Online Harassment ; A real story
Online harassment can range from insults and bullying, sexual harassment to rape or death threats and demeaning comments. With Indians spending more time on social media, there has been a spike in cases of online harassment which has made India one of those countries where cyberstalking and online harassment takes place quite often.
Reports also suggest that women are most likely to face online harassment in the form of rape threats and sexual assault. Even though men and women have equally reported cases of online harassment but the magnitude of the bullying or threat differs. To establish this behaviour, an unknown user on Instagram commented on a post, his/her opposing views from two different social media handles- one as a woman and other posing as a man. It was established that as a woman she faced more backlash and even rape threats than as a man.
Irrespective of gender, online harassment is something that needs to be called out with people standing up for themselves and others. It becomes increasingly important for people to protect their data and maintain their privacy to avoid unwanted contact.
India has strict laws under the Information Technology Act, 2000 which covers cyberbullying. Now the only issue that we face is a lack of awareness among people when it comes to their rights. People often are unable to muster the courage to report a cybercrime because they believe that their reputation is at stake. It is high time that we start treating cybercrime as a serious offence.
Citing my personal experience. I and a few other women were defamed by a popular influencer, basically, a humanitarian misusing her power and approach on Instagram which made us a victim to cyberbullying. The harasser, on noticing that I haven't paid much heed to his derogatory messages in my inbox, made spam accounts only for the intended purpose of harassing me repeatedly over a week. Just like someone else would, I reported his messages and Instagram handle, but there was no action taken by Instagram to safeguard me and other women against online harassment. My decision ultimately was to educate the harasser of MY RIGHTS, that safeguard me against any form of cyberbullying. The point being, most of us have not much education about cyberbullying laws and for this purpose I am attaching a link for the reference of anyone who is faced with such a situation.
Thre are many ways or procedures that you can use to report cyberbullying. One of them is the Cyber Crime Portal which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
You can also lodge a complaint against cybercrime on an Instagram handle which goes by the name 'Wallofshamereal'.
Also, If you a woman, you can visit the website of 'National Commission for Women'
Ending this article, with a hope that help reaches someone who needs it. Stay cyber smart. Stay cyber safe.
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