An estimated 1.5 million Pakistani children experienced online sexual abuse in a single year, according to a UN children’s agency report published this month, shedding light on a hidden crisis that leaves young victims trapped in silence and fear.
The report by Unicef found that around 85 percent of perpetrators were known to the victims, who were aged between 12 and 17. The abuse often begins with a friendly conversation, a gaming interaction, or a promise of gifts, money or romance, according to Daniel Kardefelt, lead author of the global Unicef report.
“Perpetrators may spend months building trust using information that they find on social media,” Kardefelt told AFP.
One 17-year-old victim described how a stranger approached her while she was playing a computer game. “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,” she said. When she refused, the perpetrator threatened to find her family online and tell them about their conversations. “I live in fear,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Unicef report highlighted that in Muslim-majority Pakistan, 71 percent of victims did not tell anyone about the abuse, and no child surveyed reported it through formal channels such as police, helplines or social workers. The silence stems largely from stigma, shame and fears over how their families or society might react.
“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 heightened risks of sexual extortion, which may lead to restrictions on their mobility or withdrawal from school. For Zara, 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.”
The findings underscore the urgent need for greater awareness and protection mechanisms to address online child sexual exploitation in Pakistan. With most cases going unreported, the true scale of the crisis may be even larger than the Unicef estimate suggests.
Source: Dawn News