Cyberbullying: Let's talk about this

Lately, Nepal is facing a concerning rise in cyberbullying. This matter has worsened by an increase in digital activity among teenagers during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Cyberbullying includes online harassment or abuse, a behaviour where a person repeatedly causes harm to others using different technologies and electronic devices.

There are many terminologies that are related to crime under cyberbullying like stalking, sexting, defamation, sextortion and many more. All these crimes are taken in action on the basis of The Electronic Transaction Act (ETA), 2063.

According to the data from Cyber Bureau show that the number of cases related to cyberbullying (related to social media/hacking), and IT-related financial crime in this year's till Mangshir is 2,154 and 258 respectively.

Talking to the inspector of Crime Bureau Raj Kumar Khadgi, he said that, “The victims who are inside the valley give the report by coming to our bureau, but the ones who are outside the valley report through mails or report to their nearby police station. ”

Recently, there are a lot of cases of character assassination and defamation according to Khadgi. There are people who try to take revenge through social media. In many of these cases, people in a relationship and have shared intimate pictures and recorded videos, knowingly or unknowingly, after breaking up, one tries to take revenge by exposing the pictures and videos in public. This is also called ‘Revenge Porn’.

“Though there are many waves and chains of getting reports on online bullying, I feel like there are many people who are still keeping quiet and not speaking for themselves”, he says.

“We get almost 25-30 cases in a day. Some of them call us and explain each and everything but when we ask to visit the bureau, they do not show up. They are scared that once they show up, people might know about them”, he adds.

 Social media is often used as a factor for threatening other people for money. Many general public to dignitaries have become victims of blackmailing. “I’ve got a few cases where an Indian girl talks to a person and arouses them by being naked. Then ask the very person to be naked, take pictures and start blackmailing them”, says Khadgi.

In many cases, when the police start the investigation, the culprit turns out to be their own brother, sister, husband, father or son. In that case, police tend to stop those cases in the victims consultation. But in a case where they have crossed the act of ETA, like in minor case, child abuse, and pornography, police do not let them go, they are punished under ETA act.

Khadgi said that, “People should be aware and think before posting anything. One shouldn't make their profile public. If you are going through any online bullying, try to talk to your parents or consult with the cyber bureau.”

“Do not try to hide and delete your own account. It will make the culprit stronger and repeat the same thing again and again. There will be more victims if you are silent”, he adds.