Are Smartphones a reason for increase in Rape cases ?
Is the thought totally ridiculous ? How can smartphones lead to an increase in rapes ?
India was classified as a country with the lowest per capita rate of rapes now records an annual increase of 25% in the number of sexual crimes against women and minors. A study done by CRY(Child Relief and You) states that there is an increase of 500%( 6 times) in crimes against minors from 2006 to '16. A part of it may be due to an increase in the previously low reporting of such crimes but increased reporting can't alone account for the current alarming situation. So what has changed in these last ten years?
The first thing which comes to my mind, which has seen a similar growth in corresponding period, is the availability of smartphones and the exposure of people to the internet !!
Smartphones coupled with free internet and free access to social messaging sites have enabled unbridled circulation of pornographic clips with no filters and checks. It enables the propagation of pornography from the confines of one's bedroom to public spaces, colleges, schools making it a potential instigator of harassment. With this I obviously imply that pornography is one of the main factors leading to this increasing hostile patriarch onslaught on women and it doesn't even spare the children.
Smartphones and pornography are obviously not the only things which add up to make a brutal sexual offender. An accurate picture for the reasons leading to an increase in such crimes can emerge only after a detailed psychoanalysis of proven perpetrators of the crime. In the absence of any such data, I think factors leading a perpetrator to commit such a crime would be two fold --the first could be broadly classified as a moral one which would include the social values, relationships, the upbringing, the sexual sensitization and the prevailing culture (for example in certain African countries rape till 2018 was not categorized as a crime). The second factor would be the 'fear' of the social justice system, which ensures that any such transgressions of moral behavior are effectively punished.
Punishment as a deterrent may be a debatable topic but it certainly has its place, and a higher percentage of convictions is most likely to bring down the rate of crime.
The more loosely defined and less worked upon are the social aspects. No doubt, any efforts in character building would be very slow to show results, I do feel they do require a closer look and maybe some course correction to raise the moral standards of our society.
Higher levels of education and a higher IQ(intelligence quotient) seems to be single most important factor in decreasing the women specific crimes. Our society as a whole(average) does not score high on this measure, and we have be very careful of what we are exposing the general public to. So a smartphone, which is an instrument of disseminating information and educating people may in fact be a double edged sword providing information which the recipient is not mature enough to handle.
Another revealing truth is that in around 95% of sexual crimes the offender is known to the victim! It indicates that such crimes are usually premeditated, and the victim is one who is considered to be the least likely to hoist an adequate defense. This also explains why children are more often the target. I suppose this is where the prevalent societal norms and patriarchy steps in. It is here that issues like respecting the other person's will, knowing one's own limits, what constitutes transgression of other person's space and child's rights assume importance.
Therefore when the portrayal of women on the media is in contradiction to the desired societal norms it is likely to have a negative affect on the young and immature minds. The message which goes down to the audience is a powerful one when we have a top female film star scantily dressed dancing suggestively to " mein to tandoori murgi hoon yaar, gatka le sainya alcohol se" [ I am (a delicacy) like tandoori chicken, swallow me down with alcohol], more so in our country where the songs are played repeatedly in public places for years and years even after the actual movie and context is long forgotten.
The 'Hero' always gets his way through to the female lead despite several vehement 'NOes'. Boys and men tend to identify with the male lead and the impression goes through that all advances and excesses are permitted as the ultimate answer will always be in the affirmative.
The all important message that a 'No means a No' is totally lost.
Nowhere is it conveyed that there exists for the female protagonists an actual freedom of choice, an inviolable personal space that cannot be intruded upon, even by the male superstar, and the fact that the 'hero' may have to deal with refusal and rejection, with dignity.
This strengthens patriarchy especially when the difference between 'reel' and 'real' may not be that apparent for some.
The film industry can claim that its not their duty to teach this to the audience but as a society searching for reasons of its ailments the powerful impression such visual 'scenes' casts on the subconscious psyche of the young minds should not be underestimated.
The portrayal of women as a commodity in advertisements and as 'cheerleaders' in sports, like cricket, is truly demeaning.
Reality TV shows where children are encouraged to perform scenes, dance moves or portray an emotion which ordinarily would be considered inappropriate for their age put the children at a vulnerable position, open to both physical and mental hurt. Sadly, our feminist activists and censors seem to be oblivious to these issues.
Today with affluence, especially on the silver screen, pleasure is inadvertently linked to alcohol and its even kosher to try other substances of intoxication. Alcohol reduces social inhibitions and increases desire. The exposure of such vulnerable intoxicated minds to the unreal, exaggerated, fantasy world of pornography where 'consent' is always implied and a 'No' does not exist, adds up to constitute all the necessary ingredients for a potential sexual offender.
Outrage, protests and candle light vigil each time an innocent falls victim to such a heinous crime would certainly raise the awareness but I feel more needs to be done constantly to strengthen the societal values and standards. Better portrayal of women in both cinema and social media, sensitization of all individuals towards sexual issues, the concept of individual's choice, the importance of consent and the all important concept of 'no' means a NO needs to very strongly propagated and adhered to.
Simple measures like imposing a tariff on the social media messaging services, at least on the exchange of media (pictures and videos), can greatly curb the menace of pornography.
It may be better to firewall the young impressionable minds from the bad commercial side of the internet to make it a safer world for our women and children.
---Saurabh Agrawal
All Feedbacks and comments are most welcome
(log on to your google id to post comments on the blog)
India was classified as a country with the lowest per capita rate of rapes now records an annual increase of 25% in the number of sexual crimes against women and minors. A study done by CRY(Child Relief and You) states that there is an increase of 500%( 6 times) in crimes against minors from 2006 to '16. A part of it may be due to an increase in the previously low reporting of such crimes but increased reporting can't alone account for the current alarming situation. So what has changed in these last ten years?
The first thing which comes to my mind, which has seen a similar growth in corresponding period, is the availability of smartphones and the exposure of people to the internet !!
Smartphones coupled with free internet and free access to social messaging sites have enabled unbridled circulation of pornographic clips with no filters and checks. It enables the propagation of pornography from the confines of one's bedroom to public spaces, colleges, schools making it a potential instigator of harassment. With this I obviously imply that pornography is one of the main factors leading to this increasing hostile patriarch onslaught on women and it doesn't even spare the children.
Smartphones and pornography are obviously not the only things which add up to make a brutal sexual offender. An accurate picture for the reasons leading to an increase in such crimes can emerge only after a detailed psychoanalysis of proven perpetrators of the crime. In the absence of any such data, I think factors leading a perpetrator to commit such a crime would be two fold --the first could be broadly classified as a moral one which would include the social values, relationships, the upbringing, the sexual sensitization and the prevailing culture (for example in certain African countries rape till 2018 was not categorized as a crime). The second factor would be the 'fear' of the social justice system, which ensures that any such transgressions of moral behavior are effectively punished.
Punishment as a deterrent may be a debatable topic but it certainly has its place, and a higher percentage of convictions is most likely to bring down the rate of crime.
The more loosely defined and less worked upon are the social aspects. No doubt, any efforts in character building would be very slow to show results, I do feel they do require a closer look and maybe some course correction to raise the moral standards of our society.
Higher levels of education and a higher IQ(intelligence quotient) seems to be single most important factor in decreasing the women specific crimes. Our society as a whole(average) does not score high on this measure, and we have be very careful of what we are exposing the general public to. So a smartphone, which is an instrument of disseminating information and educating people may in fact be a double edged sword providing information which the recipient is not mature enough to handle.
Another revealing truth is that in around 95% of sexual crimes the offender is known to the victim! It indicates that such crimes are usually premeditated, and the victim is one who is considered to be the least likely to hoist an adequate defense. This also explains why children are more often the target. I suppose this is where the prevalent societal norms and patriarchy steps in. It is here that issues like respecting the other person's will, knowing one's own limits, what constitutes transgression of other person's space and child's rights assume importance.
Therefore when the portrayal of women on the media is in contradiction to the desired societal norms it is likely to have a negative affect on the young and immature minds. The message which goes down to the audience is a powerful one when we have a top female film star scantily dressed dancing suggestively to " mein to tandoori murgi hoon yaar, gatka le sainya alcohol se" [ I am (a delicacy) like tandoori chicken, swallow me down with alcohol], more so in our country where the songs are played repeatedly in public places for years and years even after the actual movie and context is long forgotten.
The 'Hero' always gets his way through to the female lead despite several vehement 'NOes'. Boys and men tend to identify with the male lead and the impression goes through that all advances and excesses are permitted as the ultimate answer will always be in the affirmative.
The all important message that a 'No means a No' is totally lost.
Nowhere is it conveyed that there exists for the female protagonists an actual freedom of choice, an inviolable personal space that cannot be intruded upon, even by the male superstar, and the fact that the 'hero' may have to deal with refusal and rejection, with dignity.
This strengthens patriarchy especially when the difference between 'reel' and 'real' may not be that apparent for some.
The film industry can claim that its not their duty to teach this to the audience but as a society searching for reasons of its ailments the powerful impression such visual 'scenes' casts on the subconscious psyche of the young minds should not be underestimated.
The portrayal of women as a commodity in advertisements and as 'cheerleaders' in sports, like cricket, is truly demeaning.
Reality TV shows where children are encouraged to perform scenes, dance moves or portray an emotion which ordinarily would be considered inappropriate for their age put the children at a vulnerable position, open to both physical and mental hurt. Sadly, our feminist activists and censors seem to be oblivious to these issues.
Today with affluence, especially on the silver screen, pleasure is inadvertently linked to alcohol and its even kosher to try other substances of intoxication. Alcohol reduces social inhibitions and increases desire. The exposure of such vulnerable intoxicated minds to the unreal, exaggerated, fantasy world of pornography where 'consent' is always implied and a 'No' does not exist, adds up to constitute all the necessary ingredients for a potential sexual offender.
Outrage, protests and candle light vigil each time an innocent falls victim to such a heinous crime would certainly raise the awareness but I feel more needs to be done constantly to strengthen the societal values and standards. Better portrayal of women in both cinema and social media, sensitization of all individuals towards sexual issues, the concept of individual's choice, the importance of consent and the all important concept of 'no' means a NO needs to very strongly propagated and adhered to.
Simple measures like imposing a tariff on the social media messaging services, at least on the exchange of media (pictures and videos), can greatly curb the menace of pornography.
It may be better to firewall the young impressionable minds from the bad commercial side of the internet to make it a safer world for our women and children.
---Saurabh Agrawal
All Feedbacks and comments are most welcome
(log on to your google id to post comments on the blog)
Well Said Doc !! De-sensitization of any feeling towards the opposite sex due to watching too much of sexually explicit content is indeed a large contributor towards the increase in sexual crimes. And smart phones have indeed facilitated to very easy access to such content.
ReplyDeleteI recall , in a high level IT training exercise with the UPSTF , at the time when Hon ex CM Akhilesh Yadav ji was busy distributing free Tablets to all and sundry, a very senior officer had mentioned that "Gang rxpxs ki FIR likhne ki tayaari kar lo. kyonki in tablets ka sabse jyada yahi istemaal hoga"
We need to be discussing this more on public platforms for general awareness.Thanks for your valuable feedback Nishant.
ReplyDeleteWell expressed! No doubt that sensitization to sexually explicit material is one of the biggest risk factors. Mobile phones probably also increase the risk through other ways. They are slowly but surely programming the society to seek instant gratification. And it's not just limited to objectionable material. Having super easy access to useful information is also probably a double edged sword. Getting an answer instantly by asking SIRI or Google is not the same as getting the answer by doing some research, going to the library, asking real people. The latter method teaches us virtues like patience and persistence. The generation next might have a mind that is completely programmed for easy gratification, which doesn't know how to be patient and wait for rewards...I feel the loss of these virtues is also probably partly responsible for risong crimes including sexual ones!
ReplyDeleteYes Chitij, the trend towards instant gratification is new social problem that we face. Thanks for your valuable feedback
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