Book Description

The Internet’s increasing scope, the rapid proliferation of ICTs for mobile information and communications technologies) and the wide distribution of social media have created new opportunities. Cyber-VAWG is emerging as a global issue with serious implications for global societies and economies. Cyber-crimes targeting women and children are on rise. 1 In the online world, women and children have been found to be very gullible, with cybercrimes against women and children witnessing a sharp rise in the last few years. Women are usually subjected to cybercrimes such as cyber harassment, online stalking, cyber pornography, cyber defamation, matrimonial fraud and much more. The right to the Internet is a human right, as declared in June 2016 by the United Nations Council on Human Rights. The cyber world as such has a virtual reality where anyone can hide or even falsify their identity, this internet gift is used by the criminally minded to commit wrongdoing and then hide under the internet's blanket. The paper identifies common forms of cyber-crimes against women, such as cyber stalking, cyber pornography, circulating images / morphing, sending obscene / defamatory / annoying messages, online trolling / bullying / blackmailing / threat or intimidation, and email spoofing and impersonation. It recommends further steps that need to be taken to deal holistically and effectively with cybercrimes against women. While India’s Internet population may explode, social network users experience a looming gender imbalance. This can be seen in areas such as the number of internet users, the number of users on Facebook and Twitter, digital literacy and political tweets. Cybercrimes generally incepted by fake ids generated on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites that cause severe harm to women, severe blackmailing, intimidation, bullying, or cheating via messenger messages and email are committed by the perpetrators. Ill-intentioned people commit these cyber-crimes with mischievous intent such as illicit gain, vengeance, insult to a woman's dignity, extort, blackmail, defamation, and steal information.