Today, internet usage has become an essential part of our daily lives. We need it to connect with friends, network with peers, buy/sell/rent whatever we need and even while working our jobs. In such a scenario, telling vast sections of the population not to use the internet in order to avoid harassment is just not practical. Something that would be unfair, unacceptable or illegal offline does not suddenly become okay online. Online abuse is just as serious as offline abuse. Unfortunately, this needs more awareness and online harassment (especially of women) is everywhere.

Keeping that in mind, here are a few resources to keep in mind if you, or your friend, have been abused or harassed online:

How to report:

The IT Act of India states that when a cyber crime has been committed, it has a global jurisdiction — the procedure for reporting as well as a list of all the cyber crime police stations with their contact numbers can be found here. Legal help can be accessed through this organisation.

Therapeutic counselling, often necessary and wanted by abuse survivors, is offered by a list of mental health professionals across India. The list is compiled by iCall.

To contact the WCD Ministry: The WCD Ministry (July,2016) announced that complaints about online abuse could be forwarded to gandhim@nic.in

The IT Act, 2000 can be accessed here.

A detailed post which talks about what to do when faced with online abuse, written by Nyaaya — an online repository of Indian laws — can be accessed here.

If you were harassed or abused in an online space, talk to your trusted circle. If someone you know was threatened and harassed online, be an active listener and provide as much support as you can. The information provided here can be a beginning step. No matter what, online abuse is not acceptable and it is not your fault. #DontLogOut