According to media sources, 80 percent of cybercrime victims in Bangladesh are women and such figure highlights the vulnerability of women in Bangladesh, no matter how they dress, what they do and where they go. Indeed, news of women being frequently victimised in cyberspace come as no surprise in our society where the way women dress is routinely cited as an incitement to rape.
Cybercrime can take many forms. It is diverse, ever-evolving. Cybercrimes that are commonly prevalent in the social media are cyber obscenity, pornography, cyber stalking, cyberbullying, cyber defamation, and privacy infringement.
It needs no emphasising that women are today and in the future going to be the main victims of cybercrime in Bangladesh. This is both threat and opportunity for legislators and those working to protect women in physical as well as cyberspace. It is not beyond the capacity of either to work together for the betterment of half the population, a goal well worth striving towards.
News of women being frequently
victimised in cyberspace come as no
surprise in our society where the way women
dress is routinely cited as an incitement to rape
Because of sheer lack of awareness about cybercrime, thousands of online users are becoming victims of cyber crimes. The numbers of such victims are increasing day by day. Experts assert that the main challenge in dealing with such cases and arresting the culprits is the delay in reporting to police. Many victims do not want to go to the law enforcers fearing that their identities would be revealed.
As cybercrime is an emerging threat and no one is fully secure these days, emphasis should be given on how we can control cybercrimes with continuous monitoring and act accordingly. In this regard, we need to quickly frame an appropriate and updated cyber security policy, create adequate infrastructure, and foster closer collaboration between all those involved to ensure a safe cyberspace for women.
OIt is not easy to wipe out cyber crimes from the cyberspace. The only possible step is to make people aware of their rights and duties reinforcing the application of laws to check cyber crimes. Moreover, people need to be sensitized about the problem.