Sexual harassment — you must have come across this term a lot of times, but the majority of people in our country are unaware of online sexual harassment. As technology advances, a majority of our society is looking towards the brighter side of it. But there is a darker side to it that we conveniently ignore until we come across such a thing personally.
Next time you come across things like getting unwarranted video call requests, demands to come online at odd hours, instances of being stalked on social media, getting friend requests from strangers or receiving comments on your pictures from those you don’t know, you might be a victim of online harassment.
Many women professionals are made to feel guilty for fulfilling any of their domestic responsibilities during working hours and receive taunts or negative comments for the same. Under the pretext of being distracted by kids or home, they are invited to unscheduled meetings at odd hours. While it is often organised in the name of urgent matters, it turns out to be regular work that could have been easily done through an exchange of emails.
Other instances such as male colleagues dressing up inappropriately during virtual meetings that make women co-workers uncomfortable, and intentional or unintentional passing of inappropriate comments during conference calls are also cases of harassment.
When unreported, harassment creates trouble not only for the person who is being harassed but all the other employees who are vulnerable and likely to be harassed by the same perpetrators in the future. This is why people must speak up, voice their issues and make sure that they are heard and action is taken against the harasser.
There are many governments Acts that help women deal with such problems. As per POSH Act, every organisation has to set policies on harassment. Women can anonymously report and complain. However, in the absence of the POSH committee, women can seek other options as well.
Online sexual harassment happens on an electronic platform and as per the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), protection against instances of online harassment is also included in this Act. Section 67 of the IT Act prescribes punitive measures for publishing and/or transmitting obscene content on an electronic platform. Section 67A stipulates punishment for publishing or transmitting material containing any sexually explicit act, in an electronic form.
Cases of online harassment can also attract penal provisions of Sections 354A, 354D, or 509 of the Indian Penal Code. These prescribe punishment for a perpetrator who sexually harasses a woman by stalking her on the internet and through their words, act or gesture intends to insult the modesty of a woman.
These kinds of harassment are also considered serious crimes and working women should not stop themselves to report such incidents. It is always advisable to seek help from legal experts or as a last resort, approach local authorities and take a legal course of action.
Where To File Complaints If You Are A Survivor
You can approach cyber cells that come under criminal investigation departments to deal with cybercrime. You can also file an FIR at a local police station.
If you are unable to file an FIR, you can approach the police commissioner. A police station must register an FIR.
The National Commission for Women also offers services to help survivors of online harassment deal with the police. The Commission has the power to set up an inquiry committee, which is empowered to conduct spot inquiries, collect evidence, interrogate witnesses and summon the accused to expedite the investigation.
Reporting on social media websites is also an option where you have been harassed. Most of these websites have the option of reporting the crime since they are obliged under the IT rules 2011 to take action within 36 hours of reporting to stop the offensive content from spreading.
These are some provisions under the act that help women to address or complain about the issues to the right authorities.
Sachhi Saheli is a Delhi-based NGO that works to impart sexual awareness. It has also started an online campaign, #HaqSeOnline provides a platform where women who have been facing online harassment speak up, help them in their cause to support them and spread awareness about harassment, as it often goes unnoticed.
It also provides mental support to all those whose lives have been impacted by harassment so that they can find the courage and supports them in integrating back into society. Moreover, they guide women on how to approach the appropriate authorities and provide them with ways to combat harassment so that they have their defensives lined up properly.
Online sexual harassment has been picking up pace lately, with more and more women working from home. The most dangerous thing about this is that online harassment spares no age group; women of all ages are equally vulnerable to such an instant. The worst thing in all of this is that women are not even aware of the law that protects them from such heinous activities.
The general environment in which we live doesn’t even consider such cases of harassment abnormal; instead, it finds a way to justify that these do happen in the workplace and it’s pretty common.
This attitude needs to be changed, our society is equally responsible for providing the courage and protecting these harassers as the majority of the time people don’t complain about all this. They are required to be treated as offenders and should be punished reasonably. We must speak up and voice out so that this cycle of harassment stops with them.