Near Kamala Nehru Park, Off. Bhandarkar Road, Pune
Near Kamala Nehru Park, Off. Bhandarkar Road, Pune
At Abhilasha, we believe in a future where women are able to access equal protection and legal remedies. Our mission is to encourage women empowerment and justice through a movement of people who know how to use and shape the law. Our advocacy is inspired by our interactions and experiences with women and children.
“The widespread circulation of such offensive content is particularly harmful to women the pervasive gender discrimination in our society is further heightened since the digital medium provides the convenient shield of anonymity and fake identities. Errant persons become more emboldened in their offensive behaviour since it is presumed that they will not face any consequences.” - K.G. Balakrishnan, Former Chief justice of India
The word "cybercrime" is not defined in any act or legislation issued by the Indian Legislature. Cybercrime can be understood as an uncontrollable evil that stems from the misuse of the modern world's growing reliance on computers. While insufficient cyber security puts all citizens in danger, women are particularly vulnerable to specific types of online crime. Even though India is one of the few nations to have enacted specific legislations to tackle cybercrime, women's issues continue to propagate. When it comes to cybercrime against women, the list is enormous.
Profile hacking and picture morphing are popular practices in which images of girls and women from public profiles or hacked accounts are manipulated, sometimes to present those ladies in compromising settings. The manipulated photographs are then used to either publicly humiliate women or to blackmail them for ransom money. Women are more vulnerable to scams and credit/debit card fraud. The modus operandi has evolved, from defrauding individuals through lottery and phishing email scams to targeting people, primarily middle-aged women, using social media platforms like Tinder, WhatsApp, and Facebook, among others.
Now, here's what we should and can do to make internet a more welcoming environment:
Concerned individuals may file a written complaint with the cyber cell of the concerned jurisdiction. If a cyber cell is not available, a complaint can be filed in a normal police station as well.
Much like we have self-defence classes for women to fight against abusers, it is need of the hour that women should receive advice on how to be less vulnerable and more confident against cybercrime. When the world is shifting to a new digital era, it is now essential to follow the adage "precaution is better than cure."
