HYDERABAD: An alarming increase in the number of reported cases of so-called revenge porn has led police to create awareness among women not to share private photos and videos with not only strangers but with anyone.
Videos on the same will soon start playing at movie halls and public places across the state. At least 60 complaints of men sharing intimate media of women without consent have been reported in Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda commissioners in the last six months.
Though police regularly take down such photos and videos based on complaints from victims, it is almost impossible to take down anything permanently. In a peculiar case in Hyderabad, a video of a young girl which was uploaded online by her former boyfriend is haunting her even after almost three years of the arrest of the accused.
The girl was in a relationship with a man, who took her to his flat to celebrate her birthday and made her pose nude during the celebrations. Their relationship did not go well and she was married to an NRI later. To take revenge on the girl, he uploaded the videos on the internet and to her misfortune, her husband was intimated about this by a friend.
“Though the videos were deleted from certain websites, they are still surfacing on other sites. Her husband and parents abandoned her and now she is surviving alone. Even after three years of the incident, the girl still calls and complains about her video surfacing on porn websites and the cyber team keeps taking down the links and website,” said a senior police officer.
A number of cases related to jilted lovers resorting to defaming their ex-partners. A number of cases pertain to strangers convincing a woman online to share her private photos and videos with him in order to extort money thereafter.
In any case, the damage done cannot be really undone, making the offence extremely dangerous. An officer from Cyberabad shared that there has been an increase in such cases in recent times. About 12 to 15 cases are being reported every month.
“People should respect the privacy of their partner and not resort to such offences. We are making videos to create awareness among women, especially teenagers, who are highly prone to harassment,” said Cyberabad ACP S Jayaram, adding that the videos will be played in the film theatres across the state and also at public places.