Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit, in collaboration with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), organized a virtual workshop for supporting and facilitating women in reporting abusive behavior and vile trolling on social media.
It was also assured that a women’s forum for awareness and earliest resolution of cybercrime cases, is planned to be created under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit and Federal Investigation Agency. Moreover, a series of such workshops will also be organized for all segments of women including students, housewives, and women working in the public and private organizations across the country.
Head Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms, Salman Sufi, highlighted the growing violence and instances of cyberbullying in society.
In his opening remakes, he said that exclusion and impersonation against women are global social issues, where abuse is afflicted systematically, persistently, and is often tolerated, if not explicitly condoned. He further mentioned that, although social media violence can affect both women and men, women experience different and more traumatic forms of cyberbullying. It can leave a permanent trauma on a woman whereby public memory of shaming and blaming can lead to distress such as anxiety, and depression due to the fears of shaming, humiliation, harassment, and stigma associated with cyberbullying and mental health challenges.
A sizeable number of women working in public and private organizations participated in the workshop and cited their experiences and concerns. Resource persons of FIA, Additional Director, and Deputy Director sensitized the forum about the policy framework and reporting mechanisms for cybercrime and encouraged the women to not stay silent on such instances but rather raise voices and report such cases to help eradicate cyberbullying.
