This article is written by Ms. GULFASHA BANU WAHID KHAN, a Second year BA.LLB Student from HVPS COLLEGE OF LAW.
INTRODUCTION:
Information Technology and Internet have provided various facilities, but not come out without drawbacks or bad effects on the life of women today. With the advancement and utilization of Internet, the crimes through Internet have also increased, especially in the case of women. Today, cybercrime is a world phenomenon and women are the soft target of cybercrime. Cybercrimes against women are increased rapidly since the last 10 to 15 years. There are many serious crimes against women like- rape, murder, dowry death abatement of suicide etc. but today cybercrimes against women are also increasing and it is on at alarming stage and it may pose as a major threat to the security of women as a whole. In the Indian context cybercrime against women includes sexual crimes and sexual abuses through Internet. Many times, cybercrimes go unreported as women are unaware of such offences. These facts give the chance to the offenders to escape after the committed of cybercrime against women. Many websites and blogs give tips of security for the safety of women, while utilizing Internet, but still the cybercrime against women is increasing in India. Through the present study an attempt has been made to understand the nature of cybercrimes against women and its responsible factors, and the opinions and perceptions of cyber cell officials and counsellors on the cybercrime against women.
In India, Cybercrimes are covered by the Indian Penal Code, of 1860 and the Information Technology Act of 2000.
The issues related to Cybercrime and electronic commerce are mentioned in the Information Technology Act 2000 which got amended in 2008 and outlined the definition and punishment of cybercrime.
CYBERCRIME AGAINST WOMEN:
Cyber violence uses Computer Technology to access women’s personal information and use the internet for harassment and exploitation. Women are becoming soft targets as they often trust other people and are unaware of the consequences. Cybercrime has increased because it is difficult to detect and prove and is seldom reported. Cyber-crime is away from traditional monitoring, investigation, or audit and requires specialists to understand the nature of the crime. Cyber-crime affects women the most by subjecting them to mental and emotional harassment. Most women become distressed, humiliated, and depressed under this type of crime which is challenging to address and resolve.
According to Crime in India – Statistics volume II published by The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for the year 2020, the total number of registered cybercrimes committed against women was 10,405 where Karnataka reported the highest number of cases. As per the data released by National Crime
VARIOUS TYBES OF CYBERCRIME AGAINST WOMEN;
- Cyber Stalking: It includes attempting to contact the women via social networking sites without any legitimate purpose, putting threatening messages on the chat page, and constantly disturbing the victims with objectionable emails and messages to create mental distress.
- Cyber Defamation: This activity involves defaming the victim through blackmailing and disclosing their details or modified pictures. It often involves extorting and seeking sexual favours from the victim.
- Cyber Hacking: When asked to click on unauthorised URLs or download apps that leak all their personal information on their phones, the women became victims of cyber hacking. The criminals utilise these details for unauthorised monetary transactions and other unlawful activities.
- Cyber Bullying: It is an act of regular harassment and bullying of the victim through the digital communication device by posting abusive and misleading content, pictures, or videos and sending rape and death threats.
- Pornography: This criminal activity involves posting morphed images of victims and using them for pornographic purposes, sometimes demanding money to remove them from social networking sites.
- Cyber Grooming: In this case, a person builds a relationship with a woman through an online platform and pressurizes her for undue favours or doing sexual acts.
LEGAL PROVISION RELATED TO CYBERCRIME AGAINST WOMEN:
Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC, 1860) section 354 mention the following crimes as punishable under the law with rigorous imprisonment and fines.
- Section 354A: Demand for sexual favours or displaying objectionable pictures against a woman’s consent or making sexual remarks and sexual harassment will cause the imprisonment of up to 3 years with fines.
- Section 354C: An act of photographing or publishing a picture of a woman engaged in a private act without her consent will lead to imprisonment of 3 to 7 years.
- Section 354D: Contacting a woman online and sending irrelevant emails/messages despite the woman’s evident disinterest will cause the imprisonment of 5 years with fines.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 also has provisions for punishment under the following sections:
- Section 66C-Identify cyber hacking is a punishable offense with imprisonment of 3 years and fines of Rs. 1 lakh.
- Section 66E- Deals with the offense of capturing, publishing, or sending pictures of women in circumstances that violate privacy. This causes imprisonment of 3 years.
- Section 67A- Makes it illegal to publish and transmit sexually explicit content and is punishable with imprisonment of up to 5 to 7 years.
- The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 focuses on preventing and prosecuting offenders involved in cybercrimes like violating privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of information through computer-related criminal activities.
The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act regulates and prohibits the indecent representation of women through the media and publications, which also includes the audio-visual media, the content in electronic form, and distribution of material on the Internet, and the portrayal of women over the web.
CASE LAWS ON CYBERCRIME
In L. Prakash vs Superintendent, an orthopedic surgeon is accused of forcing women to engage in sexual activity on camera, posting the videos, and then selling them as adult entertainment products all over the world. He was charged with breaking Section 67,506, 367 of the IPC of the Information Technology Act 2000, Which dealt with obscene publication on the internet? He was given a lifetime sentence and a fine of rupees 1,25,000 under the Immoral Trafficking prevention act of 1956.
In the case of State of Tamil Nadu vs Suhas Katti these cases concern the publishing of an offensive, hurtful, and bothersome comment about a divorced woman in a Yahoo chat group. Through a fake email account, he set up in the victim’s name, the accused forwarded emails to the victim demanding information. The lady received a bothersome phone call as a result of these ads, Police arrested the suspect as a result of the complaint. He was interested in marrying the victim and was a well-known family acquaintance. She got divorced after getting to someone else, and the accused started getting in touch with her again.
CONCLUSION:
In India as well as across the globe, with the increasing reliance of humans on technology, cyber laws need constant up-gradation and refinement to keep pace. There has also been a significant increase in the number of remote workers as a consequence of the pandemic, which has increased the need for application security. There is a need for legislators to take extra precautions to keep ahead of the imposters so that they can act against them as soon as they arise. It can be prevented if lawmakers, internet providers, banks, shopping websites and other intercessors work together. However, ultimately, it is up to the users to participate in the fight against cyber-crime. The only way for the growth of online safety and resilience to take place is through the consideration of the actions of these stakeholders, ensuring they stay within the confines of the law of cyberspace.
REFERENCE:
Information Technology Act,2000
Indian Penal Code, 1860 Sections 67, 506, and 367
Dr L. Prakash vs Superintendent (2000) Writ Petition No. 7313/2002
The State of Tamil Nadu vs Suhas Katti (2004) C No.4680 of 2004
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