ISLAMABAD: Women find themselves particularly vulnerable in the increasing cybercrime, a conference on ending online violence against women was informed on Monday.

BBC journalist Shumaila Jaffery told the conference that 45pc of the 3,000 cyber crimes reported by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) related to harassment of women.

“Honour turns to murder in digital spaces,” she said, recalling the sad cases of Qandeel Baloch and the Kohistan women. “All the hate material that the culprits put online disgraced and enraged the victims’ families.”

Titled ‘Hamara Internet- Ending Online Violence against Women’, the conference was organized by the ‘Digital Rights Foundation’ (DRF), Internet society and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom - Pakistan.

It was accompanied with the soft launch of the Cyber Harassment Helpline. Women in distress due to stalking and other harassment over mobile phones, social media and internet can seek help by dialling toll free number 0800-39393.

The Helpline will begin its operations on December 1, 2016 and will not be in service on weekends and public holidays.

Nighat Dad, Executive Director DRF said the Helpline will provide safe and confidential service to victims on online harassment “in a female-led environment”.

“Since, ‘Digital Abuse’ is a new phenomenon many girls, and women of their family members, are not aware of the consequences,” she said. The basic idea of the conference and the launch hamara internet project was to protect women against cyber harassment and to promote better understanding of using safe and secure internet.

The Helpline is part of the Hamara internet to provide legal advice, digital security support, psychological counselling and a referral system to victims.

Nighat Dad highlighted the need to impart awareness as it was the best tool not only for protection for the vulnerable segments – which were mostly girls and women belonging to all sections in the society.

“At the same there is a need for equitable access to Information and Communication Technologies in Pakistan for all,” she added, calling for capacity building and not restricting women from using internet.

The most extensively discussed topic at the conference was the murder of Qandeel Baloch, and the honour killing of women in Kohistan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who were directed to be murdered by a local jirga after their dancing video surfaced at social media.

Conference participants agreed that not all cyber crimes are reported as the victims and their families feel uncomfortable reporting such events.

“Many people feel that harassment is only physical, but they need to understand that harassment is digital too,” she said. “Victims of cyber harassment suffer severe mental stress and some face the blame for it too.”

Shumaila noted that there were isolated cases of young boys and even grown up men facing similar discomfiture from unknown females.

Other speakers stressed for awareness among the general public as former partner, fiancées and close people misuse social media for floating personal images to hurt and defame their former partner or friend.

“There is a wide trend among the abusers of recording videos to silence their victims. This is a new tool and there are few cases when men have been blackmailed,” UN Women representative Jamshed Kazi said.

These are global trends and should be tackled carefully, he advised.

The conference brought together experts in the field of human rights and activists to discuss online violence against women and the ways in which Pakistani women are reclaiming space online. They felt there has to be stronger actions from the authorities and the civil society to help women when faced with cyber emergency.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2016