cyberbullying in pakistan research paper

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Bullying prevalence in Pakistan’s educational institutes: Preclusion to the framework for a teacher-led antibullying intervention

Roles Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Department of Educational Psychology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Roles Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

• Sohni Siddiqui, 
• Anja Schultze-Krumbholz

• Published: April 27, 2023
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284864
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Increasing reports of bullying and cyberbullying in schools in recent years are undeniable and have been recognized as a serious public health problem. Conventional bullying and cyberbullying are not only a problem in higher educational institutions in Pakistan, but also in primary and secondary schools. Although statistics show higher levels of bullying and cyber-risky behaviors among youth, policies and interventions to control the consequences of conventional and cyberbullying are rare in the Pakistani context. This study explores teachers’ perspectives and experiences in identifying bullying strategies in different school contexts. Four hundred fifty-four teachers working in different educational institutions completed an online survey that provided data to draw conclusions and to get a better sense of the situation in educational institutions in Pakistan. According to the results, teachers experience verbal and social bullying more frequently than online and physical bullying. In addition, teachers in lower grades reported noticing more physical bullying than teachers in higher grades. Facebook was reported to be the most common platform students used to bully each other. Researchers also found significant differences between rural and urban teachers’ experiences with social bullying. Bullying intervention strategies should be developed and integrated into educational settings in Pakistan. The data presented will be used to develop tailored anti-bullying interventions that are culturally and socially appropriate for Pakistani educational settings.

Citation: Siddiqui S, Schultze-Krumbholz A (2023) Bullying prevalence in Pakistan’s educational institutes: Preclusion to the framework for a teacher-led antibullying intervention. PLoS ONE 18(4): e0284864. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284864

Editor: Faisal Shafique Butt, COMSATS University Islamabad - Wah Campus, PAKISTAN

Received: December 23, 2022; Accepted: April 11, 2023; Published: April 27, 2023

Copyright: © 2023 Siddiqui, Schultze-Krumbholz. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper.

Funding: The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Aggression is a set of actions that are considered a significant challenge for society to deal with and are defined by social psychology as any behavior aimed at harming a person or animal [ 1 ]. If there is no immediate intervention, some of these aggressive behaviours, can lead to serious societal consequences, such as extreme forms of bullying or irreversible negative effects such as delinquency [ 2 ]. Bullying is a repeated aggressive behavior with the intention to afflict physical, emotional, or mental harm and usually results from a power imbalance [ 3 ]. To differentiate, bullying others without using electronic or digital means is nowadays considered to be “traditional bullying”; when technology is used to intentionally harm others, it is referred to as cyberbullying. School bullying and neighborhood bullying are two examples of traditional bullying, while cyberbullying is a result of technology, such as the Internet [ 4 ].

Traditional bullying, or face-to-face bullying, is further subdivided into physical, verbal, or social/emotional/relational bullying. Acts such as hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching, and pushing or damaging property are considered different forms of physical bullying. Contrarily, name-calling, insults, use of swear words, teasing, intimidation, and rude remarks are different kinds of verbal abuse or verbal bullying. Social bullying, sometimes referred to as covert/relational or emotional bullying, is often challenging to recognize and can be carried out behind the bullied person’s back. It is designed to harm someone’s social reputation and/or to cause them humiliation. The most common types of this behavior include lying and spreading rumors, negative facial or physical gestures, menacing or contemptuous looks, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, mimicking unkindly, encouraging others to socially exclude someone, damaging someone’s social reputation, or affecting acceptance of the person [ 5 ].

The advent of technology and frequent internet usage has introduced a more technologically-oriented form of aggression known as cyber aggression [ 6 ]. It is defined as ‘intentional harm delivered by the use of electronic means to a person or a group of people irrespective of their age who perceive(s) such acts as offensive, derogatory, harmful or unwanted’ [ 7 ]. Englander et al. (2017) defined cyberbullying as willful and repeated harm inflicted upon a victim through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices [ 8 ]. Even though several initiatives and interventions have been designed to prevent and control this harmful behavior, the rate of cyberbullying and traditional bullying continues to rise around the world [ 9 ]. Facebook statistics revealed that between 2017 and 2021, harassment-related posts constantly increased [ 10 ]. Delgado (2020) also reported that abusive language among children and teens rose by 70% and more soon after engagement in online classes [ 11 ]. Moreover, as school work had to be done from home, traditional bullying was replaced by cyberbullying in households [ 12 ].

The issue of bullying and cyberbullying has gained prominence worldwide, but for educational institutions in Pakistan, this matter has yet to be studied in depth. Additionally, the vast majority of the data collected and published are based on respondents’ self-reports, which may be skewed by social desirability biases or misremembrance issues, thus undermining validity. The aim of this article is to discuss the range of traditional bullying and cyberbullying and their concomitants in Pakistan’s educational system by including experiences of teachers working at different educational institutions. Moreover, the need for a socially and culturally adapted/newly developed bullying intervention will be discussed by revisiting steps and interventions taken in the past and the data gathered from teachers.

Theoretical background

The theoretical basis for explaining the concept of bullying and aggression.

Aggression is a broad term comprising multiple constructs and is not just limited to behavior evaluated at the symptom level [ 13 ]. Aggression is also described from a variety of perspectives including antisocial behavior, juvenile delinquency, coercion, assertiveness, or bullying [ 14 ]. Gay (1999) summarized the concept of the Psychoanalytical Theory presented by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century and stated that aggression is an innate and fundamental feeling which is a part of human nature; it is essential for defense and the fight for dominance [ 15 ]. Pinker (2012) supported Freud’s concept and explained that the motive behind bullying is the need for power, which is a special kind of instrumental violence that is inherent in human nature [ 16 , 17 ]. Dehue (2013); Slonje et al ., (2013) reported that traditional bullying and cyberbullying behaviors constitute unjustified aggression, based on power imbalance, and continue over time [ 18 , 19 ]. A psychoanalytic model explains that human nature is always seeking superiority, and bullying is a way of displaying authority and showcasing prestigiousness.

In early studies, one of the other main factors being considered was frustration as a cause of aggression [ 20 ]. Similarly, Agnew (1992) developed a General Strain Theory and defined strain as events or conditions that individuals dislike, with strains also classified as the inability to achieve desired goals, the presentation of harmful or negatively valued stimuli, and the loss of desirable stimuli [ 21 ]. All these strains can be seen as major contributors to a perpetrator’s involvement in bullying behavior and victims’ transformation into perpetrators. The literature has elaborated that bullying and cyberbullying are generally associated with people who have been maltreated or have a higher level of anxiety, academic difficulties, passive aggressive behaviors, and internalizing and externalizing problems than their peers [ 22 – 24 ].

Albert Bandura introduced the concept of social learning in the development of aggression. He further elaborated that interventions designed to modify behavior via rewards and punishment were incomplete for explaining the development of behaviors, as humans tend to mimic others and learn from them [ 25 ]. Garandeau and Cillessen (2006) explained that perpetrators are popular and considered to have competent social-cognitive skills [ 26 ]. The desire for supremacy and high status are some of the motives behind bullying others [ 27 ]. Bystanders often mimic bullies to gain the same social influence as they perceive a bully’s fame and peers’ anxiety about becoming the next victim.

Another theory regarding child behavior is the Social Information Processing Theory (SIP), which examines how children and teenagers process information in social contexts. According to SIP, children with disruptive behavior problems perceive, interpret, and make decisions about social information in a way that increases their likelihood of engaging in aggressive behavior [ 28 ]. Attachment problems or coercive cycles could explain such difficulties with interpersonal processing. Similarly, coercive parenting can explain harsh parental behavior such as hitting, yelling, scolding, threatening, rejection, and psychological control to achieve compliance from the child. As an example of how social information processing theory is applied, a child may assume another child intentionally pushed them in the lunch line rather than assuming it was an accident.

Social Interaction Theory proposed by Tedeschi and Felson (1994) demonstrated aggression as psychologically influenced behavior aimed at changing the target’s behavior [ 29 ]. These actions are used by a perpetrator to obtain something valuable such as money, goods, information, services, or to achieve desired social or self-identity. Anderson and Bushman (2002) introduced the General aggression model (GAM) that integrated existing mini-theories of aggression into an amalgamated whole. This model is more comprehensive, explains aggressive acts based on multiple motives, and provides broader insights into child-rearing and development issues [ 30 ].

Status and frequency of bullying and cyberbullying in Pakistan

The increase of bullying and cyberbullying in academic settings in recent years is indisputable [ 31 ] and has been established as a serious public health problem [ 32 ], with long-term negative effects on physical and mental health [ 33 ]. Similarly, traditional and cyberbullying have not only found their way into Pakistan’s higher educational institutions, but appear in primary and secondary schools as well [ 34 , 35 ]. Various investigations have shown that bullying and cyberbullying are common practices in Pakistan’s educational institutions and have affected the physical, emotional, and mental health of students.

Saleem et al. (2021) report that the level of cyberbullying has substantially increased in educational institutions in Pakistan [ 35 ]. Data gathered from universities of the province of Sindh has confirmed that cyberbullying is common in urban universities. Previously, Musharraf and Anis-ul-Haque (2018) also supported the findings of [ 35 ] and found that more than 60% of university students were involved in cyberbullying behavior [ 36 ]. Similarly, Mirza et al . (2020) found that cyberbullying is ubiquitous in higher educational institutions [ 37 ].

Saleem et al. (2021) added that substantial differences in victimization and perpetrators were found with respect to socioeconomic status and access to the Internet [ 35 ]. Further, Rafi (2019) reports that linguistic skills were exploited by the aggressors to victimize the participants [ 38 ]. Young social media addicts often have offline disputes, which becomes the rudimental rationale for cyber-associated behaviour [ 38 – 40 ]. Although studies concluded that boys are more involved in perpetration and victimization, researchers have reported that females have also been victimized through conventional and online media. Magsi et al. (2017) found that females in universities are also being scoffed at and harassed using electronic media, but about half of the victims do not disclose this due to cultural and religious restraints and to protect themselves from being blamed as immoral [ 41 ]. Women suffer in silence and as a self-defense leave activities that are taking play in cyberspace. Lack of knowledge about how to handle cyberbullying and lack of trust in law enforcement agencies are additional important factors that encourage bullies to victimize women in urban university settings. It is also reported that females are more susceptible to developing anxiousness due to cyber victimization as compared to their male counterparts [ 36 ]. Additionally, both targets of bullying and offenders of bullying experienced adverse emotional and social consequences. Bullying perpetrators exhibited a greater severity of depressive symptoms due to problems in psychosocial functioning [ 42 ].

Bullying and cyberbullying is not limited to the university level but have permeated the schooling system in Pakistan [ 34 , 42 – 45 ]. Khawaja et al. (2015) found that violence in the form of physical and verbal abuse is commonplace in major cities and provincial capitals [ 44 ]. Asif (2016) further added that bullying and victimization are also associated with poor academic performance [ 46 ] and they are one of the causes of the high dropout rate in schools [ 45 ].

Murshid (2017) and Musharraf and Anis-ul-Haque (2018) reported that victimization is the major cause of mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression among youth in Pakistan, while low to middle-income countries like Pakistan have limited resources to address such mental issues [ 47 , 48 ]. It is recommended in recent publications [ 6 , 35 , 49 , 50 ] to build support centers in academic settings to deal with bullying and cyberbullying situations and to implement anti-bullying interventions. The goal of these centers is to raise students’ awareness of prevention and coping measures. In Pakistan, interventions should be tailored to the country’s specific circumstances.

Sources of frustration-aggression in Pakistani society

Dollard et al. (1939) considered that frustration and dissatisfaction are the main causes of aggression development [ 51 ]. In continuation, the concept of displaced aggression described by Denson et al. (2006) also explains how the level of frustration redirects aggression to an alternative target to cope with stress [ 52 ]. Moreover, Patchin and Hinduja (2011) explained bullying behaviour in terms of the General Strain Theory (Agnew, 1992) that argues that individuals who experience strain feel angry or frustrated as a result and are more at risk to engage in criminal, deviant or bullying behavior [ 21 , 53 ]. Correspondingly, traditional bullying and cyberbullying are more common among people who are traditionally or cyber victimized, show a high level of anxiety, academic difficulties, passive-aggressive behaviours, and internalizing and externalizing problems than among their peers [ 22 – 24 ]. Husain (2000) reported that post-independence economic development has predominantly benefited a small class of the elite, while the majority of the population remains uneducated and poor [ 54 ]. Unemployment, accelerating inflation, uncontrolled population growth and low literacy rates are some additional enduring factors in the declining standard of living of Pakistan’s major population [ 55 , 56 ]. Rapid urbanization, limited and insecure water supply [ 57 ], food insecurity and malnutrition [ 58 ] are some of the additional factors that contribute to rising aggression in Pakistan’s society. Empirically, it is reported that there is a high prevalence of behavioral problems and emotional and behavioral difficulties among Pakistani school children [ 34 ].

Supporting the statements of [ 34 ] and elaborating the reasons behind the behavioral problems of children, Asad et al . (2017) and Karmaliani et al . (2017) emphasized that peer violence in Pakistan is rooted in poverty and the socialization of children, especially at home [ 59 , 60 ]. Murshid (2018) reported that one of the reasons for victimization is poor hygiene that indicates victims’ disadvantaged social class to bullies [ 61 ].

Malik and Abdullah (2017) concluded on the basis of information gathered from teachers and students that violent programs on TV, news and discussions on unemployment, under-employment, and other socio-political problems were a major source of aggression among youths in Pakistan [ 62 ]. Concerning bullying, the majority of students, as well as teachers, rated verbal bullying to be a catalyst for aggression.

Interestingly, despite low economic conditions in Pakistan, internet use has significantly increased in the past two decades. In 2001, only 1.3% of the population used the internet [ 63 ], but by 2012, Pakistan was at the top 20 th position in the world in terms of internet users [ 64 ]. One of the major reasons for the spread of the internet is the huge competition in the ISP (Internet Service Providers) and telecommunication market. The easy availability of WIFI [ 65 ] and accessibility of smartphones at ever cheaper rates have caused the number of mobile internet users to increase consistently [ 66 ].

Status and conditions of interventions in Pakistan’s context

International investigations have indicated that countries with a higher prevalence of face-to-face traditional bullying have a high level of cyberbullying as well [ 67 ]. Cyberbullying seems to co-occur with traditional bullying [ 24 ] and interventions should be pertinent for managing both types of bullying, otherwise, several studies have shown that controlling one form of bullying can lead to the perpetrator engaging in other forms of bullying [ 68 , 69 ]. Many of the interventions dealing with traditional school bullying are modified for tackling cyberbullying issues on the presumptions of similarities in both types of bullying behaviour. Both constitute unjustified aggression, based on a power imbalance, and persist over time. Repetition criteria are debated among scientists as it is not as obvious in cyberbullying as it is in traditional bullying [ 18 , 19 ].

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan has reported that delinquency related to the internet is constantly rising [ 70 ]. Although statistics have unveiled a higher number of cyber risks behaviours especially in youngsters, interventions designed to control cyberbullying and consequences are substandard so far in Pakistan’s context [ 35 ]. Similarly, despite a high frequency and concerns about bullying and victimization as a public health issue in low- and middle-income countries in addition to the chronicity of behavioral problems there are limited policies and interventions designed, implemented, and evaluated [ 34 ]. One of the effective trials conducted by McFarlane et al. (2017) was the application of an international intervention program named "Right to Play Intervention" [ 43 ]. In this whole-school approach students were engaged with different physical activities to help build their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills. Right To Play’s Positive Child and Youth Development program in Pakistan includes games and activities from the manual Red Ball Child Play that focuses on 4 areas of youth development, including physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains. However, this intervention did not produce convincing results and the authors suggested several limitations and differences in the context of Pakistan in terms of climate, living conditions, attitudes towards school, etc. Contrarily, in another study by Karmaliani et al. (2020) play-based life-skills interventions delivered in public schools in Pakistan were able to elicit a significant reduction in peer violence [ 71 ].

Maryam and Ijaz (2019) also attempted to integrate some of the activities from the anti-bullying program of Operation Respect from the USA in addition to behavioral and cognitive techniques used in therapy with school children in Pakistan [ 72 , 73 ]. The program was implemented over a 4-months timespan with the main focus on enhancing the pro-social skills, emotional management and problem-solving aptitude of the victims. The participants showed improvement in the skills taught to them, and an overall reduction was seen in the incidents of bullying.

Hakim and Shah (2017) investigated strategies used to control bullying in primary schools of Haripur, Pakistan. They found that the majority of the teachers adopted the strategy of providing a safe physical environment by instructing about rules before engaging students in any activity to control bullying and behavioral problems [ 74 ]. It should be noted that teachers’ job satisfaction can also be achieved by creating a conducive working environment and fostering strong relationships [ 75 ]. However, detailed information and steps for the creation of a conducive environment were not specifically discussed or elaborated in the study of Hakim and Shah (2017) [ 74 ]. Similarly, involving parents and students to stand against bullying was also reported by teachers but content, methodology, and details of the intervention programs were not provided or clarified. It is concluded that while there are general rules of understanding on how to handle bullying issues, expertise in this field is still insufficient.

This review of the limited number of interventions in Pakistan has shown that there is a need for intervention of bullying and cyberbullying. Moreover, most of the interventions adapted/adopted and applied were only focusing on one aspect of training like engaging with physical activities [ 43 , 71 ], creating safe physical environment [ 74 ], enhancing pro-social skills or emotion regulation of the victims [ 72 ]. Naveed et al. (2020) have further emphasized the need to comprehend the underlying patterns of behavioral difficulties in order to devise effective pragmatic anti-bullying initiatives, school-based mental health services and psychosocial counseling procedures [ 34 ]. Using a literature review, which focuses on Pakistan’s particular context, the authors of the current study conducted a baseline survey to get a snapshot of what teachers believe about bullying incidents and what interventions they expect to be able to use to identify, combat, and stand up to bullying. Educators have a broader role to play than just in the classroom; they can contribute to the overall planning and implementation of schools’ policies and plans [ 76 ]. Teachers are the primary agents that can influence the entire school environment by introducing measures against bullying perpetration and victimization [ 77 ]. A constant presence of teachers in classrooms throughout the academic year also allows students to seek help whenever they experience or witness bullying or victimization. When designing a teacher-led intervention, it is essential to obtain information about bullying in educational institutions from teachers and to ask their opinions about the intervention design they will use to address bullying. With this goal in mind, this study was designed to obtain the necessary information from teachers before designing and implementing a teacher-led intervention program.

The present study used a quantitative cross-sectional survey design to determine the prevalence of different forms of bullying in educational institutions of Pakistan. Many of the referenced researchers noted that the prevalence of bullying and its subtypes in educational institutions in Pakistan is understudied [ 6 , 34 , 35 , 49 , 50 ]. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by expanding the knowledge about bullying and its categories in Pakistani educational institutions.

Ethical statement

The researchers followed basic ethical principles and the APA’s ethical code. Participants provided informed consent through an online forum which can be considered written consent since, after reading details about the purpose of the study, anonymity, free participation, planned use of data, and the right to end participation without negative consequences, they explicitly agreed to these study conditions by clicking the "Agree" button at the beginning of the online survey. In this way, informed consent was assured according to the ethical guidelines and federal legislation. Participants were adults and the questionnaire did not relate to their own victimization experiences thus the probability of re-victimization was low. Ethical review and approval were not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The entire study and questionnaire were reviewed by the second author’s research team consisting of educational psychologists and educationalists and two educators from a private university in the Metropolis City of Pakistan who are well acquainted with the educational system of Pakistan. The team of reviewers found no potential conflict of interest or harm to participants, nor any activities that went beyond the ethical code of conduct.

Instruments

The study variables were assessed using a questionnaire in which teachers reported the prevalence of bullying among students as they perceived it.

Demographics.

Participants’ demographic information was used to determine their level of teaching (e.g. primary, secondary), type of institution (e.g. public, private) and place of institution (urban, rural).

In order to assess cyberbullying from the teachers’ perspectives, an adapted version of the Berlin Cyberbullying-Cybervictimization Questionnaire (BCyQ) by Schultze-Krumbholz and Scheithauer (2011) was used [ 78 ]. Teachers were asked 17 statements on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = frequently) to identify their perceptions of cyberbullying incidents among students ( Example statements : “Bad things were told/written about student on the Internet or by mobile phone to destroy his/her friendships or reputation . ” , “Student received messages on the Internet or by mobile phone in which he/she was verbally abused or insulted . ” ).

To assess social bullying among students from the teachers’ perspective researchers adapted and contextualized 10 items developed by Doğruer (2015) [ 79 ]. A five-point Likert scale was used (1 = never to 5 = frequently). ( Example statements : “Some student(s) prevent other students from being friends with people they don’t like . ” , “Some student(s) tell lies and stories about others students to make them look bad . ”) .

Verbal bullying among students was measured using adapted and contextualized items from various studies [ 79 – 81 ]. Eight items with a five-point Likert scale were used (1 = never to 5 = frequently). ( Example statements : “Some student(s) swears at others . ” , Some student(s) has insulted or said nasty words to others . ” , “Some student(s) threatens to physically hurt someone . ”) .

Nine items were adapted and contextualized from various studies [ 80 – 82 ] to measure physical bullying among students on a five-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = frequently). ( Example statements : “Some student(s) has thrown things at another student or hit others with an object for physical abuse . ” , “Some student(s) has tripped (causing someone to stumble or fall) another student on purpose . ”) .

Teachers’ opinions about new antibullying interventions were also measured with six items to better understand what educators expect from new interventions. Identifying the characteristics of an intervention that teachers expect to help in controlling bullying in their schools was the primary goal. Each item was based on a single question (Refer to Table 6).

The questionnaire was reviewed by the research team of the second author consisting of educational psychologists and educational scientists and two educators from a private university in the Metropolis City of Pakistan who are well acquainted with Pakistan’s educational system. Several items were revised by the German and Pakistani experts in order to avoid ambiguous statements, to eliminate duplicate or compound questions, and to contextualize and adjust statements for better understanding by Pakistani teachers.

Participants

Using Google forms, a questionnaire survey was conducted online. Over 1,000 forms were sent to educators to invite them to participate in the study. The researchers followed basic ethical principles and the APA’s ethical code. Teachers were informed about the study’s purpose, voluntariness of participation and were given the right to withdraw from the study. In total, 454 teachers from different parts of Pakistan responded to the questionnaire from November 2021 until January 2022. The demographics of the participants are summarized in Table 1 .

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Most of the responding teachers were from secondary-level education (41%), from urban settings (80.2%), and associated with private educational institutions (59.3%). Also, teachers were asked about the source of information concerning bullying incidents (see Table 4) and the most common plattform for cyberbullying (see Table 5).

Data analysis

Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation in SPSS 27. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were computed using SPSS 27 and AMOS 22. To determine if the sample data is drawn from a normally distributed population (within a certain tolerance), a normality test is usually performed. Several statistical tests require normally distributed sample populations, such as the student’s t-test and the one-way and two-way ANOVA. Normality can have serious effects in small samples, but this impact effectively diminishes when sample size reaches 30 according to Cohen et al. (2002) and 50 according to de Winter et al. (2009) [ 83 , 84 ]. This means that the sampling distribution of the mean can be assumed to be normal if each sample contains a large number of observations (in the present study n = 454).

Factor analysis

Pre-analyses indicated that the sample size is satisfactory as the KMO value is higher than 0.7 (.961) [ 85 , 86 ] and an exploratory factor analysis can be conducted as the Bartlett’s test is significant (χ 2 (630) = 10533.685, p < .001) [ 87 , 88 ]. Results of the factor analysis and factor loadings are shown in Table 2 . After the factor analysis some of the items were removed to satisfy model fit criteria and reliability indexes. The final questionnaire was based on 36 questions with 4 main factors (Cyberbullying- 13 items, Social Bullying- 9 items, Verbal Bullying-7 items, Physical Bullying-7 items) (Refer to Table 2 ).

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For every construct, Cronbach’s is higher than 0.7, indicating that the subscales are reliable [ 89 ] (Refer to Table 2 ). Construct validity is established through Average Variance Extracted (AVE) which was 0.60 and can be considered as good [ 90 ]. Further indicators of model fit also show that the instrument meets the model fit criteria ( χ 2 /df = 2.650, CFI = .904, RMR = .066, RMSEA = .054, AGFI = .815, IFI = .905, PCFI = .810, PNFI = .716).

Prevalence of bullying in educational institutions

The results regarding the frequency of different types of bullying incidents are shown in Table 3 . The purpose of compiling this information is to determine how many teachers have witnessed bullying incidents among students and shared their experiences. From the Table 4 , it appears that teachers have witnessed more social and verbal bullying incidents (mean values are higher than 3) than physical and cyberbullying.

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The first common source of information is “sharing between a teacher and a colleague” (see Table 4 ). In addition, the majority of reported cases involved teachers themselves witnessing incidents and documenting them in surveys. The third common source of information was that the victim himself/herself reported it to the teacher. This shows that peer bystanders are least likely to speak out about the incident as compared to victimized children.

Additionally, which cyber platform is most commonly used for cyberbullying was also collected and is shown in Table 5 . Participants were asked to respond to the question: In terms of cyberbullying incidents which is the most common networking site students are using? The information gathered indicates that Facebook is still the most commonly used network for cyberbullying, followed by Instagram and TikTok.

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Association of bullying with level of teaching and educational setting

To understand the association between the level of teaching and different forms of bullying, the Pearson correlation test was run (Refer to Table 6 ). There is a significant decrease in the cases of physical bullying as the teaching level increases, which indicates that the physical form of bullying is more prevalent in primary schools than at higher educational institutions. In addition, cyberbullying is positively correlated with traditional forms of bullying, suggesting that institutions where cyberbullying is prevalent also experience higher levels of physical, verbal, and social bullying.

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To examine the difference between educational institutional settings (independent variable) regarding different forms of bullying (dependent variable), one-way ANOVA tests were conducted (Refer to Tables 7 and 8 ). Using one-way ANOVA, bullying incidents among students were compared by locality of the educational institution (urban, sub-urban, and rural). According to the analysis, there was a significant difference for social bullying (F (2,451) = 7.419, p = 0.001). However, no significant differences were found for physical, verbal, or cyberbullying. According to a post-hoc analysis using the Tukey method, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of social bullying in rural (M = 3.004, SD = 0.74615) and urban institutions (M = 3.42, SD = 0.81050). From mean differences, we found that urban teachers reported more cases of social bullying than their rural counterparts (see Table 8 ). In this study, teachers from urban schools were more likely to respond (N = 364) compared to teachers from rural schools (N = 63), leading to uneven group sizes. The discussion section outlines some other possible explanations for these differences. Similarly, one-way ANOVA was also conducted to examine differences between bullying incidents (dependent variable) in public, private and semi-private institutions (independent variables). No significant difference was observed.

Dependent Variable: Form of Bullying.

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Teachers’ opinions about new intervention

Teachers were also asked about various aspects of new interventions to control traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Table 9 provides an overview of the items and participants’ responses. Finally, recommendations and suggestions offer further insight into teachers’ opinions.

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In this research paper, the authors collected information about bullying incidents among students observed and reported by teachers. It becomes evident that teachers have noticed more social and verbal bullying incidents than physical bullying and cyberbullying. The opposite has been found in other studies when data was collected from students in Pakistan, which showed that traditional and cyberbullying was a frequent practice in Pakistan’s educational institutions [ 34 , 35 ]. Investigations have shown that bullying and cyberbullying occur regularly in Pakistan’s educational institutions, which negatively affect the mental, emotional, and physical health of Pakistan’s children and young adults [ 35 , 37 , 48 ]. Khawaja et al. (2015) found physical and verbal violence as a prevalent occurrence in major cities and provincial capitals’ institutions of Pakistan [ 44 ]. However, the present data collected from teachers do not support the claim that bullying is prevalent in schools in the form of cyber or physical afflictions. Teachers’ lack of interaction with students on social networking platforms where cyberbullying happens can be a contributing factor for deviating reports of cyberbullying. In addition, teachers usually aren’t members of groups on social networking sites where students engage in cyberbullying and, since students maintain anonymity, teachers can’t report or respond to students engaging in cyberbullying. Aside from that, the involvement in continuous online teaching platforms has reduced the time available for teachers to interact with students for socializing purposes or networking. Studies have shown that during the pandemic, online teaching-related technology stress suppresses the urge among teachers to interact online for purposes other than those related to education [ 91 ]. As a result of these contradictory statements, it can be concluded that bullying and cyberbullying are prevalent in educational institutions, but teachers are infrequently exposed to those incidents or are unfamiliar with them, and need training to identify victimization and perpetrator behavior to intervene effectively and control unacceptable behavior.

Research has revealed that physical bullying tends to decrease as one goes up the educational ladder. This means physical bullying is more prevalent in primary schools than in higher education institutions. Zych et al . (2020) found that physical bullying decreases throughout adolescence, which is consistent with these results [ 92 ]. Contrary to Rafi et al. (2019), no significant difference was found between cyberbullying incidents and age in the present study [ 38 ]. Our results further demonstrate that cyberbullying is positively correlated with verbal, physical and social forms of bullying in institutions with a higher prevalence of cyberbullying, these forms of bullying are occurring more commonly. These results are in line with the explanation given by Kowalski et al. (2014) who stated that cyberbullying usually occurs in conjunction with traditional bullying, and institutions where cyberbullying is common also have a higher incidence of traditional bullying incidents [ 24 ].

Bjereld (2018) argued that victims often fear being seen as victims by others and thus attempt to conceal their victimization [ 93 ]. Victims are usually unenthusiastic to share their suffering due to multiple reasons such as distrust of adults and concern about being blamed [ 93 ]. On the contrary, the present teacher data revealed that bystanders are the least likely to report an incident. Bystanders are often the first to witness an incident and report it to a teacher, which is why in most interventions they are a central target of training [ 93 ]. However, the number of bystanders reporting an incident to a teacher or intervening directly appears to be lowest in Pakistan. Gordon (2019) reported numerous reasons why bystanders do not intervene or communicate incidents to adults [ 94 ]: fear of being victimized for reporting or intervening, a lack of knowledge of what to do in such a situation, mistrust of adults, having been taught to stay away from this kind of situations, and moral disengagement beliefs. There is still a need to investigate the reasons for the silence of bystanders in Pakistan. Additionally, the bystanders’ role in the bullying chain should be emphasized in upcoming intervention designs for Pakistan’s educational institutions.

Many of the social networking sites have been used as a venue for cyberbullying activities such as Instagram [ 95 ], twitter [ 96 ], Facebook [ 97 ], TikTok [ 98 ], WhatsApp [ 99 ], Snapchat [ 100 ], YouTube [ 101 ] Zoom [ 102 ], and online games [ 103 ]. However, our data from teachers in Pakistan showed that Facebook continues to be the most frequently used social networking platform where cyberbullying incidents are observed. There is a possibility that other platforms that are gaining more popularity among young people are being misused for cyberbullying. Teachers, however, still preferably use Facebook and therefore haven’t noticed such incidents on other social networks. In order to find out the popularity of emerging social networks among youths, data should also be collected from them to reveal the true picture of social networking. Moreover, despite efforts being made by social networking sites to control bullying, there is still a considerable prevalence of bullying that indicates that users need training to protect themselves and others from cyber harms of online networking.

As Tayyaba (2012) demonstrates, there are differences between rural and urban educational institutions that are related to differences in student performance [ 104 ]. Different parenting styles, social characteristics and school climate may be responsible for this. As a result, the opinions and experiences of teachers may also differ regarding bullying issues. However, this area of research is still understudied and requires more comprehensive and detailed investigations. Moreover, a baseline assessment should always be conducted so that differences between rural and urban settings can be taken into account and bullying interventions can be tailored to the needs of individual schools.

Recommendations and suggestions

The previous sections already discussed that there are limited interventions designed to control traditional bullying in schools and hardly any intervention for controlling cyberbullying successfully implemented in Pakistan. It is now a major concern whether adopting Western school-based bullying control interventions would be promising in South Asia. Moreover, it is a question whether overburdened teachers will be able to participate and implement the program successfully. Based on the review of the literature and the baseline survey from teachers there are a few suggestions made by the authors for addressing this problem in Pakistan’s educational institutions.

• McFarlane et al. (2017) reported that Pakistan is a particularly challenging country for evaluating international interventions because of multiple variations in terms of climate and school cultures [ 43 ]. Given the specific societal, political, economic, and climatic challenges that teachers and students encounter in Pakistan [ 43 ], school-based interventions cannot produce successful results unless combined with some other measures. It is possible to introduce web-based interventions through teachers’ professional development. Web-based interventions are also considered a cost-effective strategy, which can maintain anonymity/privacy and can address a large number of people [ 105 ]. These reports were cross-examined by asking about the teachers’ preferred mode of training (blended, online or face-to-face training). A surprising 55.1% of the participants wanted to meet instructors in person and preferred face-to-face training sessions. Due to the difficulties Pakistani teachers faced during the transition to online learning and teaching, this phase has left a negative impression on teachers about online instruction. The failure of online learning to produce effective results has been attributed to multiple reasons [ 106 – 108 ]. The challenges of digital transformation of the educational system include poor internet signals/strength, high internet connectivity costs, electricity load shedding, lack of training and readiness of remote learners, difficulty in group activities, unreliable assessment methods and results, and insufficient interaction among participants and instructors [ 106 , 108 ]. Some of the students reported health concerns from continuous online learning such as eye sight and ear pain issues [ 50 ]. Beside the lack of immediate feedback, the practical component of learning is also cited as a major problem [ 107 ]. In light of this observation, the authors suggest that teachers receive on-site training for anti-bullying intervention.
• Cyberbullying is usually accompanied by traditional bullying [ 24 ] and it is recommended that interventions designed should be pertinent to managing both types of bullying, otherwise there are studies where controlling one form of bullying results in involvement of the perpetrators in another type of bullying [ 68 , 69 ]. The statistical results of the current study have also revealed that students at institutions where cyberbullying occurs more frequently are also at greater risk of traditional bullying such as physical, verbal, and social forms. From these interpretations, it is concluded that new intervention programs should not only address traditional bullying but should also target cyberbullying. In addition, literature has shown both cyberbullying and traditional bullying are prevalent in Pakistan, but the teachers’ data explained that the prevalence of cyberbullying or physical assault is less common than other two forms of bullying. These contradictory statements highlight the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying in educational institutions, but educators are rarely exposed to these incidents or are unfamiliar with them. Therefore, educators need training in detecting victimization and perpetrator behaviors. A new intervention should include components that will assist teachers in identifying victimization and perpetration, allowing them to intervene immediately and control the situation.
• The use of mobile apps and Virtual realities (VR) as a combating strategy is also suggested by many researchers. Apps such as Shazam or Unmute Daniel and iZ Hero are some of the technology-based interventions designed to create awareness and prevent bullying [ 109 , 110 ]. The introduction of such programs can be effective in controlling behavioural problems with limited financial resources. Despite technological challenges, 54% of teachers in our study agreed that the use of apps, in combination with face-to-face sessions, can result in more effective training. Out of 454 respondents, 134 supported a neutral position. As a result, researchers suggest creating an app that supports intervention training, where participants can continue to learn at their own pace without being restricted by geography.
• Maddison (2013) has clearly indicated that the social structure of South Asia is more complex than elsewhere [ 111 ]. Moreover, talking about cyber-associated risky behaviours like stalking and sexting is challenging due to cultural, moral, and religious beliefs in the Pakistani community [ 112 ]. Similarly, many families are against co-education and prefer to send their children to single-sex institutions [ 113 ]. Keeping the religious and cultural aspects in mind, teachers were also surveyed regarding their acceptance of segregated settings (men and women separated) for training sessions. Unexpectedly, 283 out of 464 participants are comfortable if they are professionally trained in a group setting with tutors of a different gender as them. It shows that despite religious and cultural beliefs, teachers are ready to study with male or female counterparts. On the other hand, when their perceptions on transferring knowledge to students after training was assessed, almost two thirds of the participants thought segregated classes would provide opportunities for both girls and boys to speak more openly about issues and concerns (if any) with instructors and fellow students. The implementation of separate programs for men and women is also recommended to ensure open dialogue and discussion without hurting any community’s religious or traditional beliefs.
• Religious education is widely used in Pakistan for character building and moral engagement. Previous studies have established that religious education contributes to moral development, like Perrin (2000), who found a positive association between honesty and religiosity [ 114 ]. Nucci (1989) stated, on the contrary, that children should be taught universal values devoid of ethnic and geographical differences in order to live a meaningful life [ 115 ]. He argued that when children are controlled by religious doctrines, they do not adopt these values, rather they rebel and refuse. In order to make an informed recommendation, the present study also asked teachers about their opinion on taking support from holy books, prophets’ behavioral examples, and stories from religious and cultural perspectives to improve children’s behavior. According to the descriptive results, three-fourths of participants agreed that religious support was necessary for the new intervention to be effective.
• Khawaja et al . (2015) suggested that recreational and cultural enrichment programs can be beneficial to pupils, because they are exposed beyond the boundaries of their own community which may create tolerance and the motivation needed to improve their circumstances and behaviors [ 44 ]. Our descriptive findings revealed that about 66% of the teachers believed that forums in which students interact with other cultures and share their experiences would help them to develop tolerance towards others, acceptance of different opinions, and understanding of other cultures. As such, it is recommended that any future interventions emphasize some of the components needed to develop better intercultural perspectives and focus on cultural intelligence.
• Peer training involves students either of the same age or of different ages who learn from each other in a structured manner. This type of training allows students to put their knowledge and skills to use, and creates a platform for both the trainer and trainee to boost their self-confidence. The tutor gains confidence in their ability to assist someone, while the trainee receives encouragement from their peers, strengthening their sense of self-competence [ 116 ]. It is recommended that along with teachers’ professional development, components for peer training should also be introduced to control bullying incidents in educational settings.

Practical implications

This research study served as a baseline assessment conducted prior to the development of a teacher-led anti-bullying training program and has several practical implications. An analysis of the survey provided a comprehensive understanding of bullying in Pakistani schools and educational institutions. This information has been used to determine the extent of the problem and the need for an anti-bullying training program. The study also revealed what types of bullying are most common and what teachers expect from new interventions. This information can then be used by future researchers to tailor anti-bullying training programs to the specific needs of students.

Conclusions

This study serves as the basis for an anti-bullying intervention developed for a teacher training course. It is novel in that it does not rely on student self-reports of bullying incidences and frequencies as most of the previous studies in Pakistan have done and it includes teacher perceptions and experiences. The results show some clear differences to the research conducted previously in Pakistan.

A review of literature has already demonstrated that bullying and cyberbullying are undeniably prevalent in Pakistan’s educational system and society and there is a dire need to develop and integrate bullying interventions. The current study also confirmed that verbal and social forms of bullying are widespread from the teachers’ point of view. This study has provided a new perspective and general recommendations for planning and implementing new, socially contextualized anti-bullying interventions for teachers in Pakistan. According to the baseline survey, the intervention should not only explain how to handle and control bullying, but it should also provide training for teachers to help them identify victimization and perpetrator behavior, both in traditional schools and online. Moreover, it is equally imperative that intervention should be focused on both traditional and cyber forms of bullying, as both of these are prevalent in educational institutions. In Pakistan, bystanders are least likely to intervene or report bullying to teachers, though they are considered the strongest link in the bullying chain. It is also helpful to train peers or bystanders to intervene as soon as a bullying incident is observed.

The study findings have assisted the authors in developing a low-cost antibullying program led by teachers. Teachers will receive professional development in addressing bullying in institutions to implement the intervention design based on the outcomes of this study. An important concern is whether a teacher-led intervention can empower students to reduce their negative behavior in the context of poverty and social norms supportive of violence. To ensure the effectiveness of the new intervention design, further research is recommended for the future.

Limitations and directions for future research

Despite its strengths, the study also has certain limitations. Increasing the sample size and including additional educational stakeholders such as administrators, counselors, and educational institution staff could provide a better insight into the issues. In addition, translated versions of the instruments are recommended, especially for teachers from rural areas where English is not commonly used for academic or communication purposes. A major limitation is the cross-sectional design of the study, which generally does not accurately capture actual measurement invariance scores over time. It is therefore suggested that similar studies be repeated with a longitudinal design, changing the sample size and including data from more institutions in different regions of Pakistan.

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Cyber Bullying in Pakistan: Statistical, Legislative, and Social Analysis

Present study focuses female Lawyers, a community considered vigilant over their rights, suffering from cyber bullying within their professional lives at bar and chamber practice. This silent impact of cyber-bullying discourages young female lawyers to continue their profession leaving significant gender disparity (Siddique, 2013). Half of the participants tried to keep their encounters with bullying secret and did not seek legal remedy out of morality and defamation both at family and peer-groups. Furthermore, the findings of this study demonstrated that young female lawyers do not trust operation of legal system in remedying their grievance. It is also significant that some of female lawyers did not know about current legal framework on cyber harassment. This paper will deal the issue of cyber-bullying related to young female lawyers at three levels; statistical, legislative, and social awareness.

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Cyberbullying Research in Pakistan

Here is the research we’ve found on cyberbullying in Pakistan, with the most recent first. Please email us if you have any articles to add with the details ordered in the same format as the others.  

Authors: Iqbal, S., and Jami, H.

Title: Exploring Definition of Cyberbullying and its Forms From the Perspective of Adolescents Living in Pakistan

Journal: Psychological Studies

URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12646-022-00689-0

Abstract: There exists a great disparity in the literature on the definition of cyberbullying. This research aimed to explore the definition and forms of cyberbullying from adolescents’ perspectives. Six focus groups (N = 36) were conducted with participants aged 16–21 years (M = 17.6, SD = 1.8). The focus group guide was used to gain an understanding of adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of cyberbullying. The thematic analysis revealed that, contrary to the literature, participants do not apply traditional bullying definition (intention, repetition, and power imbalance) to cyberbullying. They argue about the relevance of traditional bullying criteria in certain contexts. For example, they stressed upon the perception of the victim, if the victim perceives something emotionally damaging, then intention, repetition and power imbalance become completely irrelevant. Memes and cybermobs were also found to be novel forms of cyberbullying. The current research extends the literature by adding adolescents’ perceived definitions and novel forms of cyberbullying.

Authors: Saleem, S., Khan, N.F., and Zafar, S.

Title: Prevalence of cyberbullying victimization among Pakistani Youth

Journal: Technology in Society

URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160791X2100052X

Abstract: Cyberbullying has seen an exponential increase in the education sector in recent years. With most of the literature originating from the developed and/or western countries, there is a dearth of reported studies in different social-cultural settings of the developing countries. In this context, the present study measures cyberbullying victimization amongst university students in Pakistan. The targeted population was six universities in the Sindh province. The data was collected using Cyberbullying Scale, employing the multistage stratified sampling technique. The study was carried out on a sample of 273 students in the age bracket of 18–25 years to ascertain cyberbullying differences in terms of demographics, digital divide, and socioeconomic variables. The results show that cyberbullying is prevalent in the country. Substantial differences were found with respect to languages, access to the Internet, and socioeconomic status with small effect sizes. However, no significant difference was found with respect to gender, age, and the area they belong to (urban or rural). The results of the study imply that there is a need for support centers in academic settings to deal with the cyberbullying situation. These centers should develop and implement anti-bullying interventions. They should also increase student awarness of preventive measures and coping strategies.

Authors: Jami, H., Masood, S., Ashraf, F., Kanwal, H., Iqbal, S. and Bibi, R.

Title: Conceptualizing Cyberbullying Victimization Prevention Among Pakistani Youth

Journal: [couldn’t find]

URL: https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/pqtczgta/release/1?readingCollection=2b90877e

Abstract: Globally, where increased exposure to information and communication technology (ICT) has improved youth’s efficacy in using technology and internet, it is also posing unique challenges and threat to mental health of youth in context of cyberbullying victimization. Out of 207.0 million population in Pakistan, 64% of is below 30 years (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017; UNDP, 2017). Mobile users are 183.20 million; 46.4% is broadband penetration; while internet subscribers are 100.67 million (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, 2021). COVID-19 pandemic has increased internet exposure manifold for school-going and university students. Being avid user of internet, Pakistani youth needs immediate attention for guided and appropriate use of technology and internet to capitalise upon their internet efficacy and enjoy latest technological advancements without fear of being victimised in cyberspace. This symposium is based on four independent studies that provide insight about underlying dynamics of cyberbullying victimization among youth. These helped in conceptualising a prevention program to curb cybervictimization among Pakistani youth, which is in the process of implementation. A few findings of these studies are shared and discussed in cultural context. Findings reveal that online risky behaviours, personality traits like being callous and unemotional, lacking in empathy, and moral disengagement are behind risky and unethical practices in cyberspace that pave way to cyberbullying victimization. Internet efficacy for ethical use of internet; awareness of law related to electronic/cybercrimes; whom and how to report experiences related to cyberbullying victimization; and role of parents have been highlighted that are incorporated in prevention program later.

Authors: Muhammad, Y., Akhter, M. mumtaz., & Lala,

Title: Exploring Online Peer Harassment Experiences of Female University Students: A Qualitative Study

Journal: Journal of Educational Research

URL: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P4-2354064024/exploring-online-peer-harassment-experiences-of-female

Abstract: In the recent decade, there has been an increase in the use of the internet in Pakistan, and increasingly more female students are using it to communicate with others. However, female students are also facing disproportional harassment via the internet. This study aimed to explore female university students’ experiences related to online harassment victimization, bystander behavior, and perpetration. This study was conducted in a private university in Pakistan, and a basic qualitative study research design was used. Semi-structured- interviews were conducted with 14 graduate and postgraduate students to gather the meaning these participants gave or extracted from the online peer harassment experiences. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. All data related to fourteen participants were coded. Clustering similar codes helped in identifying sub-categories from data. Several assertions were developed by comparing and contrasting various categories and sub-categories. Analysis of the data revealed that all the participants had been victims of online harassment. Moreover, all participants had witnessed online harassment as a bystander. However, they did not interfere considering others’ matters, especially when the person causing the problem was unknown to them for fear of harassment. Interestingly, some of them had also been a perpetrator of online harassment. This study has helped in developing an understanding of the prevalence of cyber-bullying and online harassment among female university students using a small sample. The knowledge produced can help us in developing a digital citizenship curriculum, which is a tool to prepare students for using the technology in a positive and informative way so that female university students’ online experiences can be made better.

Authors: Batool, S., Yousaf, R., & Batool, F.

Title: Bullying in Social Media: An Effect Study of Cyber Bullying on the Youth

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Criminology

URL: http://www.pjcriminology.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/9-2.pdf

Abstract: This research study seeks to investigate bullying in social media and its effects on youth to extract the factors that have influence on their state of mind, academic performance. The survey research under the umbrella of Online Disinhibition Effect approach revealed that the youngsters, both girls and boys, in Pakistan get involved as well as becomes a target via cyber bullying. Moreover, the study concluded that cyber bullying affects the psyche of youth that result in negative consequences on academic performance, emotional disturbance and gaps in relationship. The results showed that there is also a significant gender difference and girls are more likely to be sufferers and more affected via cyberbullying as compared to boys.

Cyberbullying detection and machine learning: a systematic literature review

• Published: 24 July 2023
• Volume 56 , pages 1375–1416, ( 2023 )

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• Vimala Balakrisnan 1 &
• Mohammed Kaity 1  

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The rise in research work focusing on detection of cyberbullying incidents on social media platforms particularly reflect how dire cyberbullying consequences are, regardless of age, gender or location. This paper examines scholarly publications (i.e., 2011–2022) on cyberbullying detection using machine learning through a systematic literature review approach. Specifically, articles were sought from six academic databases (Web of Science, ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore, Association for Computing Machinery, Scopus, and Google Scholar), resulting in the identification of 4126 articles. A redundancy check followed by eligibility screening and quality assessment resulted in 68 articles included in this review. This review focused on three key aspects, namely, machine learning algorithms used to detect cyberbullying, features, and performance measures, and further supported with classification roles, language of study, data source and type of media. The findings are discussed, and research challenges and future directions are provided for researchers to explore.

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Balakrisnan, V., Kaity, M. Cyberbullying detection and machine learning: a systematic literature review. Artif Intell Rev 56 (Suppl 1), 1375–1416 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-023-10553-w

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-023-10553-w

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Artificial Intelligence Implementation to Counteract Cybercrimes Against Children in Pakistan

Saadia anwar pasha.

1 Department of Mass Communication, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan

2 Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Riadh Jeljeli

3 College of Communication and Media, Al Ain University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Increased internet usage also enhances cyberattacks, particularly in a developing country like Pakistan. These cybercrimes are common against children, demanding the implementation of automated systems and models to detect and counteract these crimes. By keeping in view the growing importance of AI-enabled cybersecurity systems, this article provides insights regarding implementing the relevant systems and models to counteract cybercrimes against children in Pakistan. The researchers reviewed current studies witnessing the performance, reliability, and results of AI implementation in different countries to relate their possible potential further to detect, takedown, and trace online violence against children effectively. Findings showed that AI-enabled software, i.e., Spotlight, SomeBuddy, Google AI Tool, etc., and models such as DAPHNE, iCOP toolkit, and PrevBOT can identify and takedown any indecent activity against children. Besides, detecting the perpetrators’ URLs, domains, and personal emails can further help the children resume internet usage in a healthy online environment. Thus, it is concluded that the internet technology is also creating vectors for abuse and exploitation against children. Harnessing powerful technology, i.e., AI, to analyze and manage the data can also enrich investigative functions. Towards this, local government and law enforcement agencies should resort to suggested tools that may identify even keywords and images. Further, the researchers have provided policy recommendations and discussed the limitations accordingly.

Introduction

There is a wealth of opportunities for the users on the internet. However, today, when from financial assets to one’s personal information is available on the internet, data preservation, privacy, and security are some of the major concerns, increasing the need for cybersecurity as comparatively more effective and strong (Bhatele et al., 2019 ). For instance, individuals saving their bank account details and residential information in their online cloud storage account are more vulnerable to cyber threats indicating an inevitable need to increase their cyber security. Cyber security creates and sustains the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of the users’ data without compromising any private information. In this regard, the contemporary trends in internet usage and adoption raise several concerns regarding a sudden confrontation with cybercrimes. However, the role of artificial intelligence in counteracting these cyber crimes is prominent, providing several instant solutions to the law enforcement agencies (Newman, 2019 ). As noted by Coole et al. ( 2021 ), using artificial intelligence in the cyber system provides several benefits for operational security systems. For example, artificial intelligence helps increase the speed and probability of cybercrimes’ detection, reduces operator fatigue, and assists security personnel for providing more attention where needed. Besides, Artificial Intelligence also helps reduce the cost at the management level, supports the decision-making process, provides effective interventions to counteract the internal threats, and directs resource allocation.

Similarly, an ever-increasing number of cybercrimes against children is a thought-provoking phenomenon. As noted by Kumar ( 2021 ), children are the most vulnerable component of our society that can be easily manipulated and exploited. Especially today, when the internet offers greater accessibility and ease of use, targeting a child has become common. Especially after 2019, the number of cyber violence against children has increased 400 times more, raising questions regarding the credibility of the internet as a safe place for children (Durkin, 2017 ). Consequently, increasing internet usage among children without knowing the potential threats is considerable. We cannot deny malicious activities on different online platforms that require one single click, leading to adverse outcomes for the users and children (Alhumaid et al., 2021 ). 

Particularly, cybercrimes against children in developing countries are another major concern that requires serious consideration. For example, Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) Pakistan reported daily 266 cybercrimes against children, mainly including child pornography and harassment, in the country. Still, most cybercrimes against children remained unreported due to children’s lack of understanding about the incident and parents’ neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006 ; Global Human Rights Defence, 2021a ). Yet, these increased cybercrimes against children can be counteracted by cyber security systems accompanied by artificial intelligence. Emerging technologies such as cloud computing, internet banking, and others can use artificial intelligence, which can also be applied to control cybercrimes against children (Chandra, 2019 ). Vilks ( 2019 ) further argued that AI-based cyber security not only identifies any criminal activity but also helps determine crimes against children. Countries, where cyber security is adopted and accompanied by Artificial Intelligence, are comparatively more vigilant to identify and counteract the relevant activities.

Thus, by keeping in view the number of cybercrimes against children in Pakistan, this article focuses on highlighting and addressing the online incidents against children and potential ways to avoid them. In the first section, the researchers have discussed the importance of Artificial Intelligence in dealing with cybercrimes in general and cybercrimes against children in particular. The second section discusses the most common cybercrimes against children worldwide and in Pakistan. The following section will also involve literature discussing how and to what extent Artificial Intelligence can help identify relevant crimes. The third section involves a general discussion and suggestions for implementing AI-based systems to identify and deal with the cybercrimes against Pakistani children. Finally, conclusions are made in the fourth chapter, and study limitations are discussed accordingly.

Cybercrimes Against Children

Online emotional abuse and cyberbullying happen when someone resorts to online technology to target, harass, threaten, or cause psychological harm. As today, smart devices are adopted and owned even by children, they often confront this harassment besides psychological trauma. Several cases of cyberbullying involve posting personal information and photos of a child, sharing other content that may harm the child and their reputation. Fake accounts pretending to be someone are also found to harm and target a child, causing emotional damage and bullying (Kidshealth.org, 2020 ). A report represented by Ipos Global Advisor conducted a study in 28 countries to investigate cyberbullying against children. Results revealed that the reports of cyberbullying have tremendously increased after 2011. Among the selected countries, 54% of South African children reported cyber-bullying against them. However, 65% of children from Latin America also reported cyberbullying, indicating increased cyber violence against them (Jarno & November, 2020 ).

However, despite online bullying and emotional abuse being common against children, sexual crimes are comparatively more prevalent (Katz, 2020 ). An investigative team by Europol led by the Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs started interrogation against cyber-crimes against children in Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Czechia, Canada, Spain, USA, Greece, Australia, UK, and Slovenia. In 2019, the team found many users utilizing different online platforms to distribute and exchange images and videos containing explicit sexual and sadistic activities with children and infants. The team acquired 32 GB of files, leading to the international opening of approximately 836 cases (EUROPOL, 2022 ). Notably, the team encountered almost 90,000 international accounts, arrested 46 suspects in New Zealand, and more than 100 individuals were also arrested across the Europe. In two of the cases in Hungary and Austria, the suspects were molesting their own children, who were 6 and 8 years old, which were later safeguarded. Another case in Spain involved a suspect possessing child pornographic material and sharing sexual content with adults without their knowledge and consent (EUROPOL, 2022 ).

Similarly, a mixed-method study in Sri Lanka revealed that 28% of children had experienced some kind of online violence against them. More specifically, irrespective of gender, 27% of children reported receiving indecent images. However, the number of female children (29%) receiving the relevant images remained higher than that of male children (27%), while 27% of children also reported facing cyberbullying and extortion, and 20% reported that their indecent images were being shared on the internet (SavetheChildren.net, 2020 ) (Table ​ (Table1 1 ).

Reports concerning cybercrimes against children worldwide and in Pakistan

Cybercrimes Against Children in Pakistan

Children are the most vulnerable sections of society and are easily exploited in the cyber world due to a lack of maturity level. It is observed that besides bullying and emotional abuse, sexual exploitation of children is prevailing at many online platforms. The offenders chat online with young children by wrongly stating/representing their age and lure them towards sex. With the latest technology, it has become easy for criminals to contact children (Lewczuk et al., 2021 ).

Violence against children is a burning issue in Pakistan like other countries. For example, in 2020, a total of 2,960 cases were recorded, indicating a 4% increase compared to 2019 only in Punjab province. These cases involved physical and sexual violence, leading to even life-threatening situations for the victims. 51% of victims were females, and 49% were male children in these cases (AIN, 2021 ). However, these cases only indicate violence in the non-virtual environment, indicating a lack of research and consideration towards online violence against children in the country. Notably, today there are 61.34 million internet users in Pakistan. The number of internet users significantly increased from 2020 to 2021 by 11 million due to the COVID-19 outbreak. These internet users comprise almost 27% of the total population, indicating a significant number of youngsters below 16 years old. As a result, children often confront several cybercrimes, including cyberbullying, online violence, and harassment (DigitalPakistan, 2021 ). In 2019, Pakistan’s Human Rights Minister, Dr. Shireen Mazari declared that today Pakistan is one of the most prominent countries to produce and disseminate child pornography. Other crimes such as identity theft, stalking, and online harassment also prevail against children in Pakistan (Global Human Rights Defence, 2021b ).

Cybercrimes against Pakistani children are primarily seen in terms of child sexual abuse and pornography. During the past few years, young internet users in Pakistan have widely experienced cyber-bullying, sextortion, and revenge porn (Global Human Rights Defence, 2021 ). One of the prominent incidents of online violence against children in Pakistan can be traced back to 2015 when the local authorities found a wing regulating online child pornography for commercial purposes in Hussain Khanwala village, Kasur, Pakistan. Further reports revealed more than 285 children were sexually abused for pornography and silenced by their parents through fear and threats (Jalil, 2018 ). Police also recovered over 400 pornographic videos of young boys engaging in on-camera sexual acts with the adults (Zehra Abid, 2019 ).

In 2020, Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) witnessed a potential increase in online harassment against children, including child pornography. According to the records, Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) registered 260 complaints daily, reaching 94,500 complaints by the end of 2020. These crimes involve identity theft, online blackmailing, defamation, and child pornography (Global Human Rights Defence, 2021 ). According to Kasim Abbasi ( 2021 ), the accumulative ratio of cyber violence against children and in general indicates several types of crimes causing physical and psychological harm to the young users. Fake profiles, online blackmailing, defamation, sharing, receiving, and recording child pornography and other have enormously increased in Pakistan.

Artificial Intelligence in Crime Detection in General Context

Artificial intelligence is an important field of computer sciences that, e.g., bots, imitate human intellect. In other words, robots mimic human intellect in a digital environment as they contain smart algorithms making an evaluation based on the provided information. Artificial intelligence plays a significant role in almost every industry, including communication, cybersecurity, and forensics (Dupont et al., 2021 ). Today, when internet usage is increasing globally, users are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Cyber-criminals are always searching for new ways to harm people, steal their data, and put their lives at stake. As a result, it is impossible to overlook these cyber-crimes leading to strong cyber-security adoption among them (Thuy & Hieu, 2020 ). According to Caldwell et al. ( 2020 ), the internet provides us with various entertainment, information, communication, and educational opportunities; threats posed by cyber-crimes further endanger these new opportunities.

Consequently, cyber-security, including new approaches, i.e., Artificial Intelligence, has become an integral consideration for everyone. Here Thuy and Hieu ( 2020 ) further argued that cyber-criminals could contact and invade from any geographical region, identify personal information, defraud us financially, or harm our reputation. In such a situation, Rehnström ( 2021 ) suggested implementing Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence as critical approaches to combat the cyber-crimes. For instance, Artificial Intelligence analyzed the trends in cybercrimes and prevention in the past. The importance of Artificial Intelligence can be determined by the fact that it can also work with the conventional security systems hand in hand (Rigano, 2019 ). Today, emerging security systems across the globe are attaining different ideas from several cyber events and utilizing them to identify threats, i.e., phishing and malware attacks. Podoletz ( 2022 ) noted that artificial intelligence automatically detects all the cyber threats or data breaches, which further alerts the systems to strengthen the cyber-security and counteract any potential invasion. As Rouhollahi ( 2021 ) argued, whatever form the Artificial Intelligence takes, technology will provide in-depth details of an event and ensure security against such incidents.

AI-Enabled Approaches to Counteract Cybercrimes Against Children in Pakistan

As system models have a potential to counteract online crimes against children, still, many ask how AI can help mitigate online violence against children. As a result, software developers and providers are providing influential AI applications that can thwart online crimes against children (Coole et al., 2021 ) in Pakistan. It is notable that, the intelligent agent system represents a small part of an entire AI system, known as computational intelligence (CI). Computational intelligence (CI) involves some strong yet different nature inspired capabilities, i.e., Fuzzy Logic, Swarm Intelligence, Artificial Immune System, Machine Learning, and Neural Networks (Dilek, 2017 ). These approaches facilitate the decision-making particularly, when the cybersecurity of internet users is required. When we say “Nature Inspired Immune System,” we mean that the AI technology that can imitate the natural immune system, focused on counteracting the crimes as having abilities such as detection, memorization, process, and classify the information (Dilek, 2017 ). Thus, the following are some relevant AI-enabled systems that not only detect the cybercrimes against children but also provide a pathway to counteract them:

• Child Safe AI

Child Safe AI is one of the pioneering AI-based platforms that monitor web content, particularly child abuse-based material, ensuring reduced child abuse in the online environment. The US law enforcement agencies also deploy Child Safe AI, which actively gathers signals regarding exploitative activities or material from the online environment. The relevant system also assists many organizations by continuously monitoring and evaluating the online material, i.e., images, videos, chats, and other content (Nolan & Brodowski, 2019 ).

• 2. Spotlight

Developed by Thorn, Spotlight is a digital identifier of online crimes against children, especially child trafficking and child sexual abuse. This technology uses predictive analytics to detect the relevant activities and victims. According to Oriel ( 2022 ), Spotlight identifies the activities and victims of child sexual abuse and online trafficking by data obtained from escort websites and sex advertisements. Like Child Safe AI, Spotlight is also used by the US Federal Department to detect child trafficking activities. It is also notable that, Spotlight has helped to detect and solve more than 14,874 cases of online child trafficking during the past 4 years.

• 3. AI technology by UNICRI

According to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the combined efforts to counteract online crimes can protect children and ensure peace for all. AI technology by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice and Research Institute (UNICRI) uses Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for the law enforcement (particularly to identify and locate the long-missing children) (UNICRI, 2020a ). Besides, it also helps to detect child and human trafficking sites and activities and identify illicit online pornographic material (UNICRI, 2020b ). However, despite UNICRI is using Robotics and AI, still, the relevant technology is not much used (Oriel, 2022 ). According to UNICRI, employing Artificial Intelligence to ensure online safety for children also requires regular monitoring and updating the relevant system. Besides, incorporating AI technology is important due to the fact that, during the after the COVID-19 outbreak, internet usage among children increased further leading to an increased cases of online crimes against children. As a part of definitive emerging technologies today, artificial intelligence not only detects the crimes, but also monitor what a human eye, sometimes, cannot detect (UNICRI, 2021 ).

• 4. Google’s AI Tool

Technology giant Google introduced an AI toolkit to counteract online crimes against children. This AI toolkit involved image processing through Deep Neural Networks that further helped the non-governmental organizations and investigators to detect the audio and video content based on child sexual abuse. The relevant AI toolkit also assists the classifiers in monitoring the offenders by detecting the content not identified by child sexual abuse material (Hunt et al., 2020 ). According to Detrick, the Artificial Intelligence-enabled tool by Google can help the reviewers to scan and identify more than 700% indecent material of children available online. Notably, Google’s AI Tool is available free of cost; however, it needs human moderators to carefully evaluate the indecent images and other types of content by hand, needing human efficiency and effort as aiding intelligent systems for the crime detection (Detrick, 2018 ).

Thorn developed Safer as one of the leading AI companies, able to detect 99% of cybercrimes against children. With the help of Safer, an online platform can detect, remove, and block the sources and platforms used for cybercrimes against children. Safer had previously taken down more than 100,000 relevant files in its beta phase, and more improvements are yet to come (Gray et al., 2016 ). Safer provides the following services:

• Image Hash Matching creates perpetual and cryptographic hashes to match them with the previous child sexual abuse containing material, mainly to detect the indecent images of children.
• CSAM Image Classifier helps classify whether an image is consistent with the content that involves child sexual abuse.
• Video Hash Matching, like Image Hash Matching, also produces perpetual and cryptographic hashes to match them with the previous child sexual abuse containing material, mainly to detect the indecent images of children.
• 6. Griffeye

According to UK Home Office ( 2015 ), Griffeye uses different computer vision and recognition tools such as facial recognition to scan and detect the images based on the parameters of age and nudity. Griffeye is also adopted and implemented by US federal agencies to counteract any online activities against children (GRIFFEYE, 2018 ). According to the official Griffeye platform, online crimes against children can be traced through three resources: Analyze DI Pro software that can be used by individuals to import, process, and review the complex information regarding indecent images and videos of children available online. Analyze CS Operations involves group efforts facilitating crime detection. More specifically, teams using Analyze CS Operations are provided with digital base for analyzing and reviewing the relevant material. Finally, Analyze CS Enterprise facilitates the organizations in resuming ongoing interrogations regarding cybercrimes against children. The Analyze CS Enterprise is based on a dynamic repository to examine and identify the suspicious information over time (Digital Forensics, 2021 ).

• 7. SomeBuddy

Another important AI-enabled software, “SomeBuddy,” was created and designed by UNICEF to protect children using the internet for socialization, education, and entertainment. SomeBuddy as a “First-aid” platform helps and facilitates children report cyberbullying and harassment (UNICEF, 2019 ). It involves a strong combination of human supervision and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect and categorize the type of harassment, providing them with the most suitable recommendations concerning the current step. According to UNICEF ( 2019 ), the primary objective of SomeBuddy is to provide psychological and legal support to the children facing any challenging situation in cyberspace. Besides, it also spreads awareness among children to effectively identify and counteract any potential crime. According to CrimeDetector, initially, SomeBuddy adopted a virtual assistant interface; however, the developers found the chatbots as ineffective due to their broader conversational nature. Thus, SomeBuddy adopted simple yet automated approach to provide the users with more time to elaborate the obtained data. The relevant design output aided improving and streamlining the intake functions (CrimeDetector, 2019 ). Besides, SomeBuddy also stresses the legal experts across the globe to thoroughly review the obtained information, especially “false positives” and “false negatives” (CrimeDetector, 2019 ) (Table ​ (Table2 2 ).

AI-enabled approaches and models to counteract cybercrimes against children

DAPHNE: Detecting Grooming in Online Social Media

Online crimes against children, especially sharing and possessing indecent images of children, have become common today. Besides, interacting with online child abusers and sextortion is also prevailing. Exposure to online criminals, especially pedophiles, is of greater concern, demanding strong consideration from the technology developers and online law-making authorities. In this regard, classified supervisors using independent feature types such as content, polarity, semantic frames, n-gram, and psycholinguistics can help counteract cybercrimes, particularly online child grooming (Peersman, 2017 ). Rigano ( 2019 ) proposed that the merged features can also help to counteract the online child grooming.

The study conducted by Cano et al. ( 2014 ) further proposed generating binary classifiers to detect the child grooming attempts on social media as the researchers used stage-labeled sentences (i.e., approach stages section, grooming, trust development) that were labeled as the positive set while the sentences labeled as “other” were the negative set. The researchers further suggested using a stage classifier with a unigram of words approach and a tenfold cross-validation five-trial setting. In their work, Cano and their colleagues emphasized upon the characterization of the predators’ online behavior, including sentiment polarity, syntactical content, discourse patterns, psycholinguistics, and a bag of words (BOW). Further, for the characterization process, the researchers provided a framework (see Fig.  1 ). In the framework proposed by Cano et al. ( 2014 ), the first step involves extracting predators’ communication patterns from the PJ chat log. In the second phase, the identifier pre-processes these conversation lines. Then, each conversation is represented in the feature extraction, following the information-gaining approach. Further, the researchers also designed a vector machine for the experiment as a supervised discriminative model.

Identification and characterization of the child grooming phases (Cano et al., 2014 )

iCOP: Identifying New CSAM on P2P Networks

The severity of online crimes against children demands a proliferation of monitoring and detection technology. A study by Aiello and McFarland ( 2014 ) proposed a toolkit, iCOP, to identify online child abuse material on P2P networks. However, before discussing and proposing the iCOP toolkit, the researchers proposed a classification approach that involves specialized vocabulary and n-grams to share child abuse material on P2P networks. Both specialized vocabulary and n-grams can automatically identify the child abuse material from the millions of files shared online. Further, a potential video and image classification approach using multiple and multimodal feature descriptions leads to a strong identification of child abuse material on online platforms.

Similarly, the above-discussed approaches are merged into an iCOP toolkit to counteract the child abuse-based online material further. As shown in Fig.  2 , the proposed toolkit has two primary components, including the P2P Engine and iCOP Analysis Engine (Pupillo & Fantin, 2021 ). The P2P Engine helps to monitor the online traffic on the P2P networks. This P2P Engine supports traffic monitoring on Gnutella. However, other monitors can also plug in to increase their monitoring ability. This P2P Engine gathers information such as URLs, IP addresses, hash values, metadata, and filenames when the user is seen sharing the file. The latter is thus important to detect the originator and receiver of the child abuse-based content file.

iCOP toolkit (Aiello & McFarland, 2014 )

The PrevBOT Concept

According to Kumar ( 2021 ), online crimes against children are proliferating today. To counteract these concerns, there is a need to establish an intelligence crime detection system. Further, Sunde and Sunde proposed PrevBOT concept commonly used by law enforcement authorities. PrevBOT was first conceptualized after the Sweetie 2.0 that can monitor open conversations and communicate automatically through chat rooms. Besides, monitoring and interacting through chatrooms, PrevBOT contains the characteristics of machine learning and forensic linguistics influenced by AiBA technology (Schermer et al., 2019 ). PrevBOT also enabled to predict and compute the details important for highlighting the preventive measures against online child sexual abuse in particular. Figure  3 illustrates the graphical model regarding PrevBOT to classify Problem Persons (PP) and Problematic Spaces (PS).

Model regarding PrevBOT to classify Problem Persons (PP) and Problematic Spaces (PS)

According to Sunde and Sunde, PrevBOT is based on the Machine Learning algorithms and generates computations and predictions regarding the information consistent to online crimes against children. The output is statements, i.e., “carry a degree of uncertainty.” Notably, the PrevBOT has two primary objectives: to classify the Problematic Persons and to classify the Problematic Spaces (Sunde & Sunde, 2021 ). For example, when a chatroom is flagged as Problematic Space, PrevBOT predicts whether the behavior of individual(s) is suspicious (Problematic Persons (PS)). Further, PrevBOT uses a series of questions to classify and detect the problematic chat and behaviors through other different tactics. For example, at one stage, it uses “Linguistics Fingerprints” to compare pre-existing conversations with the new conversations. By using different techniques, PrevBOT facilitates reliable investigations for identifying the suspicious behaviors in chatrooms even if the persons are known to the police from previous cases of cybercrimes against children (Finch & Ryckman, 2020 ).

Discussion and Policy Recommendations

Fundamentally, the role and integration of information communication technology in our society limit access to counteract every single cyberattack. Talking particularly about the cybercrimes against children, the magnitude of these crimes is increasing in Pakistan. An algorithm-based system can help not only to counteract the crime but also aid in determining both previous and recent patterns in cybercrimes. The data used to modify and upgrade these systems is based on factual reports, defining the most considerable patterns of crimes especially against children (Global Information Security, 2019 ).

The empirical resources, available today, indicate that there are several approaches to identify and counteract cybercrimes against children. For instance, Neural Networks as an integral part of Intrusion Detection System can be used to detect the spam material and also to conduct the forensic investigations (EPCAT, 2021 ). According to Yadav and their colleagues, the ability of Artificial Intelligence to process huge amount of information cannot be denied. For example, a law enforcement team identifies suspects and has to go through the files saved into their computer systems. In such a situation, the investigation team will need human force to scrutinize all the content one by one that will be time-consuming, further threatening the investigators interest in the case. However, using Artificial Intelligence-enabled tools and approaches will not only help them to improve and speedup their investigations but also help to counteract the potential crimes in the future (Yadav & Husain, 2018 ). According to Pupillo and Fantin ( 2021 ), major platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Tiktok, and others use Artificial Intelligence to identify and takedown the relevant activities. In many cases, tracing the criminals by recognizing their URLs also remained prominent as the relevant content was directly reported to the law enforcement agencies, leading to an instant detention and punishments.

Thus, to mitigate these cybercrimes, the Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA) Pakistan has created a special wing named “Cyber Crime Wing” (CCW) (Zia UL Islam et al., 2019 ). This Cyber Crime Wing was established under the laws that were designed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PPECA) 2016, which criminalizes online violence against children with a punishment of a fine of up to five million rupees or 7 years of imprisonment or both. Victims can directly access the Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) through email or phone calls to lodge their complaints, ensuring an effective strategy to deal with the cyberattacks against children (AIN, 2021 ). However, these Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) and other bodies lack any prominent technological approach (Coole et al., 2021 ; Zia UL Islam et al., 2019 ) to automatically detect and takedown content and activities indicating a loophole in the cybersecurity systems. For this purpose, this article tends to provide some recommendations to the government, law enforcement authorities, and software providers in Pakistan, including:

• The trend of using Artificial Intelligence to counteract cybercrimes against children is increasing, and Pakistan’s criminal justice authorities should also consider them (Velasco, 2022 ). The local government should grant sufficient funds and training to the law enforcement agencies, especially Cyber Crime Wing.
• It is notable that, although cybercrimes against online users is a punishable crime in Pakistan, yet no practical policy is given to specify these crimes against children. In this regard, it is important to create a national Artificial Intelligence strategy to create a primary framework to implement it for both public and private sector law enforcement organizations with a potential focus on children welfare and their rights (Global Information Security, 2019 ).
• The suggested softwares and models should be deployed and also identify suspicious activities through the suggested software models (See Gray et al., 2016 ; Podoletz, 2022 ; UNESCO, 2019 ). For this purpose, professionally trained individuals should be recruited.
• Creating additional task forces to counteract cybercrimes against children may also coordinate with the Artificial Intelligence-enabled system. The relevant coordination may help identify the suspicious activities and content and help the task force to take instant action (Erokhina & Letuta, 2020 ).
• Deploying models like PrevBOT, DAPHNE and iCOP to identify and counteract the stages of grooming in a cyber environment require skilled agents (Aiello & McFarland, 2014 ; Charalambous et al., 2016 ; Peersman, 2017 ). Software providers should recruit skilled and experienced individuals for deployment purposes so that they may also keep the systems updated.
• Efficiently deploying network tools already used by UNICEF (Walker, 2019 ) and other concerned bodies can help investigators gather information about the host servers and URLs. Investigators with vigilance and prior experience in detecting and takedown any indecent activity can also help gather information about the user, website owner, and host country. If the concerned authorities use an AI-enabled system, improved forensic tools can further assist in identifying the email and URL information leading to easy detention of the cybercriminals (Charalambous et al., 2016 ).
• The government of Pakistan can take an example of incorporating AI in counteracting online crimes against children by the Australian Police Department. Introducing “AiLecs” is trained to identify the suspicious activities, particularly, the content showing any indecent activity against children. It is notable that, the AI cannot be fully influential yet when the algorithms work as expected, cybercrimes against children can be counteracted (Panda Media Center, 2022 ).

The rise of cybercrimes against children in Pakistan further questions the credibility and use of online platforms among children. These crimes also threaten children’s life-long well-being as the relevant crimes are also evolving. Anonymity and accessibility are two prominent features that further halt a direct identification of the criminals and their origins. However, where technology has facilitated criminals, it also enables forensics and principal investigators to identify and takedown cyberattacks in the better possible way.

Deploying technology, updating existing cybersecurity systems, and using Artificial Intelligence (AI) besides human force can further help to counteract these crimes. As technology evolves, communication and interactivity are enhanced from conventional platforms to computers and now smart devices. Children are becoming increasingly vulnerable to sexual abuse, bullying, and emotional violence in online environments. Today, the rise of internet technology is also creating vectors for abuse and exploitation against children. Harnessing powerful technology, i.e., AI, to analyze and manage the data can also enrich investigative functions. Towards this, local government and law enforcement agencies should resort to suggested tools that may identify even keywords and images.

Limitations and Contributions

This study highlights an important area of interest which is formally underrepresented in the Pakistani scenario. Despite increasing cybercrimes against children in the country, deploying technology-assisted defense and identification systems is still under debate. The current study will not only provide an idea regarding AI’s significance in counteracting cybercrimes against children but also proposes potential technological systems and models with practical evidence from the other regions. However, certain limitations are considered in the current research. First, this study lacks any primary data that narrow down its scope. Second, the researchers have highlighted some selective softwares and models. Finally, the third limitation involves the lack of data sufficiently witnessing cyberattacks in the Pakistani scenario. Yet, this study is a heads-up call for the government, law enforcement agencies, and policymakers, further filling the gap in the existing literature.

Declarations

The authors declare no competing interests.

Publisher's Note

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Contributor Information

Saadia Anwar Pasha, Email: [email protected] .

Sana Ali, Email: moc.liamtoh@0991oel_anas .

Riadh Jeljeli, Email: [email protected] .

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Police say a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, targeted a van carrying Japanese autoworkers, who narrowly escaped

The Associated Press

April 19, 2024, 1:15 AM

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KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Police say a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, targeted a van carrying Japanese autoworkers, who narrowly escaped.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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