We express deep concern over a significant increase in cyberbullying against the young female in the country. Female students of school, college and university, professionals and even housewives become the victims of cyberbullying every day. Some people mostly youths continue inflicting harm on them posting offensive, obscene, hurtful words and comments on their Facebook and other social media pages.
At least 73 female students of different departments of Islamic University in Kusthia have become the victims of cyber bullying in a Facebook page named, Crush and Confession, Islamic University, Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a high rate of cyberbullying, and 80 per cent of the victims are women aged 14-22, a study, says, adding a majority of the cybercriminals and hackers fall between the age range 16 and 17. And this sort of bullying can be more serious than conventional bullying.
Take initiatives to encourage female
across the country to learn about
cybersecurity and cyberbullying
The female are being bullied, sexually harassed and stalked on social media. The stalkers mostly young men do not think how the bad words can really hurt a young woman. And such comments, texts, and posts can lead any female even to commit suicide alongside demoralised. We think cyberbullying is a big crime and needs to be stopped immediately.
'Police Cyber Support for Women' unit was launched earlier to provide technical and legal support to women and create awareness among the people against cybercrimes. We think the law enforcement agencies will have to ensure a friendly environment for women victims of cybercrime at police stations or other complaint centers. The women must remain cautious and avoid responding directly to the persons bullying them.
Besides, they also need to understand that passwords of social media accounts are personal and should not be shared with anyone, not even with their partners. Apart from police, other agencies and stakeholders will also have to take fresh initiatives to encourage female across the country to learn about cybersecurity and cyberbullying. Besides, the police should take immediate action against the persons involved in uploading obscene or abusive posts or pictures on female’s social media timeline.
