A new report has found that women in Pakistan and the diaspora face serious harm when private images are shared without consent, even when the images are not nude or sexual.
The report by global gender justice organisation Chayn, titled 'Explicit Harm of Non-Explicit Images: Defining Image-Based Abuse in Pakistan and the Diaspora', argues that social media companies, law enforcement agencies and policymakers are failing survivors by treating nudity as the main measure of harm.
Chayn’s research says image-based abuse is far broader than “nudes without consent.” In Pakistani communities, harm can come from a photo without a hijab, a wedding dance video, an image near an unrelated man, a screenshot of a fake conversation, or an AI-generated image.
The report says what makes an image harmful depends on why it was shared, who received it and what consequences followed.
Hera Hussain, founder and CEO of Chayn, said image-based abuse in Pakistan is “never just a personal crisis,” as it damages reputations, triggers violence and affects families and communities.
Mahnoor’s story highlights damage
The report includes the experience of Mahnoor, a 32-year-old Pakistani woman whose name has been changed. She told BBC Global Women that private photos shared by her ex-husband changed her life, even though they were not nude or sexual.
One photo showed her in a sleeveless Western dress. Others were ordinary selfies, photos with friends, or pictures from daily life.
Mahnoor said her ex-husband accessed her WhatsApp account and private photos, then shared them with male relatives, colleagues and acquaintances. She said he also cropped group photos to make it appear as if she was alone with a man.
She said the images were used to portray her as a “woman of bad character,” an accusation that can have serious consequences in many communities.
After returning to Mecca, where she had spent her childhood, Mahnoor said her father and brother stopped speaking to her. Colleagues avoided eye contact, and her social standing collapsed.
“I lost my voice. I didn’t feel like I had any identity left,” she told the BBC.
Ayesha Omar supports the report’s criticism
Actress and model Ayesha Omar also supported the report’s criticism. She said her own photos were stolen and circulated long before social media became widespread.
Ayesha said photos from a holiday in Thailand with a female friend, where she was wearing a one-piece swimsuit and shorts on the beach, were posted online from her laptop without her knowledge.
“It hurt my career a lot. I lost advertising offers. I also lost some work,” she said.
She added that the incident affected her mentally and emotionally because women in the entertainment industry are often expected to fit a certain image while representing brands or appearing on television.
Platforms, authorities accused of failing survivors
When Mahnoor approached the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency, she was told the images did not fall under its scope because they were not nude or sexual. Her written complaint was rejected on the same grounds.
She said her mobile network also refused to help unless she produced the SIM card linked to the account, which she said had been taken by her ex-husband.
Mahnoor also reported the images to WhatsApp, but said she was told the content did not violate platform rules. WhatsApp declined to comment on her case and referred to its guidelines.
Chayn warns of cultural gaps in moderation
The Chayn report says platforms often fail to understand cultural contexts where a non-explicit image can still cause severe reputational, social and economic harm.
Hussain said moderation systems are often trained to detect nudity, while the real issue is lack of consent.
The report says survivors frequently turn to platforms first, but face slow responses, poor reporting categories and limited understanding of Urdu and other local languages. It also says women are often forced to choose between quick content removal and preserving evidence for legal action.
According to the report, the impact of image-based abuse is not limited to the woman in the image. Families may face shame, social isolation and damaged marriage prospects for sisters and relatives.
The report says survivors can lose jobs, education, freedom and relationships. Some face forced marriage, honour-based violence, suicidal thoughts or death.
Hussain referred to a 2017 case in Pakistan in which three sisters were killed after a video of them singing and clapping at a wedding was shared. A court later sentenced three male relatives to life imprisonment.
Chayn conducted 64 interviews between July 2025 and February 2026 with women, including trans women, from Pakistan and diaspora communities in the UK, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, the UAE and Kuwait. Participants came from different cities, professions, languages and social backgrounds.
The research found that family, religion, class and region can shape how image-based abuse is experienced.
What Chayn recommends
The report calls for tech platforms to adopt consent-based removal systems, where lack of consent alone is enough for takedown.
It also recommends pre-posting consent prompts, temporary suspension of reported images during review, culturally informed moderation teams and third-party reporting options, including for WhatsApp and private Instagram Stories.
For policymakers, Chayn recommends image rights laws modelled on France and Denmark, criminalising threats to share images, fast-track reporting systems for survivors and penalties for platforms that fail to remove unlawful content on time.
For civil society, the report calls for clear support resources and school prevention programmes that engage boys in conversations about consent and accountability.
Eva Blum-Dumontet, Chayn’s head of Movement Building and Policy, said consent, not nudity, must be central to how image-based abuse is defined. She said Chayn is already in constructive talks with platforms and policymakers to improve policies and moderation systems.
The report notes that some countries treat image rights more broadly. France recognises the right to one’s own image under Article 9 of its Civil Code, while the UAE criminalises taking someone’s picture without permission in public places.
Hussain said image harassment is much broader than nude images and called the current response a “systemic failure.”
She said police, courts and technology platforms can do much more to help victims.
“If you are experiencing this type of harassment, know that it is not your fault, you are not alone, and organisations like Chayn are there to help you,” she said.
