Online harassment: Women between 15 and 25 major victims
Most of these women are victims of sexual harassment, hacking, cyber-pornography, and blackmailing
Seventy percent of the people subjected to online harassment in the capital are women; 70 percent of these women are between 15 and 25 years of old.
Most of these women are victims of sexual harassment, hacking, cyber-pornography, and blackmailing. Dhaka Metropolitan Police came up with the information at an event, under the banner 'Technology Mediated Violence Against Women in Bangladesh', on Monday in the capital. The event was organised by ARTICLE 19, an international freedom of speech organisation.
Hacking accounts for 20 percent, fake ID 20 percent, harassment/defamation 18 percent, cyber pornography 14 percent, financial fraud through mobile 14 percent, blackmail/extortion 7 percent, terrorist activity 1 percent and the other allegations accounts for 6 percent of the total harassment allegations and cases, said Mishuk Chakam, the additional deputy commissioner at the Cyber Security and Crime Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
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"The scenario outside Dhaka is almost the same. However, most victims do not go to the police station," Mishuk Chakam added, while advising the participants at the event to contact Cyber Security Department's Facebook page and help desk- 01769691522 to report online harassment.
The deputy commissioner at the Cyber Security and Crime Division also noted the limitation concerning cybercrime investigation, as there is only one 'cybercrime tribunal' in the country.
"Women can protect themselves from online harassment through digital literacy or tech-education," said Faruq Faisel, Bangladesh and South Asia regional director at Article 19.
The daylong program discussed raising awareness of women in using technology, shared experiences, identified barriers and reasons of fear to seek legal remedy to prevent online harassment.
