NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DEC 2
Cyber experts have suggested a proper grievance redressal mechanism that is user-friendly, multilingual and known to all to tackle cybercrimes faced by women, according to the NCW.
In its fifth law review consultation on cybercrime against women, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said experts from the cyber world deliberated upon measures to fix lacunae in the existing grievance redressal system.
5th Regional Consultation on #CyberCrime against #Women. Reeta Sony, Assistant Professor, #JNU gave suggestions for protecting women's rights in cyber space
Need for proper grievance redressal mechanism
— NCW (@NCWIndia) December 2, 2020
“The panel suggested the need for a proper grievance redressal mechanism which would also be user-friendly, multilingual and known to all,” the apex women”s rights body said in a statement.
One of the key suggestions made by the panelists was to frame proper policies for better implementation of laws as many of them were of the view that the existing laws and regulations were enough but better execution of these laws was the need of the hour, it said.
However, the panelists were also of the view that new legal provisions exclusively focusing on dealing with cybercrime against women and children could help in tackling the problem, and including laws related to cybercrimes in school curriculums would help make children aware of these crimes at a younger age.
“The panel also suggested sensitisation and capacity building of police personnel to adequately equip them with the skills, capacity and sensitivity to act on cyber crimes and to apply related laws in a comprehensive manner,” the statement said.
The panel included noted experts working in the field of cybersecurity including Apar Gupta, Executive Director, Internet Freedom Foundation; Mishi Chaudhari, Legal Director, Software Freedom Law Center, India; Rakshit Tandon, cybersecurity expert and consultant Internet and Mobile Association of India.
In her welcome address, NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma said cyber crimes against women have a detrimental effect on their wellbeing, psychological and mental health and their dignity.
“The constant fear of safety, loss of reputation adversely affects women”s life. Revamping of laws is needed in order to keep them relevant and beneficial to facilitate justice to victims of cybercrime,” Sharma said.
The NCW conducted the fifth regional law review consultation on the topic ”Cybercrime against women–Do Indecent Representation of Women”s Act, Information Technology Act and other prevailing laws suffice” to assess the present legal framework and to identify more effective ways of reporting and resolving cyber crimes.
