By Om Upadhyay
On a sultry afternoon in Lucknow, 22-year-old Neha (name changed) stepped nervously into a cybercrime police station. Her hands shook as she held out her phone. A video—meant only for her partner—was now being shared across WhatsApp groups in her neighbourhood. Before she found the courage to approach the police, she had endured days of taunting calls, threats from her ex-boyfriend, and the suffocating silence of a family more worried about gossip than her anguish.
“Why did you make such a video in the first place?” the officer asked, more in accusation than inquiry. Neha broke down. The crime wasn’t that she had recorded a moment of intimacy—it was that her trust had been turned into a weapon. But in India, survivors of revenge porn are often judged more harshly than those who violate them.
Neha’s ordeal is far from rare. As India accelerates into a digital age, the exchange of intimacy has increasingly become a tool for humiliation, blackmail, and control.
The impact is especially severe here, where notions of morality and honour carry extraordinary weight.
The Anatomy of Revenge Porn
Revenge porn—legally termed non-consensual image-based sexual abuse—refers to the circulation of private sexual images or videos without consent. While ex-partners are often the culprits, others, including hackers and acquaintances, exploit leaks to exert power.
Unlike many other cybercrimes, the cruelty here lies not just in the act but in the intent to shame. And in India, shame is amplified by deep-rooted social codes of honour, ensuring that victims pay the steepest price.
The Psychological Fallout
Mental health experts call it nothing less than a “psychological earthquake.” Survivors describe:
- Crippling shame – Guilt is thrust upon victims by a society that still sees sexual expression as deviant.
- Depression and isolation – Many withdraw from social spaces, abandon social media, or even leave their hometowns to escape recognition.
- Suicidal despair – Several cases across India have ended in young women taking their own lives after leaked videos went viral.
- Long-term scars – Survivors face stigma in marriage, career, and community life long after the video fades from public attention.
As one Delhi psychologist put it: “We treat survivors as though they exposed themselves, when in truth they were stripped against their will.”
Society’s Double Punishment
The suffering of victims rarely ends with the circulation of content. Families, fearing social shame, often pressure survivors into silence. Marriage prospects collapse overnight. Workplaces and universities whisper. In some villages, survivors are forced into marriages with their perpetrators to “restore honour.”
This culture of silence shields offenders. When victims are too afraid or unsupported to report, the law remains toothless.
The Legal Patchwork
India has no dedicated law against revenge porn. Survivors must rely on scattered provisions:
- IT Act, 2000
- Sec. 66E: Punishes violation of privacy through capturing/transmitting images.
- Sec. 67 & 67A: Criminalize circulation of obscene or sexually explicit content.
- IPC & Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
- Sec. 77 BNS: Voyeurism.
- Sec. 354D IPC: Stalking.
- Sec. 351 BNS: Criminal intimidation.
While the Supreme Court’s landmark Puttaswamy judgment (2017) recognized privacy as a fundamental right, translating that into justice for survivors remains patchy. Police often focus on why a video was made rather than why it was shared. Cybercrime units, especially outside big cities, are under-resourced, leaving victims caught in slow, painful investigations.
The Digital Battlefield
Technology accelerates the damage: WhatsApp forwards spread content in minutes; porn sites and Telegram groups recycle it endlessly; anonymous handles shield perpetrators.
Yet technology can also help. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X now allow survivors to report and remove such content. But Indian platforms and encrypted apps still provide loopholes. Speed of removal remains critical—the longer the material stays online, the deeper the trauma.
Where Survivors Can Turn
- File a Complaint – Cybercrime cells or cybercrime.gov.in.
- Preserve Evidence – Screenshots, URLs, chat logs.
- Request Takedowns – Directly with platforms; NGOs often assist.
- Seek Emotional Support – Helplines: Vandrevala (1800-233-3330), iCall (TISS: +91-9152987821), NGOs like Snehi and Sangath.
- Access Legal Aid – Free assistance from NALSA, State Legal Services, and NGOs such as Cyber Peace Foundation.
Above all, survivors must remember: they are not at fault.
The Cultural Stalemate
The most stubborn barrier is cultural. Conversations around sex and consent remain taboo, leaving survivors judged for autonomy rather than defended against violation. Until India sheds its culture of shame, perpetrators will continue to thrive.
The Way Forward
- A dedicated law on non-consensual intimate imagery.
- Gender-sensitive policing that protects rather than interrogates.
- Accessible mental health support, especially outside metros.
- Digital literacy education in schools.
- Cultural shift from victim-blaming to solidarity.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Intimacy
Revenge porn is not just a digital offence—it exposes the deep social contradictions of India, where survivors like Neha carry scars far beyond the screen. Each case is not merely an “incident” but a personal battle against both systemic gaps and societal stigma. The way forward lies in stronger legal safeguards, quicker technological responses, and, most importantly, a culture of empathy that recognizes dignity as a fundamental right, not a privilege.
A truly “Digital India” will only emerge when people feel secure in their private lives as much as in their professional ones. To reclaim intimacy is to restore it as an expression of trust and love, never as a tool of humiliation. This struggle belongs to all of us—by refusing to shame survivors, by demanding responsibility from lawmakers and digital platforms, and by building a society where safety and dignity are integral to progress.
—Om Upadhyay is a second-year B.A. LL.B. student of Nehru Gram Bharti Deemed to Be University