From locker rooms to classrooms
Paper:
Mains: General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Context:
- Increasing instances of cybercrimes and cyberbullying of girls and women.
Issues and Concerns:
- Instances of non-consensual sharing of images online to threaten and shame girls and women amount to a form of gender violenceand raise serious questions about the existing mindsets of the youngsters indulging in such acts.
- There is a growing trend of digital presence in the form of social media usage.
- As the boundary between the real and the virtual world becomes increasingly blurred, the perceived risks of the use of technology for nefarious purposes have only increased.
- COVID-19 seems to have only increased the challenges that women face. The National Commission for Women has reported a surge in domestic violence and cybercrimes, which has made girls and women more vulnerable as they face violence and abuse inside their homes and online.
Wrong solutions:
- Deactivating social media handles or deleting so-called provocative photos are being used as a quick fix measure. However, this approach does not address the real problem which seems to be the existing gender norms and norms of masculinity.
Way forward:
- Societies must sensitize children and young women and menof the issue of gender violence.
- Schools should adopt Gender-based Violence programmes and curricula, to mainstream the issue of gender violencewhich will allow the possibility of healthy discussions on the issue.
- There should be efforts made to shape positive mindsets among the young. This could involve educational interventions. Such educational interventions will enable society to move towards the ideal of gender equality.
- This could involve engagement between school communities, civil society organisations and governments to define alternatives for pre-existing gender norms.
- There is a need to engage boys to achieve gender equality.
- A community-based behavioural change programmeneeds to be designed to provide young boys with the skills and knowledge they need to challenge existing gender norms and take action to end violence and discrimination against women and girls.
Social movement:
- The movements towards gender equality and the eradication of violence against women like the Riot Grrrl and #MeToo movementare gaining traction. These movements point to the fact that positive changes can be affected only when people come together to confront the dominant social norms.
- There is a need for a social movement involving everyone to redefine the existing gender norms and norms of masculinity.
Safer digital spaces:
- A major measure to prevent and counter cyberbullying would involve the creation of safe digital spaces and addressing the issues of privacy.