1.5mn Pakistani children sexually exploited online, UNICEF report finds

Pakistani teenager Faria Shah was targeted by a stranger while playing an online game, drawing her into a conversation that eventually exposed her to sexual exploitation.

Faria, whose name has been changed for her safety, is among an estimated 1.5 million children in Pakistan who experienced online sexual abuse over a one-year period, according to a study published by UNICEF this month, NDTV reports.

“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,” the 17-year-old said.

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

Around 85 percent of perpetrators were known to their victims, who were aged between 12 and 17, according to the UNICEF report.

Fear and Stigma Keep Victims Silent

In Pakistan, 71 percent of victims did not tell anyone about the abuse, according to the report.

None of the children surveyed reported their experiences through formal channels such as police, helplines or social workers, the report said.

Stigma, shame and fears about how their families or society would react were among the main reasons for their silence.

“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 based in Lahore.

Girls can face particular risks of sexual extortion in Pakistan's conservative society, potentially leading to restrictions on their movement or withdrawal from school.

For Faria, the threat of being exposed to her family was enough to keep her silent.

“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.”

Loopholes and Weak Enforcement

With about 74 percent of Pakistani children aged 12 to 17 estimated by UNICEF to be internet users, concerns about online safety are growing as access to digital platforms expands.

The provincial government in Punjab this month passed a resolution seeking to bar children under 16 from using social media, but the move has faced opposition.

“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 has a legal framework covering technology-facilitated offences against children, but “there is no implementation”, said Tahira Afrasiyab, a spokesperson for non-profit organisation Muslim Hands.

Experts also point to loopholes in existing laws.

Human rights lawyer Salman Afridi said the issue shows how “economic vulnerability can be weaponised”, with children potentially being offered as little as 10,000 Pakistani rupees ($36) in exchange for producing 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 Faria and many other children, the consequences of an encounter that began with an online game remain difficult to escape.

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