Violence Online in India: Cybercrimes Against Women and Minorities on Social Media

"[W]hat we have today is a flawed Internet that reflects the offline world we live in, where women and marginalized communities are abused, harassed, threatened, stalked, and violated daily. As a feminist journalist, this concerns me deeply because it discourages marginalized groups from using the Internet to access important news and discourages them from voicing their opinions. Furthermore, the attacks on women journalists, in particular, are often coordinated actions meant to censor non-dominant viewpoints." - Japleen Pasricha

This research report on online violence against women and marginalised individuals emerges from a collaboration between the digital feminist platform Feminism in India and the watchdog organisation Freedom House as part of the latter's Hyperlinkers project, which seeks to amplify the voices of marginalised communities in global digital rights discussions. These groups united in recognition of their observation that "[t]he rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which came to power in the 2014 general election and espouses Hindu nationalism, has been accompanied by an increase in online abuse against a range of targets, from 'liberal and secular' journalists to activists and women from historically marginalized caste groups. Since 2012, news reports have documented at least eight high profile Indian women harassed for expressing their views on Twitter or Facebook, some on multiple occasions."

Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed in the study, including: analysis of media reports involving online harassment of high profile women; a survey of 500 social media users; and interviews with 10 of the respondents. Many survey respondents were women under 35, living in major cities in India, and educated at the college level or above.

Key findings:

• Among the 500 people surveyed, 58% reported having faced some kind of online aggression in the form of trolling, bullying, abuse, or harassment. "If I write feminist views, men start calling me names and making offensive remarks," said one.
• However, women and other targets lack support and understanding to respond effectively. In part this could be linked to the fact that some respondents found it hard to think of online harassment as being on par with violence, even though 30% of those who had experienced it found it "extremely upsetting" and 15% reported that it leads to mental health issues like depression, stress, and insomnia.
• Thirty-six percent of respondents who had experienced harassment online took no action at all. Twenty-eight percent reported that they had intentionally reduced their online presence after suffering online abuse.
• Though avid users of social media, respondents lose trust in popular platforms because of harassment against them or someone they know. Over half want stricter community standards for content, as well as and the ability to report and block abuse more quickly. The reporting mechanisms "should also be culturally sensitive and empathetic," one respondent said. "For example, if the messages are in Hindi or slang, websites should have employees able to read and respond to those messages. Additionally, complaints should be treated as valid even if the complainant has been connected to the abuser a long time...previous politeness or friendship does not make a woman complicit in her reception of abusive messages."
• Victims are more likely to block abuse than to report it, yet blocking is ineffective against organised, sustained campaigns using multiple accounts. Assailants readily exploit mechanisms to report abuse, alleging their victims have violated platform guidelines to disable their accounts.

The report notes that, "[i]n addition to expanding options for women to complain about abuse, education is needed for law enforcement agencies, and even for the victims and their communities, about the importance of prosecuting individuals who use social media as a tool to perpetuate violence against women and minorities." Other recommendations include:

"For social media platforms:

• Create ways for women and representatives of minority groups to escalate reports of harassment, particularly incidents involving multiple accounts or lasting several days, indications that the activity is organized.
• Employ local staff, particularly grievance officers, to ensure that workers can adequately evaluate complaints about posts made in local languages based on local cultural context.
• Facebook should revisit its real-name policy and make it more flexible, especially for marginalized genders and sexualities, journalists, and whistle-blowers under threat..."

For the government:

• Encourage women to report when criminals violate their rights online.
• Ensure the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children is accessible via mobile internet as an app that functions even where bandwidth is low. Ensure that users' privacy is protected and that it is they are not subject to monitoring.
• Implement the law against individuals responsible for inciting and carrying out online violence against women and marginalized communities, regardless of their political or religious agenda.
• Bharatiya Janata Party leaders should strongly condemn online harassment conducted in the name of Hindu nationalism. Party members and supporters responsible for harassment should be held accountable.

For law enforcement:

• Foster an environment in which individuals feel confident enough to report online abuse to authorities, even if this challenges cultural norms and takes time.
• Stop dismissing reports of sexualized or gender-based abuse because they take place on the internet.
• Educate officers that the response to online harassment is not to stop the victim using the internet.
• Inform officers about the laws that apply to online harassment, and how to direct complainants to appropriate legal recourse."

Based on the research report, around the 16 Days of Activism - The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence in 2016, Feminism in India ran a campaign against online abuse and harassment that women face, especially on social media websites. Feminism in India asked people to use the hashtag #DigitalHifazat to share their story - in the form of a story, video, image, artwork, comic, audio podcast, meme, etc. - as well as to spread the word about the campaign to friends and send in recommendations for how to curb online violence against women. Visit the #DigitalHifazat page on the Feminism in India website to access all campaign outputs, including stories, posters, and other content like the video posted below.