Reporting to the FIA

Often times during Hamara Internet sessions, we quickly realize how hesitant  women and girls are to report their harassers. There are multiple reasons for this hesitation, one primarily being the idea that reporting online abuse can often exacerbate the situation further. But this may not be case, and reporting your harasser may not only help you out but also other victims you may not be aware of.

Time and time again Pakistan has seen cases of harassers getting away with their abuse online because they weren’t reported, this was also the case with the guys behind the Gandageer Khan case  – till they were reported and then locked. And therefore we would like to encourage you to report your abuse and also encourage your friends and family to do the same. Because there is strength in numbers, and even if the Pakistani government doesn’t have all the answers now, we hope that they will. But the onus to create to solution also rests on your shoulders, you must be willing to acknowledge the problem and to report it, so the other side knows how urgent it is to tackle cyber-harassment.

This is why once you have reported your harassers on the specific platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Google etc…) you should also head on to the Federal Investigation Agency site to report the abuse to Pakistani authorities. This can be done with the National Response Center for Cyber Crimes (Nr3C) division of the FIA deals with online abuse and cyber harassment in Pakistan and usually responds to the filed complaints within three to six weeks, which can be done here.

Reporting Mechanisms in Pakistan

The NR3C department at the FIA is very active and prompt in dealing with such cyber crimes, and will possibly be the best agency that can help.

  • In case you are a minor, ask your guardian to lodge the complaint on your behalf. You can also get help from friends or teachers who can lodge a report on your behalf, if you don’t want to involve your family.
  • Remember, reporting the crime isn’t only important to safeguard yourself against future harassment – it will ensure that no one else is subjected to the troubles you endured.
  • You can report the cyber crime by either filling the online form or sending them an email with all the required information along with the evidence of harassment (screenshots of conversation or logs of e-mails) to this e-mail ID: [email protected]
  • It is also important to note that threatening calls do not come under the mandate of Nr3c. To address this issue, one needs to lodge a complaint to your nearest police station.
  • FIA’s telephone helpline is 9911