Social media breaks stigma of lodging harassment complaints

WhatsApp helpline makes it easy for victims to reach out to the police

January 18, 2019 12:47 am | Updated 12:47 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

Lukewarm response:  Citizens prefer social media platforms to the iClik kiosks to register harassment complaints, say police.

Lukewarm response: Citizens prefer social media platforms to the iClik kiosks to register harassment complaints, say police.

The social media platforms appear to have come in handy for the police in making the legal recourse mechanisms more accessible to people, especially the women who are subjected to various harassments.

Records suggest that helplines launched by the police on various social media platforms have helped break down the barriers of official red tape and social stigma, the major deterrents for women who want to lodge harassment complaints at police stations.

In 2014, a year before the City Police launched WhatsApp helpline, 5,336 complaints were registered at the police stations in the city limits. By 2018, the figure rose sharply to 9,380, with almost 25% of the total complaints being registered through WhatsApp.

Touching lives

M. Sindhu (name changed), a 32-year-old homemaker from Gajuwaka recounts how the WhatsApp helpline came to her rescue.

“I had been subjected to physical and mental torture by my husband for the last two years. Going to police station in person to lodge a complaint was a daunting task for me as I felt it would be embarrassing to narrate my nightmares to an officer. But after coming to know about the WhatsApp helpline, I left a message with my details after which the police immediately responded and counselled my husband,” Sindhu says.

As part of its social media outreach campaign , the City Police have launched an Abhayam app and had set up several i-Clik centres.

Mixed bag

However, the two initiatives appear to have failed to garner the desired results that the WhatsApp helpline has done.

Last year, the City Police received 2,449 complaints through social media platforms. Of these, 2,199 complaints (almost 95%) were filed through the WhatsApp helpline. About 33 complaints were sent via the police department’s Facebook page, 49 were filed through Twitter, and 168 complaints sent through e-mails.

Abhayam app can be downloaded on smartphones and victims, especially women, can alert the police of any crime taking place. I-Clik is a kiosk where a victim can lodge complaints without having to visit a police station. Though the target users for these two initiatives were women, police started to receive complaints from both men and women, thus taking away from the goal that the police had in mind.

After the social media platforms to lodge complaints were launched, complaints through Abhayam and i-Clik began dwindling, with centres at CMR Grand and Beach Road conking out altogether. Police admit that the response for both the initiatives has been poor.

“Abhayam and i-Clik have been serving good. But when it comes to social media apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook, their usage is simple. Many people do not know how to download an app and register themselves. But many find it easy to use WhatsApp. Around five to six cases reach the WhatsApp police helpline daily. Similarly Twitter and Facebook are mostly used by youth and e-mails are also used generally by professionals,” said DCP (Law & Order I) Ravindranath Babu.

Land issues

According to police, among the complaints being received, land-related issues such as illegal encroachments and criminal intimidation account for 60% of the total. Another 20% are related to family issues, relationships going wrong, cheating, harassment while about 15% of the complaints are regarding road accidents or traffic-related issues.

“It is good that many housewives and even elderly parents are using WhatsApp to reach out to us and inform us about the harassment,” the DCP added.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.