Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Raveena Tandon Talk About Women Harassment at #ItsNotOk The Call It Out Conclave

Network18’s streamathon for its #ItsNotOk campaign where it partnered with Truecaller to raise awareness about why it’s important for women to ‘Call It Out’ on harassment issues became a roaring success as a host of renowned people graced the on-ground event The Call It Out Conclave, with their presence and candidly expressed their views.
 

Call It Out Conclave
 

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, on March 29 said the Indian government is toying with the idea of ushering in a legislative framework that will make social media platforms and intermediaries more accountable.

"A lot of people indulge in harassment and trolling online because they think there are no consequences for their actions. They think that they can abuse or harass anyone and will get away because there is a notion that no laws apply to cyberspace," he said.

"Right now, social media platforms and intermediaries are treated as safe haven. But soon we will bring in a legislature under which they will be treated as publishers. Down the road, we will create a reporting structure in which they mandatorily will have to take action against reported misconduct or harassment. This will make it easier to identify and punish those who are committing online crimes. Social media platforms and intermediaries will have to take more responsibility to make the Internet safe," he added.

He, however, clarified that the government wants the Internet to be open and not controlled by the state or big corporations, but it must be safe and trusted as well.

Noted actress Raveena Tandon shared her thoughts on harassment in Bollywood.

"Women face some form of harassment in every industry. In our industry as well, there is harassment and I have seen it. Also, harassment is different at different levels. The glamour of the film industry attracts many women from across the world. They live alone and struggle in Mumbai to make it big in Bollywood. They are most susceptible to harassment as people try to take advantage of the fact that they don't have any background or standing in the industry," she said.

"Things have changed especially after the #MeToo movement. Such people are scared to indulge in harassment. Also, industry people are now more aware and sensitive about the issue of women safety. Women are encouraged to speak out against harassment," she added.

Rakesh Asthana, Commissioner of Delhi Police, said that Delhi police had been able to control crime against women in the last few years.

Asthana also emphasised the role of technology in tackling online cases related to harassment. "We have a specialised unit under a special cell which uses advanced technology to detect and identify those who are involved in cyber-crimes. It has the wherewithal to handle all sorts of cyber-crimes across the country. We managed to solve the 'Bulli Bai' case, in which photos of women were uploaded on a website for sale, in less than 7 days by doing a detailed cyber investigation. The accused were arrested and are now facing charges in the court of law," he informed.

About #ItsNotOk Campaign
India’s biggest news network, Network18 partnered with Truecaller to launch #ItsNotOk campaign, to raise awareness about why it’s important for women to ‘Call It Out’ on harassment issues, leading conversations on how society can enable a safer digital environment for them.

Last week they took the conversation forward with ‘The Call It Out Conclave’ event. Attended by policy makers, law enforcers and Bollywood celebrities, the event was conceptualised to create a bigger conversation around online safety and security in today’s digital world and take into account the steps taken towards making the online space safer for women and building a safe environment for them where they can report harassment.