The Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) is relaunching ‘Ab Aur Nahin’, a pro bono online portal for women seeking legal representation and psychological counseling in cases of harassment and gender-based violence.
The website works by linking victims and survivors to helpful resources and connecting them with qualified and experienced pro bono lawyers, so they receive all the help they need to combat the cycle of violence and abuse.
The aim of 'Ab Aur Nahin' is to assist women in taking legal action against perpetrators. Women are discouraged due to a lack of resources and victim-blamed for reporting the repeated gender-based violence they face in online and offline spaces.
The portal Ab Aur Nahin currently has over 23 lawyers from Pakistan with diverse backgrounds. The portal will be expanding its database further in the future to include more lawyers from across the country. DRF recognizes the need for survivors experiencing gender-based violence to have holistic support, which is why the portal consists of resources for mental health counseling.
DRF’s Executive Director, Nighat Dad, stated on the portal's launch, “Women’s access to legal services and consultations is limited mainly due to a shortage of funds and a lack of institutional support. ‘Ab Aur Nahin’ provides women with avenues to report and seek advice related to gender-based violence, whether online or offline, to institutions. It is important that we provide support to survivors in their times of crisis and put an end to the ongoing femicide in the country.”