Form of Abuse, Bully or Revenge or Domestic Violence

The essence of the word “pornography” is obtained from the Greek language, i.e. “Porne and graphos”. The word “porne” comes from the meanings, a captive who is a female or a harlot or a prostitute. While the word “graphos” is “writing with regard to” or “description”. In the legal sense of the same, Pornography is referred as “obscenity” while in the moral sense it can be called as both ethical and unethical subject to the viewer. Pornography includes any pictures video, or movies that contain acts related to sexual intimacy which are often referred as vulgar and obnoxious.

Nonconsensual pornography is frequently a form of abuse, bully or revenge or domestic violence, as the perpetrators threaten or bully to expose intimate pictures to prevent a partner from obtaining the custody of children in cases of falling apart marriages or exiting a relationship or reporting the abuse or cheating with someone else. Revenge Porn is also a manipulative weapon of the sex traffickers; after they get hold of compromising images and videos they pin down the unwilling individuals in the market of sex trades and sometimes also threaten them for a handsome ransom amount. Many rapists who have images or recording of videos of sexual assault to further embarrass, humiliate victims and to discourage them from reporting the crime distribute or circulate or threaten to distribute or circulate it on the internet or to larger audiences.

Hence there have been various attempts to bifurcate the ways by which women are victimised by perpetrators. Therefore it is distinguished in two main groups: graphical victimisation and textual victimisation. This shall include all sorts of creation, production and publication of revenge pornographic materials on the internet as well.Textual victimisation on the other hand, may include cyber bullying, trolling, email harassment, cyber stalking, etc In 1980’s Revenge porn began to gain immense international media attention when Hunter Moore launched the website IsAnyoneUp in 2010.

The Indian Legal System has stretched up its clear and loud laws specifically for pornography which in its wide ambit covers revenge pornography or cyber pornography. The Indian Penal Code’s section 292, 292 (1), 292 (2) discuss matters related to sale of obscene materials, the meaning of obscenity and the punishment for sale distribution, publication, distribution, hiring, publicly exhibiting, importing, exporting, etc, respectively.

Hence the use of sexually explicit content used by individuals is used to threaten the integrity and the dignity of a being. It cannot be denied or doubted that the presence of the Information Communication Technology has increased tremendously the mess of cyber pornography and other cyber crimes. In spite of the Indian Legal System’s various provisions that strictly prohibit the publication, circulation, transmission of cyber pornography; such crimes are inevitable. Viewing of pornography is not illegal unless it is child pornography. However, circulation or distribution of the same without the cosent of the partner shall have its legal repercussions per se.