The underlying harm
Consider a casual online dating session between an 18-year-old girl and boy. One may think there is no harm involved; moreover, if you aren’t meeting the other person physically, the chances of an assault are nil. Few realise that that casual online date is just the spark!
• 18-year-old Thomas begins an online sexual affair with 18-year-old Jessi.
• Thomas’s wife discovers the affair, and sends Jessi a photo of her 46-yearold husband Thomas with their two kids.
• Jessi breaks off the affair and begins a new one with Thomas’s 22-year-old co-worker Brian.
• Thomas becomes jealous and kills Brian.
• Investigations find that Jessi is a 45-year-old lady, actual name Mary, who uses her daughter’s pictures to woo men online.
Anybody can meet a Thomas or a Jessi. Anybody can be the victim or the predator. Many have already been cobwebbed into the traps of cyber stalking, trolling and sexual harassment.
Privacy settings
A mere status on your profile can be an invitation for perverts. Consider the case of Rima Bahl (name changed to maintain anonymity) who posted a sarcastic status about an actor on her Facebook timeline. Hoards of men visited her profile and posted sexually derogatory comments. Set your profile settings to the option where only your friends (not even friends of friends) can view the content in your profile.
Add the known
You may receive numerous add requests from cute and not-so-cute unknowns. We know having a gazillion friends on your list is a status symbol, and its highly tempting to accept new add requests, especially from the cute ones. But you never know whose behind that profile – gender, looks, age are just mere words in cyber space. A sexually explicit chat or image exchanged between you and the stranger can be shared all over social media very easily.
Webcams can be the web
Cyber sex has gained visual appeal through webcams. There are a number
of popular, commercial websites that allow people to openly masturbate on camera while others watch them. So if you still haven’t paid heed and have accepted the friend request of a stranger, and if he/she asks you to turn on your webcam, you will never know when all the data is transmitted to one of those lurid sites and just how you’re serving adult entertainment to others.
Behind the gaming façade
There are online social role playing games dedicated to cyber sex and adult entertainment (called AMMORPGs). They are capable of supporting thousands of players simultaneously. Many times perverts record actual voices of players (if any audio input is required in the game) and make it goviral.
Why break your heart?
Today, cyber sex is a business. Internet sex workers sit behind the screen, changing their identities for every target. It’s only after months or years that the target reveals the truth. And then follows a stream of tears. Internet adultery has also become a sturdy ground for many break ups and divorces.
Know your partner well
There have been many instances where partners have filmed sexual acts and made them public through MMS services on their phones. Know your partner well beneath the sheets.
CYBER LAWS AT YOUR HELP
SECTION 67 OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 2000
• Penalises cyber pornography
• Prohibits publishing obscene information in electronic form
•To be considered obscene, the matter must satisfy at least one of the following: it must incite lust, it must arouse interest in lustful thoughts or it must cause a person to become morally bad
SECTION 66A OF THE IT AMENDMENT ACT 2008
• Punishes a person for sending offensive messages through communication services
INDECENT REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN (PROHIBITION) ACT
• Prohibits indecent representation of women through advertisement or in publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner
INDIAN PENAL CODE
• Among many other issues, also addresses the issue of defamation
Volume 2 Issue 6
