Handling cyber harassment against women

Online harassment is a form of stalking or sending inappropriate and offensive photographs or messages in a pervasive way. It is a nuisance faced mainly by women and girls. Such harassment impedes their freedom and basic human rights. According to a study, online harassment has increased as much as four times from pre-pandemic times.

From minor offences like sending obscene comments and pictures to a woman to major ones like blackmailing using private pictures of a woman, which were taken clandestinely, the cyberspace is providing an unsafe environment for women. There are cases of editing a victim's pictures in an obscene way to ruin her reputation in society. That cybercrimes like identity theft have become so common, most of the time the victims do not even realise the severity of these offences and ignore them without seeking legal help.

Legal complexities and lack of awareness are the main reasons why such crimes are on the rise. Many victims are not aware of the help available in these cases. The law enforcement agencies have recently undertaken several initiatives to tackle cyber offences and have launched a hotline (1098) where victims can complain using the profile link or screenshots of the offender.

Afroza Sheikh,

Dania, Dhaka,

ilcbd2008@gmail.com