Abstract–
According to a recent report, the number of women working in cybersecurity is expected to reach 2 million by 2023. It represents a significant increase from the current level of around 1 million. There are many reasons for this trend: More women are entering the workforce with the necessary skills and qualifications.
Millions of cybersecurity professionals around the world are on the frontlines of tracking and addressing digital risks and online threats. The tech and cybersecurity industries are among the most in-demand, profitable, and critical fields in modern history. Y
et, countries around the world are facing a shortage of knowledgeable and experienced cybersecurity talent that is able to keep pace with the fast rate of digitization and the parallel proliferation of digital risks. In particular, women account for only 2 out of 10 cybersecurity professionals, despite representing almost half of the global workforce.
This gap can be explained by several factors, including industry perception and culture, societal and family constraints, barriers to entry due to limited digital and cyber literacy, wage gaps, lower earning potential at every level, missed or delayed promotions, and a much harder path to reach the upper echelons of the corporate world — despite often having higher levels of education and certification than men.
The under-representation and under-utilisation of female talent is both a critical business issue and a hindrance to the development of more secure and resilient economies and societies, as well as the overall safety and protection of countries. In addition to worsening the shortage of cybersecurity professionals at a time when they are in high demand, this gap further aggravates gender disparities across other sectors.
Furthermore, female internet users already face a higher number of cybercrime incidents and online harassment while also being at an increased risk of financial data loss, violations of privacy, and security breaches. Together, these factors underscore the importance of designing a cyberspace that is safer, more gender inclusive, and promotes the efforts to close the workforce and gender gap.
A cyberspace unsafe for women
Women are harassed online in many ways, and unsolicited texts are just the tip of the iceberg, along with friend requests from unknown people. You must have come across revolting comments under pictures of female celebrities or of any woman that goes viral, most of which can be classified under hate speech.
You most probably have heard stories of leaked private pictures, videos or information without consent – also known as doxxing – and the devastating toll it takes on the victims.
This is a serious problem which has only increased during the pandemic since we are forced to spend more time online than ever before. According to a recent report by The Daily Star, 80 percent of the victims of cyberbullying in Bangladesh are adolescent girls and women in their early twenties.
In another report by Dhaka Tribune, most victims of cyberbullying do not report to the police, hence the statistic does not take into account the cybercrimes that go unreported.
The question arises, why don’t people report cybercrimes? Anika Anjum Iftee, Head of Content Development and Marketing at WeMen View, a non-profit social welfare organisation which works to raise awareness against cyber harassment of women, thinks that such cases are generally taken less seriously than physical ones. “It’s because there are too many factors to consider. With the ongoing calling out of culture, the conversation around things like unsolicited texts could be easily manipulated, which can make the main discourse rather confusing. Also, since how we behave on social media is an evolving process, there is still so much to define and to make laws on concretely. While all of that happens, a lot of us will be unfortunate enough to fall victim to online harassment.”
Victimisation of women in cyber world
In today’s world the internet is becoming a daily need for life. Nowadays people are exploring the internet and making their life easy and comfortable. The Internet is the fastest mode of transport and has spread its sphere. India has stepped into digitalization which has bought technology power. People can talk to any person whether it is known or unknown. The rise of the internet has sparked a debate about how online communication has affected social relationships. As it is said. Every Good Side Has Its Bad Side Too.
People of all genders has experienced violence and online abuse, But the abuse which is experienced by women is often sexist or anti- feminist in nature. Online threats and violence are often sexualized. and These violations are violations of their human rights including right to freedom of speech and expression, right to equality, right to life, participation, assembly and association.
As indicated by the recent research by NCRB (National crime records bureau data) has been steadily increasing each year. This article throws light on cyber- crime and legislative intervention measures and gives precautionary measures specifically to curtail cyber- crime against women and children.
Conclusion-
To summarise, while a crime-free society is impossible to achieve and only exists in fantasy, it should be a continuing effort to enforce regulations that reduce criminality to a minimum. Particularly in an increasingly technologically reliant world, criminality related to electronic law-breaking is certain to increase, and legislators must go the extra mile to keep impostors at bay. T
echnology is often a double-edged sword that can be employed for either good or evil purposes. To combat cybercrime against women, the Legal system has enacted a number of legislation. Thus, it should be the relentless efforts of rulers and legislators to assure that technology advances in a healthier way and is employed for legal and ethical economic growth rather than criminal activity.