Gujarat: Telephonic stalking cases have gone up by 62%; Women in 16-28 yrs age group are harassed the most
In most cases, the women were harassed by men they have known; REPRESENTATIONAL PICTURE
Stalking is turning out to be crime warranting serious concern, with cases rising by 62% in Gujarat in three years. It points at the fact that consent remains an alien concept to the society. Since 2015, the 181 Abhayam helpline has received 9,000 calls from women, complaining they are being stalked by men known to them through calls and messages.
Women in the 16-28 age bracket are the most harassed. Ahmedabad leads the pack, recording maximum calls on the helpline -- with 373 in 2014-15 to 516 in 2016-17 and 760 calls in 2017-18. Surat is a close second, followed by Vadodara and Rajkot, with number of calls going up from 258 to 287 to 350 in the corresponding periods.
Experts worry that the lack in understanding of the concept of consent may just keep compounding the problem in the long-term even as the police attempt to ward off stalkers on a day-to-day basis.
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In 2017-18, the helpline registered 3,472 stalking cases in Gujarat. The number was 2,738 in 2016-17 and 2,134 in the year 2015-16. So, in just three years, the number of complaints has risen by 62%. This year, the helpline has already received 891 calls complaining about telephonic harassment.
Most callers are known people
In most cases, the harassing callers were already known to victims. Most often, these men were former friends, acquaintances, people they met on social media and jilted lovers. “In most cases, women say they know their harassers and can name them. Women say that these people keep calling them in spite of being warned against it. This is worrying because it just goes on to show that so many people do not understand the meaning of consent,” said Narendra Gohil, Project Director of the 181Helpline.
The police too confirmed this trend. Additional DCP Panna Momaya who is in-charge of Mahila police stations said, “In 90% of the cases, the callers are known to the women and turn out to be jilted lovers and spurned men who just would not let the woman live in peace.”
The short-term solution
On how the problem of the callers is solved, officials said that once a woman calls to complain of stalking, the number of the alleged caller is put into a tracking system. It is analysed for 21 days and follow-ups from the woman are continuously taken during this period. In the meantime, the accused is called by the police team to inform them that they have been put under watch.
If the problem is solved, the case is closed. If not, the complainant is asked if she would like to file a police complaint. If not, the police can also take action based on call record evidence. If messages sent include porn material, the accused can be booked under the IT Act and if it is harassment over telephonic calls, they can be booked under IPC Section 354.
“Even as more women are working today, there is more control exerted on them. The rise in cases of stalking are only those which are reported, but there will be even more that will never see the light of day. I believe that this issue is not being taken seriously enough and more needs to be done by elders and the education system to instill a sense of personal space and consent in both men and women,” said Amee Yagnik, lawyer, Gujarat High Court.
Patriarchal problem
These worrying statistics hint at alarger problem of men in Gujarat not being able to understand about the concept of ‘consent’. Sociologist Gaurang Jani said, “Men feel that women can be harassed in this way and pop culture like movies support these claims by depicting that a woman’s ‘no’ actually means ‘yes’.
There is no opposition to this view because in our society, there is no dialogue between father and son where the youth can be dissuaded from such things.
Hence, they proliferate.” Further, it also shows how patriarchy does not allow men to let women live by their rules; they impose their dominance through harassment. Professor Pravin Mishra of MICA told Mirror, “The sexual control of women by men is a much-debated topic and as technology advances, the freedom of women and men controlling them through the same increases too.”
Women in the 16-28 age bracket are the most harassed. Ahmedabad leads the pack, recording maximum calls on the helpline -- with 373 in 2014-15 to 516 in 2016-17 and 760 calls in 2017-18. Surat is a close second, followed by Vadodara and Rajkot, with number of calls going up from 258 to 287 to 350 in the corresponding periods.
Experts worry that the lack in understanding of the concept of consent may just keep compounding the problem in the long-term even as the police attempt to ward off stalkers on a day-to-day basis.
Read Also:
IAS cycles his way to work and fitness
In 2017-18, the helpline registered 3,472 stalking cases in Gujarat. The number was 2,738 in 2016-17 and 2,134 in the year 2015-16. So, in just three years, the number of complaints has risen by 62%. This year, the helpline has already received 891 calls complaining about telephonic harassment.
Most callers are known people
In most cases, the harassing callers were already known to victims. Most often, these men were former friends, acquaintances, people they met on social media and jilted lovers. “In most cases, women say they know their harassers and can name them. Women say that these people keep calling them in spite of being warned against it. This is worrying because it just goes on to show that so many people do not understand the meaning of consent,” said Narendra Gohil, Project Director of the 181Helpline.
The police too confirmed this trend. Additional DCP Panna Momaya who is in-charge of Mahila police stations said, “In 90% of the cases, the callers are known to the women and turn out to be jilted lovers and spurned men who just would not let the woman live in peace.”
The short-term solution
On how the problem of the callers is solved, officials said that once a woman calls to complain of stalking, the number of the alleged caller is put into a tracking system. It is analysed for 21 days and follow-ups from the woman are continuously taken during this period. In the meantime, the accused is called by the police team to inform them that they have been put under watch.
If the problem is solved, the case is closed. If not, the complainant is asked if she would like to file a police complaint. If not, the police can also take action based on call record evidence. If messages sent include porn material, the accused can be booked under the IT Act and if it is harassment over telephonic calls, they can be booked under IPC Section 354.
“Even as more women are working today, there is more control exerted on them. The rise in cases of stalking are only those which are reported, but there will be even more that will never see the light of day. I believe that this issue is not being taken seriously enough and more needs to be done by elders and the education system to instill a sense of personal space and consent in both men and women,” said Amee Yagnik, lawyer, Gujarat High Court.
Patriarchal problem
These worrying statistics hint at alarger problem of men in Gujarat not being able to understand about the concept of ‘consent’. Sociologist Gaurang Jani said, “Men feel that women can be harassed in this way and pop culture like movies support these claims by depicting that a woman’s ‘no’ actually means ‘yes’.
There is no opposition to this view because in our society, there is no dialogue between father and son where the youth can be dissuaded from such things.
Hence, they proliferate.” Further, it also shows how patriarchy does not allow men to let women live by their rules; they impose their dominance through harassment. Professor Pravin Mishra of MICA told Mirror, “The sexual control of women by men is a much-debated topic and as technology advances, the freedom of women and men controlling them through the same increases too.”
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