The Uks Research Centre on Monday announced that it released a new report detailing misogynistic and harmful content on social media and a compendium of slurs used online, according to a press release seen by Dawn.com.
A media monitoring and advocacy organisation, Uks, for over two decades, has been engaged with the media on how to report women’s issues in general, and cases of violence against women in particular.
In the press release, Uks said it would observe “16 days of activism” against gender-based violence in Pakistan under the theme ‘Unite to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls’.
The published reports are part of Uks’ 2023–2024 initiative ‘Safe Word, Safer Word’, which was done in collaboration with the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC).
The report, titled ‘365 Posts, One Message: Stop Online Sexualised Violence!’, is a collation of 365 harmful posts shared by Uks over the course of one year, tracking people’s responses.
“Respond they did, sometimes with support, sometimes with criticism, and sometimes with honesty,” the report read.
Uks said that the report, combined with the compendium, “offers a very telling snapshot of how women in Pakistan experience online spaces, and how the public engages when these issues are consistently highlighted”.
“The comments in this compilation make it clear that online misogyny is routine for many women. They also show that sustained conversation does make an impact,” the report read.
“This effort succeeded in documenting lived experiences and sparking a dialogue. It also encouraged individuals and institutions to take online abuse more seriously.”
Uks announced that alongside the publications, it launched a 16-video campaign featuring prominent people from media, show business, academia, civil society, and other walks of life, the press release read.
“It brings together diverse viewpoints on why women face disproportionate online harassment and how collective action can create safer digital spaces,” it read.
Uks also announced it would be publishing the Global Media Monitoring Project National Report on December 9, stating in the press release that it is “the world’s largest and longest-running research project on gender representation in news media, which has been conducted every five years since 1995”.
“It monitors how women are portrayed in print, broadcast, and online news across more than 100 countries,” the press release read.
“Uks has been the official GMMP national coordinator for Pakistan since the first cycle, and is responsible for gathering data, training volunteers, monitoring media content, and reporting on gender portrayal trends in Pakistan’s media landscape,” Uks added.
In February this year, Uks announced the launch of its Uks AI (Beta) platform, describing it as an artificial intelligence tool that calls out gender bias in media content, “whether it’s hiding in plain sight or lurking between the lines”.
In a press release, the organisation said the tool was built particularly for journalists, editors and reporters to address a “persistent challenge” in media creation: the unconscious perpetuation of gender stereotypes that shaped how society viewed and valued women.
Uks added that the tool scanned text for both glaring and subtle biases, offering “immediate, actionable feedback” to media professionals.
