Online predators

The internet has become another hunting ground for sexual predators, and Pakistan's children are paying a heavy price for the failure to protect them. A recent Unicef report estimates that 1.5 million children in the country experienced online sexual abuse in a single year. More disturbing is the finding that 71% of victims never disclosed their ordeal, while none of the children surveyed who experienced abuse approached formal reporting channels. Children are being exploited in an environment where perpetrators can operate with relative impunity, while victims are silenced by the fear of social condemnation. Nearly three-quarters of children aged between 12 and 17 now use the internet, and methods employed by predators are becoming increasingly sophisticated. What begins as an innocent conversation or an interaction on a gaming platform can develop into months of calculated manipulation, culminating in sexual extortion and blackmail. Yet, the greater tragedy is that children often have more to fear from the reaction to their abuse than from reporting the crime itself. Girls, in particular, risk being withdrawn from school or subjected to restrictions on their freedom if their ordeal becomes public. Such attitudes punish the victim while allowing the offender to escape scrutiny. The growing menace has prompted governments across the world to reconsider children's access to social media. However, a blanket ban is neither a comprehensive solution nor a substitute for effective regulation. Pakistan must therefore avoid the temptation to substitute prohibition for protection. The responsibility for ensuring children's safety cannot rest solely with parents or young internet users. Technology companies must be compelled to introduce stronger safeguards against predatory contact and age-appropriate protections. At the same time, the state must ensure that such measures do not become a pretext for indiscriminate surveillance or restrictions on legitimate digital access.