To be a woman with an opinion on social media: Death and rape threats
Opinion
The internet can be a scary place if you are a woman with an opinion.
Kusha Kapila has been receiving death and rape threats following an article posted in OpIndia, which was based on a discussion she had on the viral platform, Clubhouse. A recording clip where she is not even speaking.
The discussion included a gay man (Neeraj) finding men of other political ideologies hot (specifically ‘sanghis’); someone interjected and referred to it as ‘hate sex’. There was no discussion of violence or non-consensual sex in the recording shared in the said article.
PS: Hate sex means having sex with someone you don’t like. It is not non-consensual sex, or even violent by definition.
This recording was posted in an article by OpIndia, following which, Kusha Kapila’s inbox blew up with horrific, violent, and extremely graphic threats of rape and violence. The article was not only factually incorrect but also misleading with the banner image and hate-inducing with the way the headline was worded.
The core issue here is not about what was discussed, it is about how some men feel they have a birth-given right to say anything to women and get away with it. To be able to very clearly and directly threaten them from the comfort of their houses, and just get away with it. This also extends to the members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially gay men and trans women, who become low-hanging targets for verbal abuse on the daily.
Is this illegal?
Yes. Under many provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
- Section 66A under the IT Act of 2015: Sending offensive messages through communication service
- Section 354A IPC: Posting lewd comments on social media
- Section 509 IPC: Posting overtly sexual remarks or pictures or videos filled with sexual innuendos on social media or any gesture or object that a woman can see, with the intent to outrage the modesty of a woman
- Section 503 IPC: Threatening someone with any illegal activity, injury to person, property, or reputation
This issue becomes overly problematic when it is given a communal and political angle. The article headline itself is so extreme and factually incorrect, it breaches the boundaries of ethical journalism. It gives a platform to people with extremist ideologies and validates their actions and opinions.
Those messages gave me the chills, they made my heartache, and they weren’t even for me. According to Kusha Kapila’s stories, the last time something like this had happened, her address was leaked.
How long do we wait before something ‘tangible’ happens?
Like what you read? Share this article with your friends and follow us on:
Instagram|LinkedIn|Newsletter
