Social Media networks might have democratised information and opinion but abuse, particularly directed towards women, is a problem that needs to be addressed
Almost every public personality, politicians, actors and journalists have suffered at the hands of an online mob. Even your writer has been called names and faced vitriol on social media. However, in light of events over the past few weeks, it has become glaringly obvious that the online harassment of women has not just reached endemic levels it has become a global scourge. And this needs to be addressed and fast. Your writer has seen the mentions and direct messages that some female journalists in India have received and to call them vile would be an understatement. Threats of sexual violence and murder are not acceptable. Period. And the simple fact is that women who are online, particularly those with a public profile get it worse. It is sometimes impossible as a man to understand the level and the severity of those threats. But the time has come to say, as men, to say enough is enough. And why should anybody get abused for posting a perfectly decent selfie or expressing an opinionIJ
If ever your writer has said something inappropriate in a public forum, online and offline which could be construed as a slur or a threat, even though that is unlikely, I apologise profusely. There is no excuse for any such behaviour. And if there is anybody I know who has publicly indulged in such behaviour those people are not worth knowing. Yes, what happens among groups of men is sometimes disconcerting and deeply troubling and does highlight the fact that we live is a highly patriarchal society. As the Harvey Weinstein episode reveals, there is systematic sexual abuse and power games, and we would be fooling ourselves if we believed that this is an American or Western theme. The casting couch and sexual power games exist in India as well, and not just in Bollywood but is deeply intertwined in the very fabric of India, including the media.
It is unlikely that will change overnight, but is gratifying to see that young women are coming out with harrowing tales of abuse. The perpetrators need to be tried and if found guilty need to be given harsh punishments. This is where a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court judgement on a case involving students is a troubling precedent. The concept of consent needs to be taught to boys and girls at a very young age. And we, as older adults, would be kidding ourselves if we did not realise that young people are going to do whatever they want to do. But young men in particular, need to fully comprehend what consent means, even in a relationship, and the fact is that most men, not just in this country, do not realise that.
But back to the core issue at hand of online social abuse of women, which is a crisis. While the social media has made it possible to people to give instant feedback and comment on everything from stories to policy, and that is a good thing. People should be allowed to praise or critique issues, and that is the beauty of social media. Those critiques, even ones born out of a dislike of the individual who made them are protected by freedom of speech. Abuse and threats are however not protected. One does not have the right to make a threat in real life, and one does not have the right to make a threat online. And do not for second believe that because a threat is made online that it is a joke because only one in a million people who make the threat will go through with it.
A threat is a threat and just like a woman who has been threatened in the real world would go to the police and report such a threat, they must do the same thing if a threat is made online as they would if such a threat is made on the phone. Here too, the authorities must be much more proactive. Online threats are often made by people with anonymous accounts and even if made by an individual, they may not who they claim to be. However, the technology companies have a huge amount of information about those who make the threats, like their locations, often to within a few meters. If a mobile phone is used, those devices can be tracked. Far too often, technology companies have hidden behind the lack of legal jurisdiction and the pretense of free speech protected under the United States First Amendment.
While the US First Amendment is an overarching piece of legislation, no law gives people the right to abuse. It is gratifying to see that some technology companies are realising this. For online communities to continue being vibrant places where people can exchange ideas openly and freely, abuse has to be curbed. And while technology companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter are establishing rules and procedures to monitor interactions and remove threats online, they must assist police forces whenever a complaint is made. Sure, sometimes the person involved in making a threat cannot be traced as there are masking technologies being used, but 99.9 per cent of the time, the threat is made by someone who can be traced. Only when there are some successful prosecutions can this menace begin to be curbed.
Of course, the glacial pace of India’s judicial system is going to be a challenge. There is also the clear problem of jurisdictions, what if a threat was made by a British citizen living in Toronto against someone living in KochiIJ The examples are endless. While a technology company would take down such a post, legal jurisdictions in order to fight such abuse given the global nature of the world wide web will be a problem. When it comes to hurting ‘sentiments’ for example, the wide nature of India’s Section 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code does not have a similar equivalent elsewhere, and can hurting sentiments be construed as abuse. What if someone considers a pejorative term such as ‘idiot’ or ‘moron’ as abuseIJ You and I may think that would be stretching it too far but if prefixed as ‘f*****g moron’ is it abuse thenIJ
There is no doubt that this is going to be a legal minefield in many cases but threats of rape and death are fairly clear cut and before one walks down the path of restricted speech and definitions of hate and abuse, the clear cut cases should be dealt with first. At the same time, if trolls are attacking women for expressing an opinion which could have been constructed on a lie, then there is recourse to defamation, but threats are not the way to disagree with any opinion or story.
On this front, the government and the political leadership have a role to play. Many hyper-partisan political supporters tend to be the lead perpetrators of online abuse. They must disown such individuals. No woman deserves to be threatened with rape, and just because one is online and protected by a veneer of anonymity does not mean that one cannot be found out. It is also time for men to stand up and say ‘enough is enough’.
(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)