Cybercrime Against Women In India: Legal Framework And Challenges
- IJLLR Journal
- Aug 11
- 1 min read
Aanchal Kumar, BBA LLB, Department of Law, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi, India
ABSTRACT
The rapid proliferation of internet access, smartphone penetration, and social media usage in India has been accompanied by an alarming rise in technology-facilitated violence against women. Cybercrime against women encompassing cyberstalking, online sexual harassment, voyeurism, morphing, revenge pornography, sextortion, and the non-consensual dissemination of intimate imagery constitutes a distinct and rapidly evolving category of gender-based violence that early penal frameworks were never designed to address. India's legal response has developed through a patchwork of statutes, principally the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (now substituted by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. This article critically examines the statutory architecture governing cybercrime against women in India, traces its judicial interpretation through landmark pronouncements, and evaluates the structural, procedural, and societal barriers that continue to undermine effective enforcement, including underreporting, jurisdictional ambiguity, digital evidence volatility, cross-border data access, and inadequate victim-support infrastructure. Drawing on comparative perspectives from the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, and Australia, the article situates India's regulatory response within a global context and proposes targeted reforms including narrower statutory definitions for deepfake enabled abuse, victim-centric procedural safeguards, specialized women-staffed cyber cells, and enhanced platform accountability to strengthen India's response to this expanding threat.
Keywords: Cybercrime Against Women, Information Technology Act 2000, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Cyberstalking, Online Sexual Harassment, Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery, Digital Privacy, Gender-Based Violence, Cyber Law Reform.
