Women face widespread online abuse

Report reveals harmful social media posts show routine misogyny

The UK’s Research Centre (Uks) on Monday released a report documenting misogynistic and harmful content targeting women on social media, alongside a compendium of slurs used online.

The findings form part of Uks’ 2023–2024 initiative, Safe Word, Safer Word, conducted in collaboration with the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC).

Uks, a media monitoring and advocacy organisation engaged for over two decades on how media report women’s issues, said it will observe “16 days of activism” against gender-based violence in Pakistan under the theme ‘Unite to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls’.

The report, titled ‘365 Posts, One Message: Stop Online Sexualised Violence!’, collates 365 harmful posts collected over one year, tracking public responses.

“Respond they did, sometimes with support, sometimes with criticism, and sometimes with honesty,” the report reads. Uks said the report, combined with the compendium, “offers a very telling snapshot of how women in Pakistan experience online spaces, and how the public engages when these issues are consistently highlighted”.

“The comments in this compilation make it clear that online misogyny is routine for many women. They also show that sustained conversation does make an impact,” the report said.

The organisation noted that the effort succeeded in documenting lived experiences, sparking dialogue and encouraging both individuals and institutions to take online abuse more seriously.

Alongside the report, Uks launched a 16-video campaign featuring prominent figures from media, show business, academia, civil society and other walks of life.

“It brings together diverse viewpoints on why women face disproportionate online harassment and how collective action can create safer digital spaces,” the press release said. Uks also announced it will publish the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) National Report on December 9.

Described as “the world’s largest and longest-running research project on gender representation in news media”, the GMMP has been conducted every five years since 1995, monitoring how women are portrayed in print, broadcast and online news across more than 100 countries.

“Uks has been the official GMMP national coordinator for Pakistan since the first cycle, and is responsible for gathering data, training volunteers, monitoring media content, and reporting on gender portrayal trends in Pakistan’s media landscape,” the press release added.

In February, Uks launched its Uks AI (Beta) platform, an artificial intelligence tool designed to identify gender bias in media content, whether it’s hiding in plain sight or lurking between the lines.

The organisation said the tool offers “immediate, actionable feedback” to journalists, editors and reporters, addressing a persistent challenge in media creation: the unconscious perpetuation of gender stereotypes that shape how society views and values women.