#dnaEdit: Tech-driven violence

Last week, the Supreme Court, ordered a CBI probe into the videos circulating on social media that show two women being gang-raped. Sunitha Krishnan, an activist and herself a victim of gang-rape at the age of 15, had uploaded the videos on YouTube, hoping to hunt the rapists down. Blurring the victims’ faces, Krishnan urged viewers to help identify the rapists in what she called #ShameTheRapistCampaign. The rape videos were circulating on the WhatsApp messaging service. Notwithstanding the clearly identifiable and visible faces of the rapists smiling at the camera, the police are yet to make any arrests.

Prajwala, the NGO run by Krishnan, drew the attention of the court to the videos — one of which — nearly five minutes long — shows a man raping a woman, while another man films the assault. The second video — spanning over eight minutes — shows the five rapists laughing and cracking jokes while assaulting the woman.

No doubt, since December 16, 2012, there has been increasing public and media discourse around violence against women. Yet, the system represented by legislators and law enforcers, has still remained woefully insensitive and inadequate to deal with gender-based violence. Such systemic disorders have often pushed the onus of remedial action on to the judiciary. Consider the latest case. Despite Krishnan’s valiant and active efforts, the law enforcers have been slow to respond. Once again it was left to the apex court to issue notices to the Centre and state governments, asking them to book the rapists. The ministries of home and the information technology, too, were urged to consider the proposal of a National Sex Offenders Registry for maintaining a databank on convicted sex offenders in the country.

Besides systemic indifference to gender-based violence, what is deeply worrying is the use of advanced, modern technology in perpetuating and aggravating the culture of violence against women. The recent rape videos are not the only instance where technology has been used to film sexual crimes and distribute the images on social media. Last year, media reported the incident of two robbers gang-raping the mother of a 7-month-old child in Bangalore. With two accomplices of the rapists videotaping the crime with their cellphones, the family — initially — reported only the robbery and not the rape, to the police. Recall the gang-rape of a 22-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai’s Shakti Mills, in 2013. After photographing the rape, the perpetrators threatened to release the images on social media, in case of the victim reporting to the police.  

Unfortunately, social media’s ubiquitous character has facilitated the perpetuation and abetment of violence against women. If getting out information on gender violence has become easier, equally, harassing women — putting out perverse images of sexual violence as a means of buying victims’ silence — is gaining ground. Mediated by technology, online violence is increasingly becoming part of women’s daily existence. In 2006, the UN Secretary General’s report on violence against women noted that “More inquiry is also needed about the use of technology, such as computers and cell phones, in developing and expanding forms of violence. Evolving and emerging forms of violence need to be named so that they can be recognised and better addressed.” 

Like in public spaces, women are now increasingly vulnerable to online harassment, cyberstalking, privacy invasion, threats of blackmail, distribution of rape videos. Survivors of sexual violence — often — have to relive their trauma through the medium of technological devices. Information and communication technology is part of the continuum of violence women face across the world.  Government across board must recognise the imperative to update their laws and policies in accordance with the violations emanating from sophisticated technology. Last but not least, the attitude of lawmakers, law-enforcers as well as society at large has to change to end the violence against women.