INTRODUCTION
India has one of the largest internet user bases in the world.[1] Millions of women use the internet for education, work, banking, digital payments, shopping, business, social networking, content creation, news, and information. However, the same connectivity has also created new opportunities for gender-based violence. Unlike physical violence, cyber violence does not require physical proximity: a perpetrator can target a victim from any location, often while remaining anonymous behind fake profiles or virtual private networks, and can disseminate harmful content, such as morphed images or intimate videos, to a wide audience within moments. This absence of proximity and anonymity makes such violence harder to trace, allows the harm to be repeated and amplified beyond the original act, and often leaves victims without a clearly identifiable perpetrator to hold accountable. Common forms of cybercrimes include Cyberstalking, non-consensual intimate imagery, morphing, sextortion, and now AI-generated deepfakes have become recurring features of India’s digital landscape.
The Indian legal system has evolved in stages: It started with the Information Technology Act, 2000. Then there were changes to the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Now the Indian Penal Code, 1860 has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which came into force on 1 July 2024. Indian laws are supposed to protect people from cybercrimes. Many victims of these crimes still have a hard time getting justice. This blog is about the laws that are already in place to protect people. It also examines the problems that are encountered during the enforcement of these laws. It discusses reforms that are needed so that women are safer when they are online, in the digital space.
WHAT CYBERCRIME AGAINST WOMEN ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE?
Cybercrime against women is the use of the internet to harass, exploit, or stalk. It goes far beyond just hacking. It often targets a woman’s privacy, safety, and reputation. Abusers use these acts to control, shame, or silence women online.
The following are common forms of online abuse –
Cyberstalking: Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, group, or organisation. One of the earliest reported instances of cyberstalking in India was the case of Ritu Kohli v Manish Kathuria (2001), registered as an FIR under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. While frequently cited to illustrate the phenomenon, the case did not result in a reported judicial decision and does not establish a binding precedent.
Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII)/Revenge Pornography: Circulation of private images or videos without consent.
Deepfakes: The use of artificial intelligence to create fake images and videos of women for the purpose of harassing them.
Online Sexual Harassment and Cyberbullying: Unwanted sexual remarks, threats, or coordinated harassment across social platforms.
Sextortion: Blackmail using real or fabricated intimate content to extort money, further images, or compliance.
Identity Theft and Impersonation: Fake profiles or unauthorised use of a woman’s identity to defame or defraud her.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY?
Cybercrime is rising rapidly. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)[2] recorded 65,893 cybercrime cases in 2022, 86,420 in 2023 (a 31.2% jump), and 1,01,928 in 2024, an 18% rise over 2023, with women disproportionately targeted in several categories.
Underreporting remains one of the biggest challenges in addressing cybercrime against women. Many victims do not report such crimes because they fear involvement in legal proceedings or lack awareness of the law, resulting in only a fraction of the actual number of cases being registered.
THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The fast-growing nature of digital technology has been accompanied by a rise in cybercrime, which in turn requires the development of laws that would protect people from such crimes. In India, the protection of women from cybercrimes is assured through the enactment of the Information Technology Act 2000, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and other related laws. These laws prohibit different types of cybercrimes, such as identity theft, cyber stalking, privacy invasion, and posting of obscene material.
The Information Technology Act 2000[3] is India’s primary cyber law. It provides a legal framework for electronic transactions, digital governance, and the prevention of cybercrimes. It grants legal validity to digital signatures and electronic records, equivalent to their paper counterparts. Provisions most relevant to women include:
- Section 66C: Identity Theft: Penalises the use of an individual’s digital identity through fraud (imprisonment for up to three years along with fines).[4]
- Section 66E: Privacy Violations: Criminalises the capturing, publishing, or distributing of images of any individual’s private parts without their consent.[5]
- Sections 67 and 67A: The publication or electronic transmission of obscene or sexually explicit matter. Commonly used in NCII and revenge pornography matters.[6]
- Section 79: Grants intermediaries conditional safe-harbour protection from liability for third-party content, provided they observe the due diligence and content-related obligations prescribed under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including the timely removal of unlawful content upon receiving actual knowledge or a court/government order.[7]
Although the IT Act 2000 focuses on crimes conducted using digital technology, it does not cover all forms of cybercrimes. Hence, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 fills in the gaps left by the IT Act by making certain crimes committed electronically illegal.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) [8]treats cybercrime as a method to commit traditional offences rather than creating a standalone chapter for it. It works alongside the Information Technology (IT) Act to punish tech-enabled fraud, identity theft, and digital harassment. The provisions most relevant to women include:
- Section 75: Sexual Harassment, including unwelcome physical contact, demands for sexual favours, or sexually coloured remarks, whether made in person or through electronic means.[9]
- Section 77: Voyeurism, encompassing the watching, capturing, or dissemination of the image of a woman engaged in a private act, without her consent.[10]
- Section 78: Stalking, particularly in monitoring a woman’s usage of the internet and email or other forms of electronic communication.[11]
- Section 79: Uttering words, making sounds or gestures, or exhibiting objects, with the intention of insulting the modesty of a woman.[12]
- Section 351: Criminal Intimidation, often applicable in sextortion/blackmail cases.[13]
SUPPORTING LEGISLATION
Apart from the Information Technology Act 2000 and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, other laws also play an important role in safeguarding women in cyberspace. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986[14] includes in its ambit indecent representations of women in electronic form through any electronic medium. In addition, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, is enacted to safeguard individuals’ privacy by restricting the collection and processing of personal data. Despite being a relatively new tool in cybercrime investigation, it can serve as another shield in this area.
CHALLENGES IN THE EXISTING LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Even with substantial legislative advancement, several structural challenges continue to weaken the legal protection available to women online.
First, the legislation remains fragmented: no single statute is dedicated to gender-based cybercrime, and provisions are scattered across the IT Act, the BNS, and sector-specific laws, forcing victims and investigators to navigate multiple, overlapping frameworks rather than a coherent scheme.
Second, anonymity and attribution pose a persistent obstacle, since offenders routinely use fake profiles, virtual private networks, and offshore servers to conceal their identity, making it difficult for law enforcement to trace a perpetrator even when the offence itself is easily proven.
Third, cross-border jurisdiction complicates enforcement, as content is frequently hosted on servers or platforms based outside India, requiring mutual legal assistance requests that are slow and often ineffective against fast-spreading harmful content.
Fourth, the collection and admissibility of digital evidence remains inconsistent, with investigating agencies often lacking standardised protocols for preserving electronic evidence in a manner that satisfies the certification and authentication requirements under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
Fifth, intermediary response is frequently slow or inadequate, despite the takedown obligations under the IT Rules, 2021, leaving harmful content, such as intimate images, circulating well after a complaint is filed.
Sixth, cyber-forensic capacity at the state and district level remains limited, with police stations often lacking trained personnel or the technical infrastructure needed to investigate technologically complex offences.
Finally, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes has outpaced the existing legal framework, which was not designed with synthetic media in mind, leaving ambiguity as to how such content should be classified and prosecuted under current provisions.
CONCLUSION
Cybercrime against women is a constantly evolving phenomenon, and the challenges identified above-fragmented legislation, anonymity and attribution, cross-border jurisdiction, inconsistent digital evidence standards, slow intermediary response, limited forensic capacity, and unregulated AI-generated abuse- show that legislative text alone cannot guarantee protection. Closing these gaps calls for concrete reform: a consolidated framework or dedicated statutory provisions addressing gender-based cyber offences; standardised protocols for the collection and certification of digital evidence; dedicated cyber-forensic units and trained personnel at the district level; stricter and time-bound enforcement of intermediary takedown obligations under the IT Rules, 2021; expedited channels for cross-border cooperation with foreign platforms and law-enforcement agencies; and a specific legal framework to address AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic non-consensual imagery. Only through such targeted, coordinated action by the State, law-enforcement agencies, intermediaries, and civil society can women’s rights and dignity in cyberspace be meaningfully protected.
Author(s) Name: Vidhi Markam (Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur)
References:
[1] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Annual Report 2024–25 (Government of India 2025)
[2] National Crime Records Bureau, Crime in India 2024 (Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India 2025)
[3] Information Technology Act 2000
[4] Ibid s 66C
[5] Ibid s 66E
[6] Ibid ss 67, 67A
[7] Ibid s 79
[8] Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023
[9] Ibid s 75
[10] Ibid s 77
[11] Ibid s 78
[12] Ibid s 79
[13] Ibid s 351
[14] Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986