KP transgenders become subject of cyber harassment

PESHAWAR: The transgender community has long been subjected to violence in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), now, they face one more disturbing form of abuse-cyber harassment.

Transgenders being a vulnerable community, have faced several harassments cases where sexually explicit videos of assaults  circulated online. As per Arzoo Khan, Trans Action Alliance president, 60 sexual violence cases were reported in 2024 alone.

The community is already dazed by a continuous stream of physical attacks that, according to police, have led to deaths amongst over 140 transgender individuals in KP since 2015 and left almost other 1,500 injured in shootings, kidnappings, and physical assaults.

Very few perpetrations got holds on potential punishments due to legal loopholes and lack of prosecution efficacy. A culture of impunity is almost in place where perpetrators are emboldened to commit such heinous crimes.

With respect to the matter of cyber harassment, Peshawar city authorities took note of the issue when a police report was registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

It involved a viral video of the transgender activist Dolphin Ayan, partially undressed and under intense humiliation and distress for her and her family. The Cyber Crime Wing in the Federal Investigation Agency has started probing the case.

In a separate assault case in Swabi, two transgender women were allegedly raped and filmed. Police sources claim that in over 90% of transgender murder cases, FIRs are filed and suspects are usually arrested. However, local settlements, absence of legal follow-up, and harassment of witnesses very often lead to acquittals.

A failed state knows the need to have an agency that can ensure protection and necessary support to the transgender community to save them from much-coveted violence and harassment. It is also imperative that the authorities actually embark on a more extensive plan to assure that justice is both seen and done.