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90% of Revenge Porn victims are either Women or people in the LGBTQ community. 93% reported not only the person but the family members too underwent severe trauma. 49% of such people surveyed said they are harassed or stalked online by users who saw their material. 27% of Indians in the age group of 13 to 45 in the sample surveyed were subjected to such instances of Revenge porn and this age group is most vulnerable.
National Crime Records Bureau of India reports 157% increase year on year in the number of cases reported for sharing obscene content on the internet. Unfortunately, some are accidental, but many are driven by vengeance from the ex-partner to settle scores with either the boy who has moved on or the girl who is now happily married concealing and forgetting her past.
Revenge Porn is a global phenomenon, in India its now catching up but less than 5% of cases get reported. The taboo and stigma associated is such which is also a raising concern for many suicide cases, job loss, matrimonial disputes leading to divorce and many more repercussions. 95% of Cyber-Crime victims do not even lodge a complaint as the victims, who are usually women, fear they will get identified and labelled in society, alas the prevalence of victim shaming. Also comes with it an embarrassment of showing their content to the person seeking help from which could be the police, lawyer, parents, siblings, counselor etc…
The First ever case State of West Bengal v Animesh Boxi in the year 2018 sets precedence with punishment for 5 years and a fine of INR 9,000. Also, the judgement gives directions to the state government to treat the victim of Revenge Porn as a Rape Survivor and provide her appropriate compensation.
“ Revenge porn is defined as sexually explicit images of a person posted online without that person’s consent especially as a form of revenge or harassment. Unfortunately, the perpetrator and the victim shared an intimate relationship in the past ”
What should you do if you are a victim of Revenge Porn
– While you will want the guilty to be punished, first thing first, as soon as you identify immediately report to the platform where you saw such image / video either yourself or through your legal counsel and request removal of such online content.
– Facebook, Instagram, YouTube restrict nudity, but some medical videos continue to be available in these platforms usually are that of breast feeding or cancer detection guides, no matter how intelligent the platforms are some photographs or videos cannot be detected automatically, reporting will help remove the content.
– Blogs often may not be monitored, and such platforms may carry your images / videos posted by the offender and as a victim reporting to the platform provider gets these removed immediately.
– Unfortunately, if the content is removed from or the URLs are deleted, the material may still be on the hosting website.
– While these images or videos are in the process of being removed do consult your legal counsel and identify the options you wish to pursue to both defend your self and punish the accused.
– You may also approach a clinical psychologist and during this tough time seek counselling. I do volunteer for such activities as time permits and as a practicing advocate work closely with the cyber crime police in assisting victims and standing for justice. I can be reached at lawyersonia@gmail.com for any guidance or legal assistance.
– Gather evidence of the material, while you have written to the platforms to remove the content, take screen shots which will form the evidence if you wish to file a legal suit against the offender.
– Consider the source of images, identify if you have accidently shared or someone has intentionally hacked from your personal devices. File a report with the police. You may directly approach the women’s cell, if you are a resident of Bangalore do reach the Shivajinagar women Police Station either directly or with your legal counsel and get the FIR registered and the stage
Legal Remedies for Revenge Porn
Many law makers globally agree that a definitive law needs to be defined with the quantum of punishment and the procedure for trail. While law making agencies in few countries have initiated such bills in their parliaments, In India acts of Revenge Porn often called as Non consensual pornography or Non consensual sharing of intimate images under the Section 66E, 67, 67A, 72 IT ACT. Such offences are also tried under section 4 and section 6 of Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (IRWA), beyond the above acts the offender can be tried depending on the gravity of the case and parties involved under various sections of IPC not limited to IPC 292,354, 354 A, 354 C, 120 B, 406, 499, 509.
Conclusion
While there are legal remedies, we need to create a mass awareness and educate the people, especially adolescents and the youth not to encourage sharing nude pictures over the internet or engage in virtual intimate relationships online. While technology is a boon such acts of violating cyber privacy either accidentally or intentionally is a bane.
Trust this information compiled in this blog post is of help. Reach out to me if you are a victim of such cyber-attack at mail@lawyersonia.com if you need counselling and legal assistance.
