Rabia Mustafa
Recently, Pakistan published a national framework titled the National Strategy for Addressing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) 2026–2030, which provides the country’s first comprehensive response to rising digital violence against women and marginalized communities. The strategy recognizes that online abuse is not only a technological issue but also a reflection of deep-rooted gender inequalities, and therefore proposes a coordinated, survivor-centred and multi-sectoral approach involving legal reforms, institutional coordination, platform accountability, and public awareness. It establishes mechanisms such as a national coordination cell, specialized investigation units, and integrated survivor support services, while promoting safer digital participation and inclusive citizenship. Through a five-year roadmap, the framework aims to strengthen prevention, protection, and justice responses so that women and marginalized groups can exercise their constitutional rights to dignity, equality, and meaningful participation in Pakistan’s digital future.
Pakistan’s National TFGBV Strategy adopts a survivor-centred PPPR framework, Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Response, to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence through coordinated action. Prevention focuses on digital literacy, platform accountability, community awareness, and behaviour-change campaigns. Protection emphasizes integrated helplines, emergency support, legal aid, and swift content removal with police coordination. Prosecution includes legal reforms, specialized investigation units, digital case management, and strengthened evidence collection. Response promotes multi-agency coordination, platform compliance, judicial reforms, and international cooperation.
The four pillars of the strategy operationalize the PPPR framework through clearly defined strategic actions supported by specific timelines and institutional responsibilities. Each pillar outlines targeted measures, ranging from awareness and digital literacy initiatives to survivor support, legal reforms, and coordinated enforcement mechanisms, ensuring a comprehensive and survivor-centred approach. The implementation schedule categorizes actions into immediate, short-term, medium-term, and longer-term phases, allowing for gradual but structured rollout. Responsibilities are distributed across relevant federal ministries, regulatory authorities, law enforcement agencies, provincial governments, educational institutions, and civil society organizations, thereby promoting inter-agency coordination and accountability. Together, these pillars translate the PPPR framework into actionable steps, ensuring that prevention, protection, prosecution, and response efforts are implemented in a timely and coordinated manner.
For the sake of understanding how the framework specifies actions, timelines, and responsibilities, let us examine Pillar 1: Prevention as an example of how each pillar is operationalized. The first pillar proposes developing and integrating a mandatory three-credit hour TFGBV module in Higher Education Commission (HEC) curricula across academic disciplines, to be implemented within an immediate to six-month timeline, with responsibility assigned to the HEC and universities. It calls for launching a nationwide Behaviour Change Communication campaign targeting toxic masculinity and victim-blaming culture within a three to six-month timeframe, led by the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR), Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW).
The framework recommends engaging religious leaders, community elders, and lady health workers to promote women’s digital rights over a six to twelve-month period, with implementation by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, NCSW, and civil society organizations. It further proposes implementing public awareness campaigns through SMS, short videos, and community sessions within six to twelve months, with responsibility shared by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). The strategy includes establishing Safety by Design protocols with automated detection systems for platforms within six to twelve months, to be undertaken by the Sindh Media Regulatory Authority, PTA, and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication. It also recommends deploying AI tools for myth-busting and fact-checking on social media platforms within a twelve to eighteen-month timeframe, led by the Sindh Media Regulatory Authority in collaboration with platform companies. Finally, the first pillar proposes establishing Digital Safety Resource Centres in universities, schools, colleges, and community centres within twelve to eighteen months, with responsibility assigned to the HEC and provincial governments.
Regarding Monitoring and Evaluation, the strategy outlines key actions to ensure systematic tracking of progress and accountability. It proposes establishing baseline data collection with gender-disaggregated statistics within an immediate to three-month timeline, to be undertaken by NCCIA, PTA, and NCSW. This is followed by developing performance indicators to track prosecution success rates within six months, led by the National TFGBV Coordination Cell. The framework also calls for integrating TFGBV data with CEDAW treaty reporting mechanisms within six to twelve months, with responsibility assigned to the MoHR and NCSW. Additionally, the strategy mandates conducting annual platform compliance audits and publishing reports from twelve months onwards, to be carried out by Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA) in collaboration with the National TFGBV Coordination Cell, thereby ensuring continuous monitoring, transparency, and evidence-based policy adjustments.
While the strategy assigns monitoring and evaluation responsibilities to designated institutions, citizens also have an important role in ensuring that the actions under the four pillars are effectively implemented. As stakeholders in a democratic society, we must remain aware of the proposed timelines, follow the progress of commitments, and encourage accountability from relevant authorities. This is particularly important for professionals, academics, civil society members, and community leaders who can analyze policies, raise informed questions, and contribute to constructive dialogue. By staying informed, discussing implementation in public forums, and engaging with institutions through research, advocacy, and community outreach, we collectively help ensure that the framework moves beyond policy commitments and translates into meaningful protection and safer digital spaces for all.
Rabia is director of research and publication at SLD.
