Digital Rape has recently created a buzz across the country. Contrary to what the term might suggest, digital rape does not allude to any digital device or the internet. It has nothing to do with electronic gadgets like computers, phones, laptops or Meta-owned platforms. Most of the people are still unaware of this term and its significance. But what is digital rape actually? Is it about the crime which has been convicted virtually, or is it something else?
By the sound of it, anyone might be confused about understanding the term and the implication of digital rape, and might even relate the term to an illegal activity which might have been conducted digitally or virtually. However, digital rape does not have a similarity with cyber-crime or any sexual offense which can be committed online or in a digital space. In reality, it is the act of forceful penetration of fingers and toes without consent. It has its origin from English word ‘digit’, which means thumb, toe and finger, and penetrating the same against the consent of someone is classified as ‘digital rape’. In simple words, a person can be accused of digital rape when the perpetrator uses his/her finger or fingers to penetrate the vagina or urethra of the victim without her consent.
This is a relatively new term, as such acts were previously classified as molestation rather than rape. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) didn’t include it under the definition of rape before the Nirbhaya Act of 2013. The Supreme Court of our country didn’t have any particular law that might have provided justice to the victims of digital rape. This was due to the fact that there was no term such as “Digital Rape” before 2013. Later on, it was also added to the new rape laws under a separate section of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
In the past few years, there has been an emergence of many such cases of digital rape, and this is a serious issue for our country. A few months ago, a 50-year-old man named Manoj Lala was arrested for digitally raping a seven-month-old innocent girl child in the Noida Phase-3 police station area.
In June 2022, a father was accused of digitally raping his five-year-old child in a reputed society in Noida Extension. An FIR was lodged against the father as per the complaint of the child’s mother, who alleged that she realized the offense after the girl complained of genital pain.
In the same month, June, a case of digital rape of a three-year-old girl by an Income Tax officer came to light at a play school in West Greno. The accused in this case is still to be identified, according to the police officials.
Earlier in 2021, an 80-year-old artist-cum-teacher was accused of digitally raping a girl of just seven years. The man, identified as Maurice Ryder, had been accused of being involved in various indecent and ridiculous acts with the victim. She complained about this when she turned 17.
As per a report by the legal news website ‘Legal Service India’, among most of the cases of rape reported across India since 2013, in 29% of cases the offender was someone the victim might have known through their social circle; someone they knew through their close friends or at work; or someone they might have met for the very first time, like on a date. It is completely strange to know that only 1% of cases registered involved an offender who was actually a stranger. Usually, such crimes are committed by those who are actually close to the victim. Cousin, close friend, uncle (other relatives), neighbors, or someone they are meeting for the first time through a date, and even in some cases, their own father comes out to be accused, which is completely ridiculous to hear.
Earlier, the government found it a little difficult to treat these cases under the rape law of India. New changes are being made, and this guarantees a proper protection to women and minor girls against such highly intolerable acts.
According to the POCSO Act, the offender will be punished with a jail term of five years and if it comes under Section 376 of the POCSO Act, the jail term can be extended from a time period of 10 years to life imprisonment.
Written by Anmol Panwar
Edited by Yashvi Vasani