Cyberstalking rising with growing tech usage, says A.P. Women’s Commission chief

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission Chairperson Rayapati Sailaja inaugurating an awareness meeting on ‘Prevention of Stalking’, in Tirupati on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission Chairperson Rayapati Sailaja said that instances of cyberstalking have become more rampant due to the rise in use of technology.

Addressing an awareness programme on ‘Prevention of Stalking’ organised in association with the National Women’s Commission at Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) here on Tuesday, she said women’s security had become so dependent on one’s digital presence.

“Calling a person over phone, sending messages, misusing personal information will also amount to stalking,” she said.

Sending gifts or bouquets without consent, creating fake profiles using women’s display picture to draw attention are some of the examples of cyber stalking cases on the rise, she added.

Ms. Sailaja said women can raise complaints using helpline numbers 181 (women), 112 (emergency) and 1930 (cyber crime), and urged them to call these numbers to raise an alarm.

Additional Superintendent of Police Srilatha, Sub-Inspector A. Jayaswamulu, legal expert K. Sravani, psychologist S. Viswanath Reddy also took part.

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.