Sarah Williams had successfully campaigned for greater action on sexual assault when a stranger taunted her with her own experience of survival.
The 22-year-old founded What Were You Wearing Australia, a Newcastle-based non-profit working to end sexual assault.
A petition launched by the organisation, which called for mandatory training for all NSW bar and security staff to detect drink spiking, reached the state's parliament after gaining tens of thousands of signatures.
Ms Williams has faced vile online abuse in addition to having been confronted on the street by strangers for her activism.
She said people had used her experience of sexual violence as a form of harassment and intimidation.
"I've received abuse in public ... people know my face and (have) come up to me and said 'I deserved it'," she told AAP.
New research by Plan International has revealed the shocking number of girls and young women who have feared for their safety while campaigning or doing advocacy work.
More than a quarter of the young Australian women surveyed said a significant barrier to participating in activism was fear for their physical safety, which is higher than the global average of one in five.
More than a third of the nation's activists said campaigning had taken a mental toll, and had affected their emotional wellbeing.
Grace Falconer, a youth activist and co-researcher for the Plan International report, described the findings as "disappointing".
"It is a bit overwhelming and upsetting to see that the figures are so high in Australia," she said.
"It just shows you that we still need to go a long way in supporting all of the young women and girls in this space to ensure that they continue fighting for issues they're passionate about."
Ms Falconer said many women and girls had been on the receiving end of hate speech or were targeted by vicious trolls.
Ms Williams said while men of all ages were behind online abuse, middle aged women also contributed to the pile-on.
She found abuse directed towards her from older women the "hardest" to deal with.
"As a woman myself, I would hope other women would understand as well," she said.
"It also encourages younger males or other people to continue victim blaming."
Another key takeaway from the report was one in 10 women surveyed have faced threats of physical violence due to their work.
Ms Williams said although activism was very hard, the ability to make positive change was very rewarding.
"It does feel like it is my duty and that's where a lot of the toll comes from," she said.
The Indigenous leader advised people wanting to campaign for change to have a support system in place.
Speaking ahead of International Day of the Girl on Wednesday, Plan International Australia chief executive Susanne Legena said injustice was driving action.
"Young women and girls in Australia are calling for change and are empowered to do something about it," she said.
"They know that we simply cannot wait another 131 years – the current World Economic Forum projection – to reach gender equality.
"They are taking it into their own hands and demanding we all act, sooner, to beat the clock."
Recommendations from the report call on governments to increase funding and support for girl and youth-led activism.
They also urge quality education on gender equality, human rights and democratic governance to build girls' skills in activism.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
