Cyberbullying on The Rise, Young Girls More Likely to Be Victims

In Bangladesh, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, various types of crimes and violence against women has increased. On continuing violence against women, the number of online sexual harassment or cyberbullying of women is also on the rise.

According to a UNICEF survey, 38 percent of the victims of cyberbullying in the country are between the ages of 10 and 13; 36 percent are 14 to 15 years old and 25 percent are 16 to 17 years old. In Dhaka, 80 percent of women victims of online harassment is between the ages of 15 and 25.

According to a BBC report citing a survey of several Asian countries, including Bangladesh, the risk of cyberbullying is growing at an alarming rate in these countries, with women and adolescents being the biggest victims.

One of the reasons for the increase of cyberbullying is using social media. Cyberbullying is manifested in many ways through various means including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Reddit. It is now appearing as a big problem, distorting one's pictures or videos online and humiliating one another. Many suffer from depression as a result of cyberbullying. Some even choose the path of suicide.

According to CID sources, 17,703 complaints were lodged on the Facebook page of the Cyber ​​Police Center from September 5 to October 10 last year. Besides, 38,610 victims have complained over the phone. Of these, 365 were allegations of harassment. Most of the complainers are young women.

The issue of self-respect is directly related to bullying. Abusers usually target people who are mentally weak. According to a study in the European Journal of Developmental Psychology, the more bullied persons have a weaker sense of self-respect. That is, the main purpose of harassment is to hit people with weak points. This is done mainly to harm the person by focusing on sensitive issues.

According to a study by a private think tank, 68 percent of women in the country are victims of harassment in cyberspace. Almost all of these women victims of cyberbullying are young women. Most of the incidents that have taken place with these women between the ages of 14 and 23 are due to strained relationships. Among the allegations received from women victims of cyberbullying are pornography, blackmail, Facebook ID hacking, extortion, and death threats.

Recently, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested a young man named Mohammad Yasin Ratul. He has recorded videos of at least 20 young women having sex with each other in the name of love. He also blackmailed them by showing them the videos and forced them to have sexual relations again. According to the CID, a young woman from the capital had a relationship with Ratul six months ago. One day they went to Chandpur with Ratul along with three friends. Ratul unknowingly recorded an offensive video there. After getting off the launch, he snatched her mobile phone and then fled. From that day on, Ratul started threatening her and demanding money.

CID officials say they have brought many like Ratul under the law. Realizing the seriousness of the crime, a case has been filed against them. According to them, most of the allegations received by the CID are romance-related cybercrimes. Young women need to be more aware in these cases.

Najmul Islam, Additional Deputy Police Commissioner of Cyber Crime Investigation Division said the problem was that the nature of cybercrime is changing every day. We are also updating our investigation, research, and technology accordingly.

Many feel the need to shut down various apps to prevent online-centric criminal activity. However, information technologist Tanvir Hasan Zoha thinks that just as it is difficult to ban, there is no benefit in banning those apps.

He said the use could not be stopped by banning. For this, two things need to be emphasized. The capacity of the police to curb cyber crime needs to be further enhanced and parental guidance is also needed.

According to him, the parental control of the gadget that the child is using should be turned on. As a result, if the child uses a prohibited app, enters the site, or is active in the group, the parents will get his notification immediately.

Analysts say raising awareness on social media will gradually raise awareness. Educational content can be uploaded or highlighted to make people more aware of this. If someone commits cyberbullying, he has to be brought under the law and the matter has to be resolved properly and the victim has to be provided adequate security.

It is learned that with the help of UNICEF, work is being done to make short videos on what students-teachers and parents need to do to use safe internet, what to do when students are in danger. These videos will be shown to students in the online class during the Coronavirus pandemic and in the classroom after it ends.

Anyone who is a victim of harassment can contact the BTRC directly. BTRC accepts complaints both by phone and email. BTRC's Computer Security Incident Response Team assists in this type of problem. Complaints of harassment can be made to BTRC by calling (02) 71612277. In addition, the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs is also responding in this regard. The ministry's hotline number is 10921.