Over 20,000 cases of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) received by Digital Rights Foundation’s Helpline during 8 years of operation

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
24th April 2025

Lahore: The Digital Rights Foundation (DRF)’s Helpline has released its eighth annual report for 2024 on International Girls in ICTs Day, a fitting reminder of the Helpline’s objective to transform the digital realm into spaces that are gender-friendly, safe and inclusive for young girls and our future generations. The report, titled Digital Security Helpline Annual Report 2024, also marks a new chapter in the Helpline’s journey after completing eight years of operations: the Helpline, formerly known as the Cyber Harassment Helpline, has updated its title to the Digital Security Helpline in order to cater to the current needs of the time, with an expanded scope of services and footprint that spans across South Asia and the broader Global Majority. The report further sheds light on the tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) crisis in Pakistan, noting that the Helpline has received a total number of 20,020 complaints from across the country since its inception in December 2016, with 3,171 complaints received in 2024 alone.

The Digital Security Helpline is the region’s first helpline addressing TFGBV and other online harms 7 days a week, from 9 AM to 5 PM, with holistic support services that prioritize gender-sensitivity, confidentiality, accessibility and psychosocial wellbeing. This report thus provides a comprehensive analytical breakdown of the complaints received by the Helpline on their toll-free number (0800-39393), email (helpdesk@digitalrightsfoundation.pk) and DRF’s social media platforms during the year of 2024. It contains data related to TFGBV trends and patterns, anonymized case studies of impactful interventions, insights into the Helpline’s engagement with tech platforms and state authorities for redressal, as well as detailed recommendations for policymakers and law enforcement authorities (LEAs).

With an average of 264 new cases received each month, 2024 was an extremely busy year for the Helpline. An overwhelming majority of the complaints were related to cyber harassment (2,741), of which only 36% (619) of the cases originated from cities where an FIA cybercrime wing is operational. This indicates significant barriers to accessibility, particularly in remote areas and smaller cities. Given that survivors face considerable logistical, financial and cultural barriers when seeking redressal, and women survivors even more so, this lack of accessibility must be addressed to ensure equitable access to justice. In a further breakdown of the data’s geographical spread, the report highlights that the Helpline catered to requests from 25 countries, providing crucial digital security support to women and vulnerable individuals globally.

From gendered disinformation campaigns to non-consensual intimate images (NCII) and AI-generated images during elections and privacy invasions, the report highlights the evolving nature of digital threats among a populace and security regime that is ill equipped to navigate it. As DRF Executive Director Nighat Dad notes, it is incumbent upon the state and platforms to responsibly tackle AI-related harms to create safer online spaces: “In a time where AI and automation are hailed as the future, it’s important to remember that trust, safety and digital security are deeply contextual. Cultural nuance, emotional intelligence, and lived experience cannot be programmed. Tech companies and state actors must recognize the limits of automation–this is not a space for cost-cutting at the expense of human safety.”

According to the Helpline’s data, women continue to be the primary targets of online harassment, with 1,772 cases received involving women. Moreover, the data indicates that women are disproportionately targeted through NCII and image-based abuse (IBA), with 85% of all NCII cases and 81% of all IBA cases recorded targeting women in order to coerce, blackmail or inflict reputational damage. Gender minorities such as transgender individuals also continued to experience intense online abuse, including gendered disinformation, doxxing and threats of physical harm, reflecting their offline experience of social discrimination and stigmatization. The report further highlights an alarming 51% jump in cases involving children and youth under the age of 18 this year compared to cases in 2023.

A notable number of cases involved high-risk individuals and other vulnerable groups, such as journalists and media practitioners (121), human rights defenders (HRDS) (44), religious and ethnic minorities (24) and minors (124). According to the Helpline’s manager Hyra Basit, “Certain communities and professions are disproportionately vulnerable to coordinated digital hate campaigns, doxxing, harassment and misogynistic abuse, but these groups often lack institutional protection, making the Digital Security Helpline’s role ever more critical.”

Finally, the report includes a detailed set of recommendations. It recommends policymakers to adopt consistency and clarity when introducing changes to PECA legislation and enforcement; invest in digital literacy initiatives to address TFGBV; bridge the digital gender divide to enable women to access the Internet freely; integrate gender-sensitive training for LEAs; strengthen data protection laws to safeguard citizens’ digital security and privacy; and support digital rights advocacy by civil society groups. Recommendations to LEAs include enhancing accessibility, increasing financial and technical capacity, ensuring survivors’ confidentiality, implementing a case tracking system, and providing much-needed psychological support services.

As the Helpline pivots towards becoming a regional digital security and threat response service, with the inclusion of an Emerging Threat Lab to address more sophisticated digital attacks, the Digital Security Helpline will work towards strengthening emerging response mechanisms for high-risk cases; enhancing cross-border collaboration to extend assistance beyond Pakistan; developing digital security training material for journalists, HRDS and vulnerable groups at risk of harm; and expanding engagement with global tech platforms to advocate for stronger protections in online spaces for marginalized communities.

The report is available to read here: https://staging-m.digitalrightsfoundation.pk/digital-security-helpline-annual-report-2024/