Report: Shakila Jalil
Pakistan is witnessing a growing digital abuse crisis, with over 5,000 cases reported in just 18 months, according to a new report released by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF).
Titled “Digital Threats Against At-Risk Communities in Pakistan,” the report highlights the scale and severity of online violence targeting women, trans women, journalists, lawyers, religious minorities, and human rights defenders across the country.
The findings are based on data from DRF’s Digital Security Helpline, which handled 5,041 cases between May 2024 and December 2025. The report reveals a deeply gendered and identity-based pattern of digital harm.
According to the report, women and trans women are increasingly being targeted through hacking, image-based abuse — including AI-generated deepfakes — blackmail, sextortion, and coordinated online harassment campaigns. These attacks are often aimed at silencing, intimidating, and socially isolating victims.
The report warns that such incidents are not isolated, but reflect broader structural failures. Weak cybercrime responses, slow action by social media platforms, and limited access to digital security tools continue to leave vulnerable communities exposed.
Among the key findings, women and trans women faced the highest levels of abuse, while many survivors reported coordinated harassment and delayed platform responses during critical situations. Encouragingly, 92 percent of complainants reported reduced risk after receiving support from DRF’s helpline, while 64 percent received an initial response within minutes.
However, the report notes that the biggest barriers to digital safety are not awareness, but affordability, device limitations, internet shutdowns, and unresponsive platforms.
It also evaluates commonly recommended digital security tools such as MalwareBytes, OONI, HTTPS Everywhere, and LastPass, noting that many fail to address the realities of users in the Global South, including low-bandwidth environments, unstable connectivity, language barriers, and cost constraints.
The Digital Rights Foundation has called on Pakistan’s cybercrime authorities, particularly the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), to adopt survivor-centred and gender-sensitive approaches, ensure transparent response timelines, and provide protection against retaliation.
The organisation has also urged social media companies to introduce emergency reporting mechanisms with guaranteed response times and measures to limit the spread of harmful content during review periods.
“Deepfakes, hacking, sextortion, and coordinated abuse have become tools of control against women and marginalised communities in Pakistan,” said DRF Founder Nighat Dad. “Digital violence is not only virtual; it is actively reshaping people’s safety, careers, and participation in public life.”
The report further calls on global technology companies to develop digital security tools tailored to the needs of the Global South, including offline functionality, low-bandwidth compatibility, regional language support, and subsidised access for vulnerable users.
