Cyber VAW (violence against women) threatens women daily in India, concludes a recent study by Japleen Pasricha, founder and director of Feminism in India.com. The report, “Violence” Online In India: Cybercrimes Against Women & Minorities on Social Media offers statistics not to be overlooked:1. Women in India frequently block or ignore their online harassers rather than report their unwanted behaviors, despite the creation of a Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) portal for this very purpose.
2. Of the 500 women surveyed, 36% of those who were harassed online did nothing in response. 28% merely reduced their online presence.
3. 30% were unaware that laws existed to protect them.
4. 38% of those who reported online harassment found the legal response to be “not at all helpful.”
5. 15% of respondents reported experiencing depression, stress, insomnia or other mental health issues in response to online harassment.
6. Specific incidences include:
- A writer, poet and activist threatened with acid attacks and gang rape for tweeting about a Hyderabad beef-eating festival.
- An activist harassed during an online discussion about violence against women; she later left the conversation.
- A journalist and author also known as “India’s most trolled woman.” Her decision to publish an account of her childhood sexual abuse has been met with criticisms including the label “antinational.”
Read the report, surf secure and stay Rando!
Image credit of BOLDG/Shutterstock.com.
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