Description

Laws, Justice and Rights for Women in the Modern Era
Editor: Prof. Dr. Yogesh Kumar Gupta, Ishan Ahmad and Premananda Murmu
Published by Universal Academic Books Publishers and Distributors,
New Delhi (India)
ISBN: 978-81-686113-5-1, 2026

Chapter 17

Cyber Exploitation of Women: Jurisprudential Hurdles in the Digital Age

Sonam Ongmu Sherpa
Ph.D Scholar, Faculty of Law, ICFAI University, Sikkim, Gangtok

Abstract

In this modern era, technology and the internet have provided countless avenues for growth. It has created many opportunities for empowerment as it enables people to build their career, express their ideas, connect with each other and enables them to participate in social and political discussions. Access to the internet has been regarded as one of the basic human rights. However, the internet has its own flip side, cybercrime as such is an example. The proliferation of internet usage has elevated digital victimization to a pressing concern. While both men and women can fall victim, women face heightened vulnerability to offenses such as stalking and cyberbullying, both online and offline, placing them at greater risk. The World Health Organization notes that one in ten women encounters cybercrime by age 15. Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha data reveals a 28,000-case surge in digital crimes against women since 2024. Although regulatory frameworks exist, they fall short in tackling gender-specific cyber threats. Compounding factors include low awareness, societal stigma, and perpetrators’ online anonymity. The current paper examines governing legal frameworks, identifies gaps in current laws, reviews procedural and codified provisions, and evaluates judicial interventions to counter cybercrimes against women in India.

Keywords

Cybercrime, Women, Internet, Digital, Cyberspace

1. INTRODUCTION

The internet and technology have significantly simplified information access allowing data to be retrieved, stored and managed with minimal effort. This decentralized “network of networks” connects global servers across various jurisdictions facilitating both international communication and e-commerce. Nevertheless, the nature of the internet remains highly complex due to continuous influx of new data. Due to this technological expansion, there is a rise in the cyber criminals who commit crimes in unique ways (Katharia & Sriniwas, 2016). According to CBI manual, cybercrime is defined as offences where a computer is either utilized as a tool to commit crime or is primary target itself. This widespread connectivity has given rise to diverse offenses including cyber terrorism, voyeurism and dissemination of pornography and sexually explicit content (Kumar & Kaur, 2025). Among internet users, women face disproportionate risks and are frequently targeted and victimized, particularly in social networking platform, making digital safety, critical concern. In 2025, 76,650 cases of cybercrime were reported by women in the national cybercrime portal. Majority of these complaints involved the distribution of sexually obscene or explicit material content and threats of sexual violence, including rape and gang rape. The complaints were mostly of sexually obscene material, explicit acts, sexually abusive content like rape or gang rape related to sexual abuse. Cybercrime against women occurs when digital technologies are leveraged to harass, intimidate or harm female victims. The anonymity afforded by the digital landscape facilitates these offenses allowing perpetrators to target women with relative ease. On online platforms, victims are frequently coerced into compliance through digital extortion, driven by the fear that offenders will distribute their private images or videos. Furthermore, legitimate media is often morphed into pornographic content, severely violating the victim’s privacy and dignity. Within Indian context, digital offenses against women encompass a broad spectrum of sexual exploitation and abuse, including cyber staking, defamation, image morphing, hacking, email spoofing and the dissemination of inappropriate material. Hence, evolving technologies and developing threats demands urgent need for effective legal protection and proactive enforcement to safeguard women’s dignity and security in the virtual space.