse. Developed through interdisciplinary research and extensive consultation, the toolkit was refined using structured feedback from schools, third-sector organisations and corporate partners, including BT, ensuring it reflects real-world operational needs rather than purely academic theory.
Contributors were invited to evaluate the framework, identify gaps, and recommend enhancements, resulting in a resource that is both evidence-led and practitioner-informed.
Dr Chinnaswamy said the project comes amid the evolution of gender-based violence and abuse across digital ecosystems, including both visible social platforms and hidden or encrypted online environments.
She adds that while significant public attention has focused on online abuse in mainstream digital spaces, harm facilitated through encrypted channels, anonymous networks, and dark web environments remains comparatively under-examined. This creates operational, investigative, and policy gaps that limit effective safeguarding and coordinated response.
Beyond the toolkit, a new policy-focused briefing paper has been published to inform national dialogue on digital governance and systemic accountability.
The project will also convene senior stakeholders through a dedicated roundtable at the House of Lords later this year, strengthening engagement across government, policing, industry and civil society.
Dr Chinnaswamy said: "I am immensely proud and humbled to lead CyberDIVA, because protecting young people in an increasingly complex digital world is not just urgent, it is non-negotiable.
“Initiatives such as CyberDIVA are of national strategic importance, and increasingly a global one, because the harms we are addressing do not respect borders, and the pace of technological change demands collective, coordinated responses. It is a collective responsibility to ensure young people can use technology safely, ethically, and to their advantage, so that digital progress remains a force for good.”
- Notes to editors
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The CyberDIVA website can be accessed here: https://main.d3q1myeyadoup6.amplifyapp.com/
Caption: Dr Anitha Chinnaswamy speaking at the launch of the CyberDIVA project in Birmingham.
About Aston University
For over 130 years, Aston University has been making our world a better place through education, research and innovation. Our history is intertwined with the remarkable city of Birmingham, once the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and now the thriving base for an innovation ecosystem of global significance, which Aston is co-creating.
Our vision is to be a leading university for science, technology and enterprise, measured by the positive transformational impact we achieve for our people, students, businesses and the communities we serve.
Aston focuses on high-quality, exploitable research that has an impact on society through medical breakthroughs, advancements in engineering, policy and practice in government, and the strategies and performance of business.
The university offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, as well as continuing professional development solutions.
Thanks to its focus on delivering excellent outcomes for students, Aston University's reputation continues to grow. It was recognised as the Daily Mail University of the Year for Student Success 2025, is second in England for social mobility (2023 HEPI Social Mobility Index), and is top 20 for graduate salaries (2024 Longitudinal Education Outcomes).
Aston University is now defining its place in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
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