INTRODUCTION

Before this digital era, women participation in these social networking sites is
negligible. The impact of new media witnessed in recent years all over the world. Only few
women used media and were in the top position. After the wake of feminism and the spread of
education, women started to use internet and become a part of these social networking sites.
Online platform become powerful tool for everything. Everyone started using these online
platforms for their business, education, connecting with people and so on. Once it was started to
help people slowly become part of their lives. Women use social media more frequently and in
various ways. They use these mobile phones and tablets more often than men. Few research
centre conducted research on the female internet users who use social networking sites and the
result says that women are more active in these social networking sites than men. It says 75%
women use social networking sites and the men are around 63%. Slowly social networking sites
started to rules people. Everything they doing they wanted to post it on social media. They want
to become popular, they want other people to talk about them. It became addiction to them.
Especially the percentage of women and youngsters using mobile and social networking sites
increased. In the study of by the University of Maryland reported that most college students,
when exposed to 24 hours’ period of day, they admit that they are addicted to social media. They
see it as a primary method of connecting with friends, family.
These mobile addictions and more interest on social networking sites become
common to most people. And crimes related to social networking sites also started to arises.
Hacking, fraud transaction, shopping scams, information theft, cyber bullying and so on. Even
though these crimes causes more problems to the people, women are facing more problem than
any others. They are facing problems like body shaming, sexual assaults, harassments and more.
More women affected by this physically and mentally. It ruins their day to day life. They get
messages, calls, which affect them. These are done by men for many reasons like blackmail, fun,
money, to ruin girl’s life.
8 out of 10 people in India have experienced some form of online
harassments. Men are also facing these kinds of issues, but it is more targeted on women.
Affected women disturbed more by this and they ruin their life, and even commit suicide. This
survey is for women, especially young women around 15 to 30, who use social networking sites
more frequently. Although all the age groups are affected young women experience higher rate
and young men are the reason. Sexual violence involving social media goes beyond physical
violence and includes emotional, psychological and verbal abuse. Majority of sexual violence
associated with social media goes unreported. While we have only preliminary information about
victimization, young women and girls appear to experience higher rates of sexual violence
associated with social media,
 LITERATURE REVIEW

In the global world, everything we do is connected with Internet. In that,

Social Networking Site become a part of our life. Whatever we do, we post on these social
media. These social networking sites reduced the distance between people, even person for other
country can be easily connected. Though these social media gives new family and friends, it also
takes the relationship between the people beside us. Social networking site on the front side, it
connects people from different part of the world, create new business, enhance many new
opportunities to the people. On the side, it has many high-tech computing crimes such as,
hacking, online fraud and identity theft or child exploitation and cyber bullying. These are one
part of the crime which are known to the world. There are few other crimes, which we know, but
we don’t pay much attention to it, only if it comes to our home. “Technology facilitated sexual
violence”, where new technology are used to extend the harm on sexual assault, extend control
and abuse in a domestic violence situation or distribute sexual or intimate image of another
without their consent(Henry, N. and Powell, A. (2016). Sexual violence in the digital age: the
scope and limits of criminal law in Social & Legal Studies, published online before print January
12 2016.).

There are many harassments happening around us, and we rarely came to
know about this. Many young high schools, college going girls are specifically affected and
addicted to this Social Networking Sites. They spend most of their time in online and share their
images, for like from their friends. They actually don’t the result of this. These social media
gives the opportunity for the user to comment on someone’s post, like them, criticize on it and in
some case abusive response to stories they know a little about. In these sexual harassment most
likely, minority girls mostly affected and they can’t able to expose these issues to outside world
(What’s Trending? #SexualAssault: An Exploratory Study of Social Media Coverage of Teen
Sexual Assaults Ashley Wellman, Frances Reddington, and Karlie Clark, VOLUME 18, ISSUE
1, PAGES 88–105 (2017)).

Online sexual harassment is defined as, unwanted sexual conduct on any

digital platform and it is recognized as form of sexual violence. Theses hazardous people use,
images, videos, posts, messages and pages in different platforms both private and public. It will
affect the person mostly the girls more mentally and sometimes physically, and even lead them
to dealth. In some case, we not even pay attention to these young girls activities, and also we
won’t listen to them, understand them, or be there with them no matter what. They are worried to
tell them to the parents, teachers or to the police (Young people’s experiences of online sexual
harassment A cross-country report from December 2017 project deframe). More research
explain that high use of media consumption have been linked to higher rate of rape myth
acceptance (kaylor & Morrison, 2007).
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Every research is generally based on two aspects qualitative data and

quantitative data. Qualitative analysis is richer consists of semi structured and structured
interviews, participants observations and document analysis. It is more time consuming. It gives
an in depth understanding of the research. Qualitative analysis is collect and analysis data from
large amount of participants. This data is analysed through numerical comparison and statistical
analysis.

Questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and

other prompt for purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often
designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case.

In this research, we used both quantitative and qualitative analysis to find

result on cybersafety and women. In this research, more research papers are analyzed and
prepared questionnaire to get quantitative data.

Around 21 questions were prepared on social networking sites and

harassments based on internet to women. This research was entirely conducted for women. So all
the questions were prepared for women and around 50 people within the age group of 15 to 30
answered these questions. Conclusion of this research was based on this questionnaire.
 KEY CONCEPTS
SEXUAL VIOLENCE: Any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual
comments or advances or acts of traffic, or otherwise directed, against person’s sexually using
coercion. Rape, attempted rape, sexual threat, sexual exploitation, any form of unwanted sexual
touching, unwanted sexual remarks and other forms of sexual harassments. Though women and
girls suffer disproportionately form these aspects, sexual violence can occur to anybody at any
age; it is an act of violence that can be perpetrated by parents, caregivers, acquaintances and
strangers as well as intimate partners. In general, it is widely an underreported phenomenon; the
available data tend to underestimate the true scale of the problem.

CYBERBLLYING: Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell
phones, computers and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, apps, or online in
social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content.
Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content
about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else
causing embarrassment or humiliation.
 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS:
1. Do you social networking sites, if yes, which of the following,

In the 50 response, around 48 women use whatsapp. This shows that more
than 98 percent of women use this whatsapp and it everything they want to communicate to
their friends and family. This whatsapp is even used for office purpose, like meeting schedules,
official announcements. Even self employed women whatsapp for their business purpose. Then
comes instagram which is emerging more in recent times. Young college girls use this site to
upload photos, tik tok videos and connect to new friends.

2. How much time you spend on the social networking sites

In this question, more than 60 percent of women said that they spend around
1 – 5 hrs on social networking sites. It is common and usual this much time on social
networking sites as it become their part of life.
3. Do you accept request from unknown person

More than 34 percent accept request from unknown people in the social
networking sites. The basic concept of these social networking sites is to connect with new
friends all around world. Young people want to connect with new friends so they use these
social sites to chat with people and connect with people.

4. How do you filter request from unknown person

Even when we accept request from unknown people it is important to

know how to choose unknown people as our friend. Nearly 48 percent of women to whom we
conducted research said that they accept unknown people when they are friends of their friends.
And 38 percent said they that they check their profile and accept the request if they like it.
5. Do you think women are safe in these social networking sites?

This is the important questions of women safety in social media.

And nearly 72 percent women said that the social networking sites are not safe for the women.
They even specified the reasons like many online abusive act are taking place, hackers missing
the girls privacy, internet didn’t have proper law, manipulated by strangers. In this more reason
are based on sexual harassments that are taking place in these social media on girls.

6. Did you receive inappropriate messages/ images/ comments/ videos?

In this research it clearly shows that more than 50 percentage of the women are
getting inappropriate messages, images and more. They are affected by this. And also they
mentioned that, many of these messages are from unknown people who are not in the friends or
followers list. These boys are randomly sending messages to girls and certain girls who reacting
to it , either in positive or negative way, they will target on these girls and them for their needs.
And also when they get message like most of the girls block them without any second thought.
That is their high level of punishment they can give to the proprietors.
7. What kind of inappropriate messages you receive?

In this research, we have found that around 50 percent of women got sexually related
messages including vulgar/ abusive comments, sexually coloured remarks, pornographic
images. And next comes the gender based discrimination. Social media platform is for
everyone. Anyone has rights to post or write on that. In that, women are discriminated based on
gender.

8. Are you aware of laws against sexual harassments?

Only half of the people know to laws against sexual harassment. This
shows that many people doesn’t have proper awareness about these laws and also feel when
they take this problem to court, it will ruin their life, so they not even have the thought about the
laws and government. Only few people take their problem to police. In this, many girls even
doesn’t know to register complaint in the police station.
 CONCLUSION:

By finding and analyzing these questions, we come to know 2 things. Women does not
have proper knowledge about this social networking sites and also the laws for this. And most
importantly the control they should have while using these social media. Many young girls to get
popularity and fame they post images videos of them on social media without knowing security
options and also they should how to accept request from unknown person, they should not accept
everyone request. Many men use fake account with pictures of some other people to cheat girls. And
the second thing, boy should give proper education about gender discrimination and also they should
not use this social media as they want. They have to treat women equally and should know to respect
the women feeling. It is online or offline in common world, sexual harassments against women
become more common. It is fault of government to tighten the rules and punishments against sexual
harassment on women.

When they receive these kinds of inappropriate message, they mostly block the
account. It is a smart way of avoiding the people, but when they come again and start torturing
the girls they have to share it with their parents and get guidance with them. Most people don’t
do that. They even share it with their friends or handle it on their own; they will not speak it
with their parents, as they afraid of their parents. They also won’t take this issue to the police
station. This is because they think that if it goes to police station, it will come in media that will
spoil their future. So the government has to spread proper awareness to the school and college
students about the proper use of social networking sites and how to they use it properly, how to
handle the cyberbullying problems.
 APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE
CYBERSAFETY AND WOMEN

P.N : This Survey is for women only

AGE : 15-20 21-25 26-30

1. Do you use social networking sites?

Yes No

2. If yes, which of the following do you use?

Facebook Instagram
Twitter Whatsapp
Any Other Mention :

3. How much time do you spend on the social networking sites everyday?
<1hr 1-5hrs
5-10hrs >10hrs

4. Do you accept request from unknown persons?

Yes No

5. How do you filter requests from strangers:

1. Friends of Friends
2. Checking their Profile
3. Just Accept All Requests
4.Suggestion by Friends
5. 5.Common Interests
Any Other, Please Mention

6. How often do you accept such requests:

Always Most Often
Sometimes Rarely

7. Do you think women are safe in social networking sites?

Yes No

8. a. If yes, explain :
b. If no, explain :

9. Did you receive any inappropriate comments/messages/images/videos?

 Yes No

10. If yes, from whom

1. Known persons
2. Strangers in the Friends/ Followers List
3. Strangers who are not in the Friends/Followers List

11. How do you react to such situations?

Question/Warn them
Ignore
Block them
Close the Account
Share and Consult with Friends
Share and Consult with Family
Report to Cybercrimes

12. What kind of inappropriate comments/messages/images/videos did you receive?

Gender-based Discrimination
Body Shaming – Skin Colour/ Facial Features/ Body Shape/ Body Size etc.
Vulgar/Abusive Comments
Sexually Coloured Remarks
Pornographic Images
Pornographic Videos
13. Have you ever experienced morphing? If yes, explain the incident and how you coped
with the situation :

14. Has anyone created your Fake Profile? If yes, explain the incident and how you coped
with the situation :

15. How often do you receive inappropriate content?

Most Often Often
Sometimes Rarely
Very Rarely

16. Do you take any precautions/safety measures while using social networking sites?
Explain

17. Is your privacy safeguarded in social networking sites?

Yes No

18. Are you aware of laws against sexual harassment?

Yes No
19. Can laws be helpful in handling safety issues for women?
 Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
20. Do women invite these inappropriate behaviours?
Yes NO Maybe
21. Is there a connection between increasing violence against women and cybersafety
issues?
Yes No Maybe
22. Do you have any suggestions for ensuring safety in cyberspace