Pakistan Online Sexual Abuse: 1.5 Million Children Targeted, UNICEF Report Finds

An estimated 1.5 million internet-using children aged 12 to 17 in Pakistan experienced online sexual abuse in a single year, with many cases going unreported because of stigma, shame and fears about how their families and society would react, according to a UNICEF report published this month.

The report found that around 85 per cent of perpetrators were known to their victims, who were aged between 12 and 17. AFP reported that 71 per cent of victims surveyed in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country, did not tell anyone about the abuse, while none reported it through formal channels such as the police, helplines or social workers.

For 17-year-old Pakistani teenager Zara Shah, an online gaming conversation with a stranger turned into a threat to expose her to her family after he asked her for nude photographs.

From Online Gaming To Sexual Extortion

Zara, whose name has been changed by AFP for safety reasons, said she was targeted by a stranger while playing a computer game.

"We started chatting while playing an online game, and he began acting like a friend. Later, he wanted to meet and, after, started asking me for nudes," 17-year-old Shah said.

"When I refused, he threatened to find my family online and tell them that we had been talking," she added.

Daniel Kardefelt, lead author of the global UNICEF report, told AFP that online sexual abuse can begin through ordinary interactions before developing into exploitation.

"The abuse may start with a friendly conversation, a gaming interaction, a promise of gifts, money or romance," Kardefelt said.

"Perpetrators may spend months building trust using information that they find on social media," he said.

AFP reported that no child surveyed had reported the abuse through formal channels, including police, helplines or social workers.

The report attributed the silence largely to stigma, shame and fears about how families or wider society might react.

"Around 44 percent of reported abuse was entirely online, with Snapchat and WhatsApp among the most common settings," said Mehek Naeem, director of PAHCHAAN, a children's rights organisation in the eastern city of Lahore.

Girls can face heightened risks of sexual extortion in Pakistan's conservative society, with such abuse potentially leading to restrictions on their mobility or withdrawal from school.

For Zara, the possibility that her family could discover her online conversations was enough to keep her from speaking out.

"I could have been stopped from going to school or leaving the house altogether," she said.

"Staying quiet felt like the better option than speaking up. But anxiety kills me every day."

Debate Over Social Media Restrictions

UNICEF estimates that around 74 per cent of children aged 12 to 17 in Pakistan are internet users, raising concerns about online safety as children's access to digital platforms expands.

The Punjab provincial government this month passed a resolution seeking to bar children under 16 from using social media. The proposal has faced opposition from digital rights activists.

"I disagree with the ban," said Usama Khilji, a digital rights activist.

"It will be a challenge to implement, and children can circumvent the ban through VPNs. Children have the right of freedom of expression, and a ban takes that away," he said.

Pakistan already has a legal framework addressing technology-facilitated offences against children. However, Tahira Afrasiyab, a spokesperson for non-profit organisation Muslim Hands, said "there is no implementation".

Experts have also identified loopholes in existing laws.

Legal Gaps And Economic Vulnerability

Human rights lawyer Salman Afridi said the problem also highlights how children's economic vulnerability can be exploited for sexual content.

He said "economic vulnerability can be weaponised" for amounts as small as 10,000 Pakistani rupees ($36) in exchange for the production of sexual content.

"What we are seeing is the use of technology to facilitate an entire chain of grooming, inducement, coercion, blackmail, production, distribution and commercialisation," he said.

"There is a strong basis for describing this as a commercial ecosystem of exploitation," Afridi added.

For Zara, the consequences of an encounter that began while playing a computer game have been difficult to escape.

"I was, and am, scared," she said. "I live in fear."