This inaugural report captures more than 11,000 comments across participant accounts, establishing the baseline for how online abuse is shaping public life for women and gender‑diverse leaders. Face Forward is a non-partisan, research-driven initiative that provides free real-time protection from technology-facilitated gender-based violence for women and gender-diverse people in public life across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. 

This first dataset for the reporting period 1–31 May 2026 analyses the platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. It shows Facebook dominates both volume and harm, driving 85% of all comments and 91% of all abusive content, with an abuse rate more than double that of Instagram. Identity‑based hostility emerges immediately in this first report, with racist, xenophobic, sexist, and religiously targeted abuse layered on top of routine personal attacks and offensive language.