Pakistan child online sexual abuse affects 1.5m, UNICEF says

UNICEF has estimated that 1.5 million children in Pakistan experienced online sexual abuse in one year, as campaigners warned that shame, stigma and weak enforcement leave many victims without help.

The UN children's agency said in a report published this month that about 85% of perpetrators were known to victims aged 12 to 17. It also said 71% of victims in Pakistan did not tell anyone, and no child surveyed reported the abuse through formal channels such as police, helplines or social workers.

Daniel Kardefelt, lead author of the global UNICEF report, said abuse can begin through a friendly conversation, gaming interaction, or promises of gifts, money or romance. He said perpetrators may spend months building trust using information found on social media.

A 17-year-old identified by AFP as Zara Shah, with her name changed for safety reasons, said a stranger contacted her while she was playing an online game, later asked to meet and then demanded nude images. She said he threatened to find her family online and tell them they had been talking after she refused.

UNICEF estimated that 74% of children aged 12 to 17 in Pakistan use the internet. Punjab's provincial government this month passed a resolution to bar children under 16 from using social media, but digital rights activist Usama Khilji opposed the ban, saying it would be hard to enforce and could be bypassed through VPNs.

Tahira Afrasiyab, a spokesperson for Muslim Hands, said Pakistan has a legal framework for technology-facilitated offences against children but lacks implementation. Human rights lawyer Salman Afridi said technology was being used for grooming, coercion, blackmail, production, distribution and commercialisation of sexual content.