The United Nations (U.N.) proposed a revolutionary new plan yesterday (Sept. 24) to put a stop to what they've termed "cyber VAWG," or Violence Against Women and Girls -- and they're officially issuing a "world-wide wake-up call" about the severity of the problem.

Pretty much anyone who's ever been online knows that the violent harassment of women is alarmingly common. But the U.N.'s Broadband Commission for Digital Development put out a report that really hammers that home with some pretty shocking statistics.

They found that although 85% of women they surveyed worldwide say the internet "provides them with more freedom," nearly three quarters of them (73%) have experienced some form of abuse online -- despite the fact that a higher percentage of women (76%) use social networking sites than men (72%). They also found that women ages 18-24 are "uniquely likely to experience stalking and sexual harassment in addition to physical threats," and noted that "despite the rapidly growing number of women experiencing online violence, only 26 percent of law enforcement agencies in the 86 countries surveyed are taking appropriate action."

The report notes that online violence costs women and girls real-life time, energy and money (due to "legal fees, online protection services and missed wages, among others") and suggests that failing to take action threatens not only the "digital inclusion of women everywhere," but also poses a serious threat to free speech and human rights -- so it's worth taking very, very seriously.

Here's the part some people are calling "radical": they suggest that the only way we're ever going to really fix this is by making social media platforms responsible for monitoring the actions of their users to make sure they're not harassers (something they're not currently legally obligated to do), and they suggest that governments should hold social media companies responsible for doing this by effectively shutting them down if they refuse.

"The respect for and security of girls and women must at all times be front and center of those in charge of producing and providing the content, technical backbone and enabling environment of our digital society," the report states.

The report's authors also suggest that governments need to impose and actually be able to enforce comprehensive laws designed to protect women from online harassment (which, as of now, are few and far between), and that we should start actively educating kids and teens of all genders about online violence early, as a proactive step toward stopping it before it starts for future generations.

“Online violence has subverted the original positive promise of the internet’s freedoms," Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka of UN Women said in a press release, "And in many circumstances has made it a chilling space that permits anonymous cruelty and facilitates harmful acts towards women and girls."

"We want to reclaim and expand the opportunities it offers," she continued. "That means recognizing the scale and depth of the damage being done – and taking strong, concerted steps to call it -- and stop it. Abuse online is still abuse, with potency and very real consequences.”

For more information on how you can get help if you’re experiencing online abuse, check out A Thin Line.