The Reality of Virtual Threats against Women in India

Of the myriad information technology advancements, the Internet remains the most popular one. It is our one-stop-shop for all the information and it facilitates communication at a very fast speed, all over the globe. However, like there are two facets to a coin, similarly, the Internet, apart from all its advancements, allows crime to widen its roots in all directions. Cybercrime is a global phenomenon which hampers the privacy and security of a person online. Women are often the soft targets. Women especially young girls, inexperienced in cyber world, who have been newly introduced to the internet fail to understand the vices of internet, and hence are most susceptible to falling into the bait of cyber criminals (Misra, 2013). Though crime against women is on a rise in all fields, being a victim of cybercrime could be most traumatic experience for a woman especially in India where the society looks down upon the women, and the law doesn't even properly recognise cybercrimes. The present paper aims at discussing the various types of cybercrimes that can be inflicted upon a woman, how they adversely affect her and to ascertain the reasons for the growth of such victimization. It also briefly examines some of the famous cybercrime cases of India and laws that exist to protect women against cyber-crime and at the end are some suggestions to tackle these crimes.