Born digital, Born free? A socio-legal study on young women’s experiences of online violence in South India

This report was published in the year 2019 by IT for Change, an NGO based in Bengaluru, India. It has been written by Anita Gurumurthy Amrita Vasudevan and Nandini Chami, all of whom are associated with IT for Change. The report discusses the experiences of young women with online violence and harassment in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It studies cyberviolence through the categories of identity-based cyberbullying and acts of sexual harassment. The report surveyed 881 college-going women aged 19-23 years anonymously. It also included 14 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 44 key informant interviews with a range of stakeholders. The report explores the gender dynamic in social interaction mediated through digital modes and evaluates the effectiveness of prevailing legal mechanisms. The 49-page document is divided into six sections: Background to the research (Section 1); Gender-based cyberviolence and shifting gender norms (Section 2); Women’s experiences of seeking redress for gender-based cyberviolence (Section 3); Conclusions (Section 4); Recommendations (Section 5); and Post-script and questions for further research (Section 6).