Rights group demands legal action against women sexual harassment

More than 36 per cent of girls have been experiencing sexual harassment from male friends online while 27per cent from known adults or relatives and 18per cent from unknown adults, according to a recent research conducted by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Ain O Shalish Kendro (ASK).

Besides, a global survey indicates that 58per cent of women on social media have faced some form of harassment. Tragically, one in five victims' commit  suicide, and many suffer from mental health issues. Notably, Facebook is the most common platform for harassment, with 39 per cent of girls targeted there, and followed by 23 per cent on Instagram, 14 per cent on WhatsApp, and 9 per cent on Twitter.

Rights activist Tamanna Rahman presented status of women rights in her keynote paper at a press conference organised in Dhaka by the International Rural Women's Day Observation National Committee with its chairman Shamima Akhtar in the chair and moderated by Ferdous Ara Rumee of COAST Foundation.     
Among others, National Committee members Karim Box of Sirajganj, Manju Ara Parveen of Khulna, Enamul Haque of Jamlpur, Khondokar Faruque Ahmed of Mymensingh, Syeda Shamima Sultana of Dhaka, Mahin Khan of Manikgonj and Mustafa Kamal Akanda of IRWD Secretariat also spoke.

The International Rural Women's Day will be celebrated today.

In the press conference, the rights-based civil society representatives urged legal action along with widespread awareness to prevent sexual and other harassment against women and girls online.

The speakers emphasised that girls and women are constantly harassed through offensive content, leaks, extortion, hacking, and sexual harassment on the internet and the level of harassment is increasing day by day due to the lack of minimum knowledge about internet security.

The speakers urged the use of various government 'help desks' for legal assistance as well as active prevention of cybercrime among women and girls.

In her keynote paper, Tamanna said that these findings are based on a study by Plan International, which interviewed 14,000 adolescents, young women, and women from 22 countries. The need for caution in sharing personal information, photos, and videos, as well as the importance of legal actions, should be emphasised, starting with families.

Ferdous Ara Rumee mentioned that there are help desks available for victims of online violence and cyber harassment. You can report such incidents to organizations like the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime's Cyber Crime Investigation Division, Cyber Police Centre, Police Cyber Support for Women (PCSWW), Hello City App, Report to RAB App, 999, and through the respective Facebook pages.

Shamima Akhter suggested that government should engage with social media companies to combat online harassment. They should ensure these companies take action against fake IDs, harassing posts, audio, videos, and similar content.

Mustafa Kamal Akanda, speaking on behalf of the organisers, shared that International Rural Women's Day is celebrated in over 50 districts of the country. The day involves various activities such as rallies, seminars, community events, fairs, and recognition of rural women's contributions in different fields.