look news india
Amidst the increasing spread of internet and smartphones in Pakistan, a very heart-wrenching and serious crisis has emerged regarding the safety of innocent children. The recent report of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has exposed the social and digital fabric of Pakistan. According to this detailed study, about 15 lakh innocent children have become vulnerable to online sexual exploitation and horrific digital harassment within the country within a single year. Cyber criminals are now reaching out to children not only through traditional routes but also through online multiplayer video games, messaging apps and social media platforms. How worrying this situation is can be gauged from the fact that adolescent girls and innocent children trapped in this quagmire are forced to spend their lives under the shadow of terrible mental trauma, depression and fear of social stigma.
The story of 17-year-old Pakistani girl Zara Shah (name changed to protect her identity), who became a victim of this horrific digital exploitation, is a direct proof of how big a danger is hidden for innocent people in the virtual world of the Internet. Zara was attacked by an unknown person while she was playing a popular computer game. While gaming, conversations began via in-game chat, which gradually transitioned into private messages. According to the victim, the person in front first showed himself to be a true and sympathetic friend. He won Zara’s unwavering trust by talking in general terms for several weeks. After this, he started pressurizing to meet in person and gradually showed his dirty intentions by demanding nude photographs. When Zara rejected his unreasonable demand, the stranger’s true form was revealed. He started threatening Zara that he would track down her entire family and relatives through the internet and defame them by sending them screenshots of their private conversations.
The most surprising and worrying fact that has emerged in this ground survey of UNICEF is that most of the people who exploit children online are not completely unknown hackers, but their own acquaintances. According to the report, in about 85 percent of the cases the culprits were found to be already known to the victim or her family. Analyzing the modus operandi of this syndicate and cyber criminals, the lead author of the report, Doniel Cardfelt, said that these crimes often start with extremely friendly conversations, gaming communities, giving gifts, sending money for pocket money or false promises of love affairs. Cyber hunters spend months studying the personal information, hobbies and family vulnerabilities of children available on their social media profiles. They make children believe that they are their biggest well-wishers, and once the child becomes emotionally dependent on them, a cruel cycle of blackmailing and digital sexual abuse is initiated.
Despite being victims of this serious crime, children are not able to share the information about the atrocities committed against them with anyone. According to the survey, 71 percent of children in Pakistan, a conservative and Muslim-majority country, did not even tell their parents about the abuse they suffered. Even more shocking is the fact that not a single child included in the survey went to the local police, child rights helpline or any professional social worker and formally lodged their complaint. Sociologists believe that the main reasons behind this overwhelming silence of children are the fear of social stigma, family reproach and the fear that the conservative society will blame the victim. The victimized children fear that if the matter comes to light, their character will be criticized and instead of getting justice, they will be imprisoned at home.
Mehak Naeem, director of ‘PAHCHAAN’, a major non-governmental organization working at the grassroots level in the field of child rights and child protection in Pakistan’s eastern metropolis Lahore, has issued a serious warning on this crisis. According to Mehak Naeem, out of the total cases of child abuse registered with them, about 44 percent of the cases have been found to be completely conducted through online mediums. He revealed that messaging platforms like Snapchat and WhatsApp are being misused the most to trap and blackmail teenagers and children. Taking advantage of Snapchat’s ‘Disappearing Messages’ feature, criminals first make objectionable conversations and then start blackmailing children by secretly taking screenshots or screen recordings.
In a traditional and patriarchal society like Pakistan, the threat of cyber blackmailing proves to be much more devastating for girl children than for boys. If a case of online exploitation or communication of a girl comes to light, the family often questions the girl’s character, stops her studies and imposes strict restrictions on her leaving the house. In many cases, girls are even forced into marriage at an early age. Describing her painful situation, Zara Shah said that the fear of revealing the secret in front of her family was enough for her to bear this unbearable pain silently. Zara said with tears in her throat that if she had told anything at home, perhaps her schooling would have been stopped forever and she would have been imprisoned within the walls. Describing her pain, she said that she felt it was safer to keep her mouth shut, but this nervousness and fear of the unknown is killing her from within every day. She was living in fear even yesterday and even today she is constantly counting her breaths under the terrible shadow of fear. Child safety experts clearly say that if the Government of Pakistan, Cyber Crime Wing and parents do not take timely steps for digital monitoring, strict laws and mental support of children, then this cyber net will push the future of the coming generations into complete darkness.