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Revenge Pornography in India


Introduction

Nowadays, Humiliation through revenge porn in cyberspace against ex-girl/boyfriend has become prevalent with the advanced technology available. Revenge porn in wider terms can be understood as the sharing of sexual images or nudes without consent, as the spiteful actions of a jilted ex-lover, ex-friend, known person or any social networking site follower, stalker. It is often adopted by individuals who are ‘dumped’ by their partners. The perpetrator satisfies his/her frustration of a broken relationship by publicizing a sexually provocative portrayal of his/her victim, also known as sextortion. The sharing of self-produced visuals and images for the sake of revenge, here the word ‘self-produced’ covers the sexted images, consented video clips and images captured in the compromising positions. This peculiar concept was started in western countries, however in India, the very first case of revenge porn in cyberspace came out in 2001 when a 16-year old schoolboy created a porn website and posted images of his classmates and teachers, the boy was arrested for charges of obscenity in cyberspace, later the same trend was followed by many adults to execute their revenge. Currently, this term has again gained attention after the boys’ locker room case in India. 


Associated Risks

Few women do not try to report the cases in fear of huge humiliation, even so after worldwide lockdown there is a significant increase of 7.3% in cases of cyber crimes against women. The victims of revenge porn usually have a high level of psychological distress like depression and anxiety. Sometimes those who have experienced threats to distribute an image, there can be chances of self-harm associated with it. 

The cycle of revenge pornography includes:

  • The victim sends the clipping or image and the recipient stores the data in his/her device.

  • The clipping/image is circulated by the recipient to other friends.

  • The clipping/image is uploaded on the internet and reaches millions of viewers from all over the world.

  • Defamation of the victim takes place as she is watched by millions as a ‘sex item.’


Prevailing Laws in India

A person may seek remedy in criminal law or cyber law in India. Preventive laws for revenge porn in India:

  • The Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Section 354 talks about outraging any woman’s modesty and states the imprisonment for a term which may extend up to two years with a fine or both. Section 354A mentions sexual harassment and states the punishment that is for one year (extendable up to three years) with a fine or with both. Section 354C mentions voyeurism, a person who captures the image of a woman engaging in a personal act, where it is expected to be not observed by anyone or spread such an image, to be imprisoned for a term not less than one year (fine for first conviction 3 to 7 years + Fine for second or subsequent conviction). Section 405 and 406 for criminal breach of trust and its punishment is up to three years with a fine or both. Section 509 is for using words or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman which may lead to the imprisonment of  3 years with a fine or both. 


  • The Information Technology Act, 2000 - Section 67 and 67A mentions publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form and provides for the punishment for circulating sexually explicit content in electronic form for a term of one to five years with a fine extendable to 10 lakhs. 




By: Geetanjali Panwar

(Legal Intern, WCSF)



For more such updates, please visit our website: https://www.worldcybersecurities.com/ 
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