Regulating Digital Hate Speech: A Linguistic Analysis of Online Abuse Against Women and Its Policy Implications in Pakistan

Abstract

Social media has become an important place for public discussion in Pakistan, but it has also become a common place for abuse aimed at women. This study is a qualitative investigation of how language is used to harass and silence women on Pakistani social media, and whether current law protects women from this kind of abuse. The study is based on a close reading of public posts and comments collected from four major platforms used in Pakistan: TikTok, Facebook, X, and Instagram. It looks for repeated patterns in how online abuse against women is written, including shame based insults, sexual insults, attacks on a woman's character, group harassment by many accounts at once, and switching between Urdu and English to make insults stronger or harder to detect. The findings show that this abuse is not random rudeness. It follows clear patterns and works to control women and push them out of public life, both online and offline. The study also reviews the main law on this issue in Pakistan, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) of 2016 and its 2025 Amendment. It finds that although the law does list some relevant offences, unclear definitions, weak enforcement, low conviction rates, and the 2025 Amendment's focus on false information and state institutions have left most everyday online abuse against women unaddressed. In some cases, the law has even been used against women who spoke publicly about their own harassment. The study ends with suggestions for reform, including a clearer legal definition of gender based online harassment, better trained investigation units, easier and safer ways to report abuse, stronger rules for social media platforms, and more public education on digital safety.

Keywords: online gender based violence, digital hate speech, cyber harassment, PECA, discourse analysis, Pakistan, social media, women

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21245942