Experiencing technology-facilitated gender-based violence in India

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) in India is a widespread yet under-acknowledged crisis. Survivors, particularly women, Dalit women, and LGBTQI+ individuals, are being targeted through doxing, stalking, morphing, and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. While the violence is digital, its impacts are deeply personal, affecting survivors’ mental health, freedom of expression, mobility, and access to justice.

The report reveals that existing legal frameworks are insufficient and often inaccessible. Survivors encounter law enforcement officers who are dismissive or poorly trained, and many feel the system prioritises financial cybercrimes over gender-based digital harms. Even when survivors seek legal recourse, systemic delays, patriarchal norms, and a lack of trauma-informed care deter justice and healing. Many survivors never file complaints, relying instead on informal support systems or legal counsel that seldom results in formal action.

Importantly, survivors define justice not only as punishment of the perpetrator, but as swift action, acknowledgement of harm, restoration of dignity, and control over their own narratives, particularly their right to have images removed and identities protected online.

Legal and systemic change is the only path to ensuring online equality for all women and girls. By centring survivor voices and strengthening laws, India can lead the way in creating safer digital spaces.

• Centre restorative justice: Move beyond punitive-only models. Support survivor-led definitions of justice, including healing, safety, and autonomy.
• Enshrine the right to be forgotten: Strengthen legal provisions that allow survivors to erase harmful digital footprints as part of recovery.
• Increase intermediary accountability: Enforce obligations on tech companies to respond swiftly and transparently to TFGBV reports.
• End the gradation of cybercrimes: Ensure TFGBV is treated with equal urgency as financial cybercrimes under Indian cyber law.
• Expand awareness of existing reporting tools: Improve visibility and usability of the national cybercrime portal and cybercrime helpline.
• Build institutional capacity: Regularly train judges, police, and lawyers on TFGBV, electronic evidence, and survivor-sensitive responses.
• Fund the system: Allocate budget and infrastructure to expand cyber cells, digital forensic labs, and survivor support services.
• Use strategic litigation: Leverage feminist legal strategies to challenge outdated interpretations and set precedent for gender-just outcomes.
• Invest in contextualised research: Support documentation of TFGBV with linguistic, regional, and cultural sensitivity to improve response effectiveness.
• Develop ethical online media guidelines: Create standards that respect privacy and human rights, while upholding democratic freedom of expression.

Read the full report and join us in demanding stronger online protections for women and girls.