MEP Abir Al-Sahlani may not be a familiar name to many, yet she has challenged the European Parliament on issues of sexual violence, troubling statements and gender balance since 2019.

Through her role in the liberal Renew Europe group, she has advanced efforts for secure abortion access throughout the EU and now leads work on a continent-wide legal standard for rape centered on consent.

Her direct critiques of traditional views among European conservatives along with her active social media profile have sparked debate, yet online attacks and press scrutiny have not slowed her steady output.

Reports this week noted arrests in the Czech Republic of several men charged with human trafficking after they ran accounts for young women on the adult platform OnlyFans, highlighting another route where women lose control, face trafficking and end up as deepfake targets. What dangers does artificial intelligence pose for women, and how might the EU address these fresh forms of exploitation?

Online sexual harm against women has reached factory-like levels. Gender violence used to stay personal or involve small groups targeting one woman. The individual harm remains severe, but the reach stayed limited.

Digital forms have now scaled this up dramatically. During the holidays the Grok tool generated millions of non-consensual altered images of women, including minors.

This mass production of gender violence threatens not only individuals but also democratic processes.

Posting views that challenge traditional power structures online guarantees pushback. That cost comes with the territory. Beyond insults and threats that strip women of dignity, bodies are no longer private online.

Anyone with an image can alter it without permission. This strips women of authority in digital spaces and spills into public roles, where debates turn personal and sexualized rather than idea-focused.

While I can handle it, I question whether I would encourage my daughter to pursue equality work given the toll.

Women hesitate to join public life out of fear, which weakens democratic input and leaves supply chains of participation broken.

Gender balance must sit at the center of democracy rather than on the sidelines, or future generations will pay the price.

Since laws trail technology, how can women guard against new sexualization risks when their likeness may be used in explicit content without knowledge?

I have called for a ban on such platforms operating inside the EU. I owe nothing to figures like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg.

They failed to build protections from the start and refuse accountability when misuse occurs.

Without built-in safeguards, the platforms or specific features should be blocked. Recent committee votes support prohibiting nudifying tools, which could enter future rules.

With the European Parliament shifting rightward, how do you sustain progress on women's issues while holding a centrist stance?

You have to become relentless. No, that was meant lightly.