What Is TFSV And How Is It Affecting College Going Women?

#sexualviolence against women has again become a hot topic in India. Recently you all must have come across newspapers and news panels debating and discussing the Manipur sexual violence. While the incident is spine-chilling, it is not the only case that is raising the concern towards the safety of women in India and across the globe. There are many platforms where women get sexually assaulted every day, which generally go unnoticed. And not only India there are many places in the world where women feel unsafe and find it challenging to lead a tranquil life. Violence against women at home, in office, and in public places was not enough that they are now becoming the target of sexual violence on the internet as well.

Recently I came across an article in The Hindu where the writer was discussing technology-facilitated sexual violence or #TFSV. So what exactly is TFSV? Well, as the name suggests it is about abusing women on platforms that are technology-driven, such as social media platforms. There are various ways in which technology-facilitated sexual violence occurs. Morphing the nude images of women, #cyberbullying , rape threats, sexualized blackmailing, blunt messages and comments, digital flashing, and so on are some of the parts of technology-facilitated sexual violence. As per the research carried out by the writer, TFSV inordinately affects young women, especially those who are in college. Social media platforms where TFSV is more common are Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Life of the survivors of TFSV is not a cakewalk. Life after becoming the victim of TFSV becomes way more difficult than we imagine. Depression, anxiety, #ptsd , and suicidal thoughts are some of the instances that a survivor of the TFSV has to go through. Not only that, but it also affects her academic career and as if it is not enough, she also becomes the victim of social isolation and family ostracisation. In simple terms, their lives after TFSV become an anonymous one.

Some kinds of TFSV are criminalized under India’s IT ACT of 2000, however, inconsistencies and uncertainties in law discourage the survivors from reporting, and hence, many cases of TFSV remain unnoticed. Even though the law may have forced some safety improvements, technology behemoths like #meta are still unmotivated to go above and beyond the minimal minimum. It is true that India has the largest number of Facebook users in the world, yet, Meta has not adapted its platforms for the Indian market.

To prevent women from becoming the victims of TFSV, the first thing that needs to be done is to eradicate the social inequalities, because only 22% of women feel safe on online platforms as compared to 73% of men in India. The Internet is becoming the basic need of the day and access to the Internet must be safe for women of all religions, castes, creeds, colors, and classes; instead of the Internet becoming a replica of #patriarchy which believes in disempowering women. Addressing the situation can also help us to understand the needs of the survivors and openly discussing it without blaming, shaming, and stigmatizing the survivors is another step that is required to be taken. Last but not least, in educational institutions, proper sex education for children irrespective of their gender is a must to prevent sexual violence and rape not only in the digital platforms but also in all other spheres of life.

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/online-abuse-among-college-students/article67099035.ece??