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Cyber sexual harassment refers to the harmful conduct perpetrated by one or more individuals against a victim in the cyberspace, resulting in various forms of harm, such as emotional and mental distress, gender-based harassment, privacy invasion, and more. These harassers may instill fear of physical harm, make threats, disseminate defamatory content about the victim, or even go so far as to create fake pornographic content featuring the victim.

Cyber sexual harassment is not defined under any law, rather it is considered as a form of sexual harassment which occurs through digital communication, including emails, text messages, social media platforms, and online forums.

Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code, defines the term sexual harassment and provide punishment for sexual harassment. According to this section, "Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment-(1) A man committing any of the following acts--

(i) physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures; or

(ii) a demand or request for sexual favours; or

(iii) showing pornography against the will of a woman; or

(iv) making sexually coloured remarks,

shall be guilty of the offence of sexual harassment.

(2) Any man who commits the offence specified in clause (i) or clause (ii) or clause (iii) of sub-section (1) shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

(3) Any man who commits the offence specified in clause (iv) of sub-section (1) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both."

Types of Cyber Sexual Harassment:

Online sexual harassment can take many different forms, some of the most common types include:

• Sexual comments/messages: Unwanted or inappropriate comments or remarks of a sexual nature.

• Unsolicited explicit content: Sending unsolicited sexually explicit images, videos, or links.

• Cyberstalking: Persistent and unwanted attention or contact online.

• Revenge porn: Sharing sexually explicit images or videos of someone without consent.

• Sexual blackmail: Threatening to share or release sexually explicit content unless demands are met.

• Harassment/bullying: Using offensive language or comments to harass or intimidate someone.

• Impersonation: Creating a fake account or pretending to be someone else online to harass or intimidate others.

• Unwanted sexual advances: Unwanted sexual invitations or advances that make someone feel uncomfortable or threatened.

Legal Provisions:

There are several laws in India that provide protection against cyber sexual harassment, including sections 66A, 66C, 66D, 66E, 67, 67A, and 72 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, as well as sections 354C, 354D, and 509 of the Indian Penal Code. These sections of the IT Act cover cyber defamation, trolling, cyber pornography, online impersonation, and privacy infringement, while the Indian Penal Code offers protection against acts of cyberstalking and voyeurism. Moreover, the Criminal Law Amendment Bill of 2013 has expanded the scope of provisions under 354A, 354C and 354D to include harassment of women through electronic media.

Sharing Disturbing Images of Women

According to Section 345C of IPC, individuals who capture and distribute non-consensual, intimate images of women can be penalized. If the images were shared online with the women's consent, no crime has been committed. However, if the pictures were taken with only the consent to capture them, sharing them without consent is a punishable offence. IPC outlines imprisonment of up to 3 years, with the possibility of extension to 7 years and a fine for such offences.

Voyeurism

Section 66E of the IT Act criminalizes voyeurism, defined as the act of knowingly or unknowingly capturing photos of a person's private areas without their consent, sharing them with others, or publishing them. Offenders may face imprisonment for up to 3 years and fines up to two lakh rupees.

Section 67A of the IT Act makes it a criminal offense to publish or transmit sexually explicit material online. The punishment for this crime includes imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine that may extend to ten lakh rupees. Repeat offenses carry a heavier penalty, with imprisonment of up to 7 years and a fine that may extend to ten lakh rupees.

Sharing Obscene Messages

Section 354A of IPC addresses the offense of sharing pornographic or sexually explicit material without a woman's consent, which is considered sexual harassment through social media. This offense is punishable under the IPC, and the offender may face imprisonment for up to 3 years, a fine, or both.

Section 292 of IPC makes it illegal to sell, distribute, exhibit, or possess any obscene material, including books, drawings, and other objects. The penalty for such an offense is imprisonment for up to 2 years and a fine of up to two thousand rupees. Repeated or subsequent offenses carry a heavier penalty of imprisonment for up to 5 years and a fine of up to five thousand rupees.

Section 294 of IPC criminalizes obscene acts or the use of obscene language in public places or nearby public areas. Such offenses are punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 months, a fine, or both.

Online Stalking

Online stalking can be difficult to detect due to anonymity in the digital space. There are currently no specific laws addressing online stalking. However, Section 72 of the IT Act can be used to penalize the release of another person's information online without their consent. This offense carries a penalty of imprisonment up to 2 years, a fine of one lakh rupees, or both.

Impacts of Cyber Sexual Harassment:

Cyber sexual harassment has detrimental effects not only on the victim but also on society as a whole. It can result in severe emotional distress, leading the victim to contemplate suicide, resign from their job, or drop out of school. Additionally, it can cause mental suffering, resulting in trauma, decreased productivity, and reduced activity levels. Furthermore, cyber harassment of women contributes to sexual objectification and gender stereotyping. In today's digital world, where social media is the norm for making friends, job hunting, and professional networking, cyberspace sexual harassment can have life-altering consequences for victims. 

Measures taken by the Government to Prevent Cyber Sexual Harassment:

The Central Government has implemented measures, in collaboration with stakeholders, to address cyber crimes, particularly those targeting women and children:

• The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 hold social media platforms accountable for user safety by empowering users and requiring intermediaries to adopt a robust grievance redressal mechanism. Intermediaries must communicate their terms and conditions, including not allowing any content which is harmful, unlawful, obscene, invasive of another‟s privacy, and remove any information violative of Indian law. Additionally, Significant Social media Intermediaries (SSMI) are required to proactively identify child sexual abuse material using technology-based measures.

• The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) was created by the Government under the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide a comprehensive and coordinated framework for law enforcement agencies to combat cyber crimes.

• The 'Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC)' project is implemented under the Nirbhaya Fund to raise awareness about cyber crimes, issue alerts/advisories, provide capacity building/training for law enforcement personnel/prosecutors/judicial officers, and improve cyber forensic facilities.

• The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal has been launched as part of a project to enable the public to report incidents of cyber crimes, with a focus on those against women and children. A toll-free number - 1930 has been set up to assist in lodging online complaints, and incidents reported on the portal are automatically routed to the relevant states for further handling based on the information provided by the applicant.

Effective Techniques for Prevention of Cyber Harassment:

Set strong privacy settings: Limit strangers from viewing your posts and personal information.

Be selective about online connections: Be cautious about accepting friend requests or connections from people you don't know.

Be careful with your photos: Avoid posting revealing photos of yourself online, especially if they can be easily shared or copied.

Use a strong password: Choose a strong password that is difficult to guess.

Educate yourself: Learn about different forms of cyber sexual harassment and how to identify them.

Report any harassment: Report to the appropriate authorities if you experience cyber sexual harassment.

Conclusion:

Raising awareness and exercising caution while using cyberspace can help prevent many women from becoming victims of cybercrime, particularly cyber sexual harassment. Nevertheless, the current legal measures in place to tackle cybercrime are inadequate to fully address the issue. What is needed is a more resilient and vigilant system that can effectively prevent these crimes at the grassroots level. However, achieving this goal will require a collaborative effort between government and non-governmental organizations.

References:

https://blog.ipleaders.in/sexual-harassment-in-digital-space/

https://www.legalbites.in/cyber-sexual-harassment-laws-india/

https://ijalr.in/volume-2/issue-3-2/cyber-harassment-a-modern-form-of-violence-against-women-by-sanjana-saha/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/aashank-dwivedi/crime-against-women-through-social-media-48132/

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1806602