05 Jun 2026 WACC partner in Pakistan spotlights online misogyny, lays foundation for systemic change
Safe Words, Safer Worlds, a WACC-supported project led by Uks Research Centre in Pakistan, has raised public awareness about tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) against women and the need for action to foster a safer online environment for all.
For women in South Asia, gender-based violence online is pervasive and systemic, mirroring misogyny women experience offline, according to Uks, which has coordinated WACC’s Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) in Pakistan since 2010.
“This hostile environment not only discourages women from engaging online but also reinforces societal norms that marginalize their voices,” reports the WACC partner.
Sparking conversations on gender equality in Pakistan is crucial, says Uks Executive Director Tanseem Ahmar. She notes that discussions surrounding women’s rights, particularly outside urban areas, “are often discouraged due to deeply entrenched patriarchal norms.”
Grassroots perspectives, holistic solutions
The project’s focus group discussions across 15 cities confirmed the prevalence of online gender-based abuse and highlighted barriers that deter reporting it. Participants of all genders acknowledged an urgent need for solutions.
Through a Safe Words, Safer Worlds 10-episode podcast series, TFGBV survivors, activists, and legal experts explored the problem with a systemic lens and recommended steps for collective action.
Meeting TFGBV where it is
These efforts were complemented by the #ThinkBeforeYouSpeak social media campaign. Through compelling visuals, survivor stories, and educational content, the campaign engaged over 1.2 million users around the issue of misogyny.
“People shared their views, creating a ripple effect of awareness,” reports Ahmar. “The social media campaign exceeded expectations.”
Social media users’ responses to these posts provided valuable insights. While some showed support, the criticism and negative response from others revealed the alarming entrenchment of misogyny in society, Ahmar notes.
Watch Episode 2 of the “Think Before You Speak” podcast series | Discover other episodes
The importance of manual social media monitoring
In another pillar of the project, Uks conducted extensive social media monitoring using the data analytics app Meltwater. The WACC partner collected and interpreted online data from real-world instances of TFGBV and uncovered linguistic nuances of gendered online abuse.
Uks found that users often bypassed content moderation filters by disguising abusive, misogynistic words – intentionally misspelling them or replacing some letters with symbols or characters from other alphabets.
“The insults directed at women online often mirror the misogynistic, sexist, and demeaning rhetoric they face in everyday life,” Uks says. “The use of such language is itself a form of criminal behaviour and must be actively discouraged.”
Tool for decoding online abuse
The project research culminated in “Decoding Online Abuse,” a compendium of sexist, misogynistic, and abusive language in Urdu and Punjabi used online.
By providing a practical, up-to-date guide for law enforcement and online platforms, the compendium serves as “a valuable resource for stakeholders to develop targeted profanity filters,” Ahmar says.
The compendium is an important resource to raise awareness about TFGBV, she adds. This includes “encourag[ing] sensitivity among men, who are the majority of the perpetrators of abusive language in digital spaces.”
To inform policy and practice
Uks’s efforts to reach institutional stakeholders produced mixed results, reflecting society’s normalised complacency in gender violence.
Despite lack of engagement from some institutions such as the Federal Investigation Agency, Uks is undeterred. Engagement requires persistent efforts, Ahmar reflects.
She notes that the involvement of the Pakistan Telecommunications Agency (PKA) shows promise for meaningful future institutional action. Alongside engagement with the compendium and Uks staff, PKA issued a public service statement for Women’s Day acknowledging online violence against women.
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Through these efforts, the project contributed to the broader conversation on gender equality in the country,” says Ahmar.
Though the project has concluded, Uks continues to use the resources and insights from the Safe Words, Safer Worlds project to educate communities about the dangers of online misogyny and push for stronger regulations and protections against online abuse.
Top image: Instagram posts from Uks’s #ThinkBeforeYouSpeak social media campaign.
WACC works in partnership with Uks Research Centre and other communication rights and sustainable development organizations worldwide through its Communication for All Program (CAP), with support from Bread for the World-Germany.
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