An overwhelming majority of female victims of cyber harassment did not show any interest to file complaints with police after the identification of accused persons. Since the inception of Police Cyber Support for Women (PCSW) on November 16 last year, around 12,641 women communicated with the all-women special wing of the Police Headquarters. Only 12 per cent of the victims proceeded to file a general diary (GD) or case. Law enforcement agencies said cyber victims — who are mainly young women between the ages of 18 to 24 — do not want to file complaints for fear of social stigma.
It becomes difficult to proceed when the victim backs down after identifying the culprit, especially when the accused has been arrested. Social taboos must be broken so that we can deal with the perpetrators. We want them to be punished. Women are the biggest victims of cyberbullying, and this trend is on the rise. Only victims of such harassment can understand the intensity of the situation. People should exercise caution when using the internet and be more aware of privacy settings. During the event, three victims who received support from PCSW shared their experiences and thanked the officials for their efforts.
It is a challenging task to provide service to the victims, many of whom undergo traumatic experiences, and some even want to die committing suicide after facing cyber harassment. Cyberbullying is a crisis faced in all countries. As good citizens, we have to deal with this collectively. In real life, we get support from family, friends or teachers to become good citizens, but the issue remains absent in the virtual world. It has a long-term negative impact on our present and future generations. That is why change must come from the family and school levels. We need to build conscious good citizens on the internet.
