Australia established the world's first eSafety Commission in 2016, a government regulatory agency dedicated to keeping its citizens safe online.
Julie Inman Grant was appointed the inaugural commissioner and is a fierce advocate for requiring tech companies to design their products with user safety in mind.
"(There is) a rapid ascension of advanced technologies like AI that are moving quickly and have inadequate guard rails (and) they are not safe by design," she said at a session on tech safety at the Women Deliver conference in Melbourne.
"We've got the perfect storm for technology to truly get ahead of us, so we need to be decisive, invest in government agencies (and) build a global network of online safety regulators."
Ms Inman Grant noted women were disproportionately impacted by online abuse and solving the challenge would require a global response.
But she acknowledged no government would be able to regulate or litigate their way out of online harm.
"It's not like sticking a pink ticket on a windshield to take on one of these companies," she said.
"They're $2.4 trillion companies, (eSafety is) a $50 million organisation, so they will always be able to outgun us where lawyers, litigation and lobbying are concerned. So we need to get other countries on board."
Research by the Global Institute for Women's Leadership found female Australian politicians disproportionately experienced online gender-based violence, which matches global data.
"This is tied to women being held to higher standards in their public and personal life, which creates a ripe environment for online trolling," institute deputy director Elise Stephenson said.
"This has ramifications for democracy if we're thinking about our online spaces as vital places where constituents can connect with public officials."
Dr Stephenson noted Australia was at a critical juncture to change the trajectory of tech-facilitated abuse.
"Online harassment negatively impacts those in public life, but it has a dual impact ... for our democracy by distracting from genuine and constructive engagement," she said.
Australia's gender equality ambassador Michelle O'Byrne, who previously served as a Labor MP in the Tasmanian and federal parliaments, said she was concerned women would choose not to enter politics or other public-facing roles due to online abuse.
"It is already hard enough to get women to take those steps forward, to put their name out there, to be part of anything, and the more that pressure is (there) the more we undermine our fundamental democratic processes," she said.
"Fundamentally, this is a co-ordinated attack on democracy, and whose voices are heard in democracy (and) in leadership.
"It's about not only the women who step back because it's too scary - and not just for you, but for your families - but it's the women who will never step forward. That's what scares me."
As the rights of women and girls are deliberately wound back, Australia's first female prime minister urged gender equality activists to push back with the same ferocity.
"The rolling back of women's rights is not being done in secret ... it is overt, strategic and being attempted in bounding leaps," Julia Gillard said at the Women Deliver opening ceremony on Monday night.
"We must push back in the same way and find the courage to take bounding leaps as well (because) gender equality is not a luxury and is not just an issue for women."
As only the second woman appointed to the position, Governor-General Sam Mostyn said the gendered language of opposition was alive and well.
"The most important thing for a generation of young women and men across the globe is to know there should be no barriers whatsoever, gender or otherwise, to the very best people assuming leadership in our society," she said.
Other notable speakers at the five-day conference include New Zealand's former leader Jacinda Ardern and Canada's Justin Trudeau.
