INTRODUCTION
The threat of distributing intimate, sexual materials unless a victim agrees with specific demands is known as sextortion, a combination of the words “sexual” and “extortion.” “The technique of coercing someone, especially for sexual activities, by threatening to publish nude pictures of them or sexual information about them is termed sextortion,” according to the Cambridge Dictionary. In its most basic form, it is a method of coercing a person into performing sexual acts in exchange for the publishing of nude photographs, films, or private information on public domains without their agreement, utilising social engineering skills or emotional blackmail. Sextortion via social media is the most common way. Sextortonists develop close relationships with their potential victims through online discussion and/or SMS. They urge their victims to give nude photographs or films once they have gained their trust. They then utilise the photos as a kind of blackmail, forcing their victims to produce more footage that meets their twisted criteria.
Sextortion on the internet is part of a wider trend of image-based sexual offences in which photographs are used to cause harm. Sextortion can hurt the victim or their loved ones physically, as well as their possessions or reputation. It generally involves blackmail, in which the victim is threatened with disclosing harmful hidden information, or ransom, in which the victim is held hostage until a preset condition is satisfied. Despite the gravity of the crime, empirical information on sextortion is lacking. Sextortion is carried out in a variety of ways, according to cyber police. One method involves posing as a girl and talking with an unsuspecting victim, enticing them to submit incriminating photos of themselves, which are then used for blackmail. Another method is to post links on pornographic websites that, when clicked, record the victim’s actions. Sextortion that involves extorting sexual favours from a victim rather than money is a particularly severe kind of sextortion. The worst thing about sextortion is that the victim, who is usually always a woman, is filled with guilt and shame, and she is scared of being judged and humiliated if she seeks counselling. The offender’s ability to dominate the victim is greatly assisted by the victim’s silence. This article will discuss sextortion and why it should be taken seriously, as well as developing issues and solutions related to sextortion in India.
DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING SEXTORTION-
DEFINITION
Sextortion has both a component of sexual favour and a component of corruption in its definition. The former involves a request whether implicit or explicit to participate in any sort of unwanted sexual activity, but the latter happens when the person requesting the sexual favour is in a position of authority that is abused. The basic notion is quid pro quo, in which a sexual favour is requested or accepted in return for a benefit that the offender can withhold or supply. As a result, the concept of ‘sextortion’ attempts to establish a new worldview of corruption by looking at it from a fresh angle. As a result, it calls into question established concepts of pecuniary harm in anti-corruption laws, and it positions itself in the context of sexual harassment and corruption.
TYPES OF SEXTORTION
- SEXTORTION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA: Sextortion scams often start with seemingly benign social media or dating service connections. The attacker will ultimately force the victim to send filthy photos, appear nude on camera, or conduct sexual acts while on film. The resulting pictures and videos can then be held for ransom.
- PHISHING SCHEMES THROUGH E-MAIL: An email is sent to the victim informing them that the sender knows one of their passwords, which they will divulge in the email. Unless the victim pays money, offers explicit content, or engages in sexual acts, they threaten to publish personal pictures or videos. Many of these scams revolve around password harvesting, which may be a hoax if the victim still has sensitive information on an outdated website.
- SEXTORTION THROUGH HACKED WEBCAM: In certain cases of sextortion, the victim’s gadget becomes infected with malware. A hacker can obtain access to cameras and microphones, as well as key loggers, once inside. This means that someone may be following your every move (in the vicinity of your computer). They can also use key loggers to find the passwords to all of your accounts. This may appear improbable, but it occurs more frequently than one may think.
- SEXTORTION THROUGH ACCOUNT HACKING: If sexual pictures or films were ever exchanged over social media or a chat app, or if they were saved on one of those sites, anybody may get their hands on them. If the demands are not met, the hackers may exploit the victim’s account to share the photos with friends, family, and co-workers.[1]
CHALLENGES IN SEXTORTION-
SEXTORTION VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
Social networking comes in a variety of formats and has grown in popularity, particularly during the current pandemic. There are several social networking sites, with Facebook being the most well-known. In general, social networking sites and technologies enable computer users to create online communities for lawful objectives such as keeping in contact with friends and family, dating, and professional networking, but some individuals are also utilising them for illegal purposes such as sextortion. Criminals may use a false identity to befriend victims online and then encourage them to conduct sexual activities in front of their camera, typically with the help of an attractive woman. Financial incentives or threats may have been used to compel these ladies to take these activities. Criminals record this webcam footage and threaten to disclose the photos with the victims’ friends and relatives. The victims may feel exceedingly ashamed and embarrassed as a result of this. Both men and women can become victims of this crime, either as a result of blackmail or coercion into performing sexual activities. It usually takes the form of blackmail, in which the victim is threatened with exposing detrimental secret information, or ransom, in which the victim is held captive until a predetermined condition is met.
SHAME AND FEAR OF STIGMATIZATION– The guilt and fear of stigmatisation connected with sexual transgressions make it much more difficult for sextortion victims to come forward. When a woman or girl (or, in some circumstances, a boy or man) is solicited for a sexual bribe rather than a monetary bribe, she may feel the same sense of humiliation that rape and other forms of sexual assault victims have, and she may fear that disclosing what happened would result in the same societal stigma. This issue has been raised in Taiwan and Uganda, where abused women frequently do not disclose events to prevent embarrassment to their families.
LACK OF WITNESSES AND OTHER EVIDENCE– In many countries, the absence of witnesses and other evidence is a substantial impediment to successful convictions, even when victims come forward. Sextortion is usually carried out in secrecy, with just the person seeking a sexual favour and the person receiving the favour as witnesses. Furthermore, retribution against victims and witnesses who come forward is not uncommon, especially when the offender is a prominent authority. This has been mentioned as a major problem in Argentina, considering that the victim’s privacy is not properly protected and he or she does not receive particular protection from the attacker.[2]
LACK OF LEGAL FRAMEWORK– The lack of legal frameworks is another major issue in several of the nations surveyed. Because sextortion has aspects of both corruption and sexual exploitation, it is frequently prosecuted as one or the other. On the one hand, the corruption aspect of sextortion – which uses power rather than force to “coerce” sex – contradicts traditional concepts of physical force and lack of permission in sexual assault and rape legislation, and tends to downplay the severity with which sexual abuse is addressed. Anti-corruption measures, on the other hand, generally focus on financial impropriety, such as bribery and preferential business deals, rather than sexual misconduct. While some of the anti-corruption legislation examined do not need evidence of bodily damage, others do. Furthermore, both the payer and the recipient of the bribe are typically considered guilty and subject to punishment under anti-corruption laws. The question of consent creates special problems in prosecuting sextortion cases under sexual harassment and gender-based violence statutes, because victims who agree to the perpetrator’s request for a sexual favour may be seen as having “consented” to the sexual behaviour.
INADEQUACIES IN EXISTING INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS– While a strong legal framework is necessary for effectively combating sextortion, the most significant barriers to effective prosecution were found in existing institutional frameworks’ inadequacies, which lacked the resources and capacity to receive and prosecute sextortion complaints, protect complainants, and provide effective redress in many cases. In at least a few situations, institutional corruption has been highlighted as a major impediment to prosecuting public officials.[3]
LACK OF INFORMATION ON SEXTORTION AND HOW TO REPORT IT- While certain legislation may be sufficient, there are still major obstacles to successful sextortion convictions. The dearth of knowledge about sextortion and how to report it is at the forefront. Sextortion victims are frequently unaware that their actions are illegal; they feel that because they did not oppose the coercive force of authority, there was no crime committed because s/he “consented.” Furthermore, many victims are unaware of where or how to report a sextortion claim. Existing complaint mechanisms, for the most part, have not been sufficiently defined for victims to comprehend how to access them in connection with sextortion allegations.
LACK OF AWARENESS- Above all, a lack of awareness of sextortion silences victims and hinders them from seeking legal redress, while also encouraging a culture of impunity among perpetrators, many of whom believe they are not breaking any laws. The only way to change the victim’s and perpetrator’s views of the community is to change the victim’s and perpetrator’s perceptions of the community. The best approaches to change attitudes are discussion and sunshine open discourse where secrets and private pain have previously resided.[4]
SOLUTIONS TO THESE CHALLENGES-
SPREADING AWARENESS– One of the biggest challenges to sextortion is a lack of information and awareness, which can only be mitigated by teaching people about such problems and how to avoid becoming victims of such problems at the outset, and even if they do end up becoming victims of such crimes, what are their rights and what legal steps can be taken to get justice, and by doing so, the victim will not only protecte himself/herself but will also educate others how to stand up for their own rights instead of feeling ashamed. Sextortion can be prevented by securing all online profiles. Sextortion victims were approached on social media 54 % of the time, according to a study by the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Center. Sextortion was also prevalent on chat applications, accounting for 41% of all cases. To keep online accounts safe, make sure that all of your profiles and accounts are set to private. Accepting friend requests from (and then engaging with) individuals you don’t know is a bad idea. Be wary of profiles with few posts and photos, as well as those that are not in your close circle of friends and relatives. To harass people online, a criminal may create many accounts. If this occurs, the victim has the option of deleting their social media account until legal action is done. If you are the focus of public humiliation on social media, you can either delete or deactivate your profile.
EVIDENCE: THE GAMECHANGER– Although it is difficult to produce proof in crimes like sextortion since they occur in the dark and the culprit is typically nameless, the victim’s initial reaction and natural impulse is to erase any conversations and materials supplied by the perpetrator. Deleted evidence, on the other hand, makes one’s case more difficult to prove. For a successful legal allegation of sextortion, tangible documentation is required. After all, without proof, lawsuits are based purely on your word vs the word of a stranger.
SEEING THE VICTIMS AS VICTIMS RATHER THAN THE CAUSE– Another issue is that victims of sextortion feel humiliated and are afraid of being stigmatised. To overcome this fear, it is critical to raise awareness, as this crime, which is rising at an alarming rate, should not be kept hidden. In the same way that a victim of theft is regarded as the victim and not the perpetrator, the victim of sextortion should be seen as such. In such instances, our society begins to blame the victim, and the victim’s fear of confronting society and embarrassing their family makes them unwilling to report. Instead of panicking and feeling embarrassed, victims should work to obtain justice for themselves, and the first thing a victim may do if sextortion occurred through social media is to contact the appropriate social media website. All of the main social media sites have separate reporting procedures for harmful internet assaults. Contact information and removal forms are usually located in the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy of a website. If there isn’t a mechanism to report sextortion or other online assaults, the next best alternative is to email the website. After then, the victim might file a sextortion complaint, for which different procedures exist in different countries.
Sextortion complaints can be made either online or offline in India.
Online Complaint-One may file an online complaint with India’s Ministry of Home Affairs if you don’t want to go to the police station. Registering a complaint online through a portal is easier than filing a complaint at a police station since it requires less time and effort.
Offline Complaint– It is critical to register a complaint as soon as possible since doing so makes prosecuting offenders much simpler. Making a complaint offline is extremely straightforward. First, register a formal report with the closest police station’s cybercrime cell. It can be registered in any city, regardless of jurisdiction, in which you happen to be at the moment. Police officers and other officers listed in Section 80 of the Information Technology Act of 2000 are authorised to investigate, search, and arrest suspected offenders without a warrant for an infraction under the act. While writing this complaint, the victim must address the name, phone number, and address as well as address the head of the cybercrime cell where the complaint is being submitted. The victim may submit a FIR with any police station if the victim is unable to file a complaint with the cyber unit; if they refuse to file, you may appeal to the commissioner or judicial magistrate. Regardless of jurisdiction, the complaint must be recorded under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Filing a FIR is simple because several cybercrimes are punishable under the IPC. As a result, police do not require a warrant to investigate or arrest someone under such circumstances. In some cases, the police are obligated to submit a FIR and transfer it to the police station that has jurisdiction over the crime.
LAWS GOVERNING SEXTORTION IN INDIA–
India has yet to pass laws that target and pervade the whole spectrum of situations when sexual exploitation happens as a result of power abuse. It does, however, have separate laws dealing with sexual exploitation and corruption as separate offences. The following are some of the laws that regulate sextortion in India.
- THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005–
This Act was created to provide women who have been victims of domestic abuse a voice. It is a law that ensures that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of women who are victims of domestic violence of any kind, as well as things linked to or incidental to such abuse, are more effectively protected.
- THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE (PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013–
This Act was enacted to protect women from workplace sexual harassment. It is legislation that protects women from sexual harassment at work, as well as the prevention and settlement of such complaints.
- THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT, 2012–
The purpose of this Act is to prevent child sexual exploitation. Its objective is to bring attention to the problem of child sexual exploitation.
- INDECENT REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN (PROHIBITION) ACT, 1986, (IRWA)-
Section 4– The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act of 1986 (IRWA) outlaws the printing or shipping of books, pamphlets, and other publications that include indecent depictions of women. Any individual found guilty under this provision faces a maximum sentence of two years in jail, in any category.
Section 6– The offender will be prosecuted under Section 6 of the 1986 Indecent Representation of Women Act. If a second or subsequent prosecution occurs, the penalty may be reduced to six months but may be increased to five years and at least ten thousand rupees. They will not be imprisoned for more than five years.
- INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860-
Section 292– Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, prohibits the dissemination or circulation of obscene material. This legislation prohibits the sale, letting to rent, distribution, and public exhibition of obscene material, among other things.
Section 354– The Indian Penal Code 1860, Section 354 (A to D), specifies the penalties for several forms of sexual crimes. Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, defines illegal force or attack on a woman to humiliate her and violate her modesty. If convicted, a person who commits such an offence risks up to two years in prison, a fine, or both.
Section 406– Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, defines criminal breach of trust as a crime punishable by imprisonment for up to three years, as well as a fine or both.
Section 499– Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, punishes anybody who does an act with the intent to harm or has reasonable grounds to think that doing so would harm someone’s reputation or character.
Section 500– According to Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, anybody who defames another is subject to simple imprisonment for up to two years, a fine, or both.
Section 506– Criminal intimidation is punishable under Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, with a punishment of up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. The accused risks a term of up to 7 years in prison, a fine, or both if he threatens the victim with death, significant physical harm, or property damage, or if he imputes unchastity to a woman.
Section 509– The punishment for a male who trespasses on a woman’s seclusion by insulting her modesty with words, gestures, noises, or objects, intending for it to be seen or heard, is specified in Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. A person who does so might face a year in prison, a fine, or both if they do so.
- THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT 2000-
Section 66E- A violation of privacy is defined as when the accused knowingly captures, publishes, or transmits a photograph or image of the victim’s private body part, according to Section 66E of the Information Technology Act of 2000. A maximum penalty of three years in jail or a fine of not more than two lakh rupees, or both, awaits the perpetrator of the offence.
Section 67– Section 67 of the Information Technology Act of 2000 makes it illegal to post or transmit obscene or sexual information through an electronic medium. If convicted, the person charged might face a term of up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 5 lakh rupees, and if convicted of a second offence, a sentence of up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 10 lakh rupees.
Section 72– A government employee who discloses data and information collected in the course of his or her responsibilities without the consent of the person concerned suffer a criminal penalty under Section 72 of the Information Technology Act unless otherwise permitted by law. Up to two years in prison, a fine of up to Rs100,000, or both are possible penalties.[5]
CONCLUSION
Sextortion is a severe crime that should be taken seriously. There are numerous obstacles to this crime, and the most dependable approach to solve those challenges is to raise awareness. People should also be informed about sextortion and how to prevent being a victim. Sextortion victims also feel humiliated and fear being stigmatised because our society blames the victim and believes that they are the root cause of the problem, and the victim’s fear of confronting society and embarrassing their family prevents them from reporting, but society must treat the victims as victims, not as the cause. If one has been the victim of sextortion, he/she should report it right away so that legal action may be taken.
To protect oneself from extortion, one must observe the safety procedures outlined above.
[1]How to register a cyber crime complaignt?, Law Time Journal (Dec 19,2020).
[2] The Thomson Reuters Foundation et al., Combating Sextortion A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LAWS TO PROSECUTE CORRUPTION INVOLVING SEXUAL EXPLOITATION 28-29 ( Apr10,2015).
[3] Tanushri Roy, SEXTORTION: REVISITING LAWS ON CORRUPTION IN INDIA, ILI.
[4] The Thomson Reuters Foundation et al., supra note 2.
[5] Ayushi Priya, Sextortion and Ways to Tackle it, bnwjournal (feb 23, 2021)
YLCC would like to thank Priyanshi Singh for her valuable insights in this article.
