Social Media- A Platform for Showcasing Violence Against Women?

In what can be termed as a classic case of degradation of humanity, a video of two minor girls being molested by 14 men in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, went viral on social media yesterday, as the molesters had recorded the incident and shared it online. Police have made some arrests in this regard, but further headway regarding the nature of the crime, and the person behind sharing the video online, needs to be ascertained.

To say we are appalled is an understatement. It is extremely heinous that the perpetrators not only committed the grave act of molesting women, and troubling them, but also felt it was worth sharing on social media, and perhaps laughing over with their friends. Is this the level of desensitization that our society is seeped with? Is engaging in violence against women something to be proud of, something to show off about?

With the advent of social media, organizations such as ours have been provided with an additional platform to increase awareness on the issue of violence against women. What is extremely horrifying is that as social media makes inroads into different parts of the world, violence against women on social media, and via social media, is also becoming more and more common. We sincerely hope that the perpetrators of this horrific crime are punished, and that the youth of the country understands that social media should be used as a tool for social change, and not for the enactment and display of crimes.