PAKISTAN’S digital transformation is creating new opportunities for women, but it is also exposing them to new forms of harm. Cyber harassment, stalking, impersonation, blackmail and deepfake abuse are no longer isolated incidents on the margins of the internet. They are now shaping who feels safe speaking, working, campaigning, learning and participating in public life. That makes cyber violence against women not only a social problem, but also a governance and security issue.
The scale of the problem is already visible. According to UNDP Pakistan, in 2024 eight million new female users came online, but the country also recorded 135,000 cybercrime complaints, while only 826 cases proceeded to prosecution — just 0.6 percent. That gap matters. A digital space that expands access without ensuring protection does not produce empowerment; it produces vulnerability. For women, that vulnerability often translates into self-censorship, withdrawal from platforms and reduced participation in the economy and public debate.
Recent evidence shows how deeply gendered this crisis has become. A Digital Rights Foundation report documented 5,041 new cases handled by its Digital Security Helpline between May 2024 and December 2025, with women and trans women facing the highest rates of hacking, image-based abuse, blackmail and sextortion. The same report found that 92 percent of surveyed complainants reported reduced risk after receiving helpline support, while 64 percent received an initial response within minutes. Those numbers are important for another reason: they show both the scale of harm and the value of fast, survivor-centred intervention.
This is where the governance question becomes unavoidable. If the state cannot provide timely reporting systems, gender-sensitive investigations or effective prosecution, then cybercrime enforcement becomes selective and weak. If platforms do not respond quickly to abusive content, then digital violence becomes a tool of intimidation. If survivors must navigate shame, stigma and bureaucratic delays alone, then the system is effectively punishing the victim twice.
The security dimension is equally serious. Online violence is increasingly used to silence women journalists, activists, lawyers, students and public officials. It is not only about hurt feelings or reputational damage; it affects democratic participation and public trust. When women are pushed out of the digital sphere, the public sphere itself becomes less representative, less equal and more easily manipulated by fear.
Pakistan has already begun to respond. UNDP notes that the Ministry of Human Rights, in collaboration with UNDP, has developed Pakistan’s first National Strategy to Counter Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence. That is a welcome step, but strategy without implementation will not be enough. The real test is whether police, prosecutors, courts, regulators and platforms can coordinate around a survivor-centred model that works in practice, not just on paper.
A serious response should rest on five priorities. First, the law must clearly cover deepfake abuse, sextortion, cyberstalking, impersonation and non-consensual image sharing. Second, police and investigators need gender-sensitive training and digital forensic capacity. Third, reporting channels must be simple, safe and fast. Fourth, platforms must be pushed to improve takedown procedures and crisis response. Fifth, public awareness must normalize the idea that online abuse is real abuse, not a private problem women should endure silently.
Pakistan’s digital future will not be measured only by how many people come online. It will also be measured by whether they can stay online safely. If women cannot participate without fear, then digital growth is incomplete and democratic inclusion is weakened. That is why cyber violence against women must be treated as a governance failure and a security threat, because it is both.
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