Breaking out of harassment

I lead a love-hate relationship with social media, especially Twitter. The platform itself is thrilling...to be able to exchange ideas and views with people all over the world. It has long been the opium of opinionated masses. Some times it gives great highs, and many times, terrible lows! The ugly underbelly of Twitter is the trolling and online harassment that women (mostly) are subjected to.

While I enjoy an incisive debate and agree to disagree on certain issues, it is the abusive brickbats that one faces in the virtual world that dampens the spirit. Crass language, rape and other threats of violence, name-calling, alluding to one's religion and purported personal life -- all contribute to creating a toxic environment online. And when women are to be suppressed and scared beyond even the virtual world, phone numbers are leaked out as was seen in the case of a well-known woman journalist who was sent 'dick pics' by her harasser. Virtual harassment soon passes into the real world with offensive calls, text messages, and even stalking.

The cases of harassment of women have only increased. What would be instances of eve-teasing on the road has now transformed into rampant harassment. You'd think that the situation for women would get better in these modern times. It is actually quite the opposite. Making use of technology and the anonymity that it proffers, habitual harassers have become more daring.

Sweden-based company Truecaller, in its annual report released on the eve of International Women's Day, reveals some startling facts. Quoting from the report:1 out of every 3 women in India receives sexual and inappropriate calls or SMS. At least once a week, a staggering 52 per cent of women who got harassment calls, also received inappropriate and sexual content, and 47 per cent received unsolicited videos, pictures, and other sexual content. Truecaller's campaign with international film production collective, WhiteBalance, titled #ItsNotOk is definitely a timely one. Nine women, from various walks of life, narrate their experiences of sexual harassment in this powerful video striking a chord with all women. We are one or all of those women who narrate the unnecessary sexual advances from men and the trauma that follows.

The time is nigh to not ignore the harassment of women. It is time to take the bull by the horns, it is time to raise your voice (whether man or woman), to say definitively that harassment of women through phone calls or SMS or tweets, is not normal, it is NOT OK.

Can you imagine the intensity of this daily harassment and what possibly goes on in the mind of the harassed woman? Women are strong, we are invincible but somewhere, this continued harassment creates a dent in our armour, causing trauma and distress. And while we fight daily to break the glass ceiling on several aspects of life, being'ok' with harassment is not acceptable.

Women will not be subdued and forced into submission or even silence. Especially because while 74 per cent of these calls came from anonymous people and 23 per cent from stalkers, almost 11 per cent came from known people! The audacity and absolute perverseness of people who could be our neighbours, colleagues, perhaps even our friends and relatives.

The only silver lining of this damning report is that an increasing number of women are no longer taking this lying down. Almost three-fourths of the aggrieved women are pursuing some measure or the other to fight this harassment. While blocking the harasser's number (92 per cent) is still the popular option, 38 per cent of women filed a complaint with the police while 16 per cent publicly named and shamed their harasser online. Yes, we have started saying that it is not ok; we now need to outshout the clamour and drown out the noise with our strong cries and ensure that everyone hears this loud and clear: harassment of women is NOT ok.

(The writer is a journalist and media entrepreneur. The views expressed are strictly personal)