Understanding Gendered Experiences of Harassment Among Pakistani Young Adults Using Human-Centered Threat Modeling

Harassment impacts the safety and well-being of young adults in Pakistan. Prior research has largely focused on women, often imposing external definitions of harm and overlooking how individuals themselves understand and respond to harassment. This study examines how Pakistani young adults define, experience, and cope with harassment. Drawing on 33 semi-structured interviews guided by a human-centered threat modeling framework, we surface context-specific threat models. Participants’ definitions of harassment were shaped by gender norms, religious values, and moral judgments. Women described harassment as a routine part of life, tied to public visibility, modesty norms. Men also reported harassment, though framed by different dynamics such as pressure to maintain control, avoid vulnerability, and conform to masculinity. Across participants, formal reporting pathways were viewed as untrustworthy or unsafe. Our findings highlight the need for interventions that reflect local definitions of harm, address relational adversaries, and support safety within sociocultural contexts.