News Desk :
Samia Siddiqua (not her real name) went to bed after a long day at work. Her mobile phone buzzed in the middle of the night with a call on WhatsApp from an unknown number, reports bdnews24.com.
After declining the call several times, she finally received it only to be bombarded with obscene remarks and vulgar language from the other end. Samia then hung up and thought that the worst was over. But the caller flooded her phone with obscene photos. The caller did not relent and sent more pictures afterwards.
Two days later, Samia filed a general diary with the police. But going to a police station to file a complaint over online abuse is not an easy decision for women to take in Bangladesh as they face victim-shaming and other sorts of harassment at every step.
A newly formed all-women unit-Police Cyber Support for Women or PCSW-helped her gather the courage to take legal action and file the complaint without visiting a police station.
Samia availed the support after calling the PCSW helpline (01320000888). The victims can submit their complaints via the special cell’s Facebook page, email ([email protected]) and the national emergency helpline 999 as well.
In the first month to Dec 16, as many as 5,666 women contacted the special cell, according to the Police Headquarters. Among them, 3,453 contacted through the Facebook page’s messaging option, 3,254 contacted via the helpline and 136 others via email.
At least 1,936 of the victims received legal services, 1,796 were asked for permission to use necessary information, while for the rest 1,934 women had or are having discussions with the unit to find a solution.
Most of the women were harassed through fake IDs, the complaints showed.
As many as 1,443 women have complained that their photos or identities or both were used to open fake IDs on Facebook to upload their pictures, videos or information. Also, 716 complaints of social media account hack and 417 incidents of blackmailing were reported.
A total of 528 complaints were over bullying and threats via mobile phone, while 430 women alleged they were sent obscene contents, including pornographic pictures or writing.
As many as 1,494 women reported crimes that are not cyber-related. Men also used the services of the special unit to file complaints.
In most cases, women do not file complaints after being subjected to offences under the ICT Act, Digital Security Act, Pornography Control Act and Telecommunication Act – a finding that led the police to launch the unit, said Sohel Rana, an assistant inspector general of police.
“The government has been relentlessly trying to establish a connection between the people and technology. As the internet became easily accessible, and no existing regulation is there for its usage unlike other countries, it is now being abused. People with perverted taste are using the internet to harass the women.”
“We’ve formed the all-women unit so that they can file a complaint without hesitation,” he said.
To ensure the protection of the victims and the members of the PCSW team, their identities are never revealed, Sohel Rana said. He hoped that the services would be able to achieve the desired goal with assistance from everyone.
The other police units, such as DMP Cyber Crime Investigation Division, CID Cyber Police Centre, CMP Cyber Unit, Bogura District Police Cyber Cell and RMP Cyber Unit, will continue their services along with the PCSW.
Experts have applauded the initiative. “The number of cybercrimes has increased sharply and it is a timely move indeed for some immediate measure,” said Professor Zia Rahman, chairman of Dhaka University’s criminology department.
“People are engrossed by the cyberspace these days, while the government never had any initiative to tackle [the cybercrimes]. Bangladesh Police must be lauded for such an initiative under the circumstances.”
“As the service got a huge response at its initiation, we hope this will always continue,” he added.
Some women seeking services of PCSW, however, complained that they received no responses after contacting the platform several times.
Shaharin Amin Supti, a student of Dhaka University’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, said she had complained to the PCSW’s Facebook page over obscene remarks, photos and threats to rape women on Facebook.
“I messaged the complaint to the page on Nov 21 and expected a quick response. But I never got any response. I was very happy to know about the service; something novel in Bangladesh. Maybe my message was lost in thousands of messages and they missed it,” Supti said.
“I hope they’ll get over such hurdles and provide immediate response to everyone.”
Many other women were satisfied with the services.
“I don’t know what people are saying but I received assistance and suggestions just in an hour after I gave them proper information,” said Fatema Nasrin, thanking the PCSW in a post on its Facebook page.
“I applaud Bangladesh Police for this noble initiative. And kudos to those who work for days and nights with this initiative,” she said.
“Some people may bother them without a reason. We should shun such nonsense and let them (PCSW team) work better. It’s a new unit and they need time to settle. We all should have patience.”
Samia Siddiqua (not her real name) went to bed after a long day at work. Her mobile phone buzzed in the middle of the night with a call on WhatsApp from an unknown number, reports bdnews24.com.
After declining the call several times, she finally received it only to be bombarded with obscene remarks and vulgar language from the other end. Samia then hung up and thought that the worst was over. But the caller flooded her phone with obscene photos. The caller did not relent and sent more pictures afterwards.
Two days later, Samia filed a general diary with the police. But going to a police station to file a complaint over online abuse is not an easy decision for women to take in Bangladesh as they face victim-shaming and other sorts of harassment at every step.
A newly formed all-women unit-Police Cyber Support for Women or PCSW-helped her gather the courage to take legal action and file the complaint without visiting a police station.
Samia availed the support after calling the PCSW helpline (01320000888). The victims can submit their complaints via the special cell’s Facebook page, email ([email protected]) and the national emergency helpline 999 as well.
In the first month to Dec 16, as many as 5,666 women contacted the special cell, according to the Police Headquarters. Among them, 3,453 contacted through the Facebook page’s messaging option, 3,254 contacted via the helpline and 136 others via email.
At least 1,936 of the victims received legal services, 1,796 were asked for permission to use necessary information, while for the rest 1,934 women had or are having discussions with the unit to find a solution.
Most of the women were harassed through fake IDs, the complaints showed.
As many as 1,443 women have complained that their photos or identities or both were used to open fake IDs on Facebook to upload their pictures, videos or information. Also, 716 complaints of social media account hack and 417 incidents of blackmailing were reported.
A total of 528 complaints were over bullying and threats via mobile phone, while 430 women alleged they were sent obscene contents, including pornographic pictures or writing.
As many as 1,494 women reported crimes that are not cyber-related. Men also used the services of the special unit to file complaints.
In most cases, women do not file complaints after being subjected to offences under the ICT Act, Digital Security Act, Pornography Control Act and Telecommunication Act – a finding that led the police to launch the unit, said Sohel Rana, an assistant inspector general of police.
“The government has been relentlessly trying to establish a connection between the people and technology. As the internet became easily accessible, and no existing regulation is there for its usage unlike other countries, it is now being abused. People with perverted taste are using the internet to harass the women.”
“We’ve formed the all-women unit so that they can file a complaint without hesitation,” he said.
To ensure the protection of the victims and the members of the PCSW team, their identities are never revealed, Sohel Rana said. He hoped that the services would be able to achieve the desired goal with assistance from everyone.
The other police units, such as DMP Cyber Crime Investigation Division, CID Cyber Police Centre, CMP Cyber Unit, Bogura District Police Cyber Cell and RMP Cyber Unit, will continue their services along with the PCSW.
Experts have applauded the initiative. “The number of cybercrimes has increased sharply and it is a timely move indeed for some immediate measure,” said Professor Zia Rahman, chairman of Dhaka University’s criminology department.
“People are engrossed by the cyberspace these days, while the government never had any initiative to tackle [the cybercrimes]. Bangladesh Police must be lauded for such an initiative under the circumstances.”
“As the service got a huge response at its initiation, we hope this will always continue,” he added.
Some women seeking services of PCSW, however, complained that they received no responses after contacting the platform several times.
Shaharin Amin Supti, a student of Dhaka University’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, said she had complained to the PCSW’s Facebook page over obscene remarks, photos and threats to rape women on Facebook.
“I messaged the complaint to the page on Nov 21 and expected a quick response. But I never got any response. I was very happy to know about the service; something novel in Bangladesh. Maybe my message was lost in thousands of messages and they missed it,” Supti said.
“I hope they’ll get over such hurdles and provide immediate response to everyone.”
Many other women were satisfied with the services.
“I don’t know what people are saying but I received assistance and suggestions just in an hour after I gave them proper information,” said Fatema Nasrin, thanking the PCSW in a post on its Facebook page.
“I applaud Bangladesh Police for this noble initiative. And kudos to those who work for days and nights with this initiative,” she said.
“Some people may bother them without a reason. We should shun such nonsense and let them (PCSW team) work better. It’s a new unit and they need time to settle. We all should have patience.”
