How Smart phones and Social Media is the New tools of cyber crimes against women

Despite all essential awareness against the crime against women and girls, it is the fact that the  growing reach of internet, the rapid spread of mobile information and communication technologies and the wide diffusion of social media have presented new opportunities and enabled various efforts to address violence against women and girls.

A workshop on ‘Cyber Crimes against women: Challenges posed by the Social Networking’  organised by the Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia in the university campus. 

Senior Lawyer, Pavan Duggal has said that Smart phones and Social Media can be new tools of cyber crimes against women. He advised women to use their smart phones, internet and other such platforms with utmost care and not divulge their personal details on them.

Speaking at a workshop on ‘Cyber Crimes against women: Challenges posed by the Social Networking’  organised by the Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia in the university campus here, he specifically addressed women students and said cyber bullying in educational institutions has become a big problem and as of now there is no dedicated legislation to deal with it.

Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof Shahid Ashraf, who presided over the function, said violence against women and girls through cyber space is emerging as a global problem with serious implications for societies and economies around the world.

Suggesting that Smart Phones, which Duggal described as ‘’sitting bombs’’, should be used only as a phone and not as a camera and should not be synced with Cloud,  Duggal  said that WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, internet and other social networking sites  have become a convenient tool to target women.

Referring to increasing number of cyber crimes against women by hacking their account thus  causing  harassment , anxiety and agony to them , he said that they  have to protect themselves by not divulging too much of their personnel details.

He also said that women should be studiously careful of their surroundings particularly their place of work as there had been instances of spy camera  being used to film them. “Your security is in your hands,’’ he said.

Prof Ashraf said violence against women and girls knows no boundaries, cutting across borders, race, culture and income groups, profoundly harming victims, people around them and the society as a whole.

The growing reach of internet, the rapid spread of mobile information and communication technologies and the wide diffusion of social media have presented new opportunities and enabled various efforts to address violence against women and girls, he said.