Steps taken for the Cyber Safety of Women and Children
The Government has launched the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) to enable public to report incidents pertaining to all types of cyber crimes, with a special focus on cyber-crimes against women and children. A toll-free number 155260 has been operationalised to assist lodging of online cyber complaints. The Government has established Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to provide a framework and eco-system for LEAs to deal with the cyber-crimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. States/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes including cyber-crime through their Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). The LEAs take legal action as per provisions of law against the offenders. In addition, the Central Government supplements the initiatives of the State Governments through advisories and financial assistance. The Central Government also takes measures such as issuance of alerts/ advisories, capacity building/ training of law enforcement personnel/ prosecutors/ judicial officers, improving cyber forensic facilities and spreading awareness about cybercrimes.
The National Commission for Women (NCW), has organised webinars and consultations with stakeholders during the year 2020-21 to sensitize them on this issue. Similarly, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has reviewed and compiled the existing literature (guidelines/handbooks) on cyber safety brought out by different Departments/ Organizations along with the legal provisions regarding online safety with the objective of providing a comprehensive overview of different aspects of cyber safety. In addition, NCPCR issued an advisory dated 17.04.2020 to Secretaries, School Education Department of all States/UTs suggesting certain important considerations for schools/ institutions to be considered while planning online education for children.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. SmritiZubinIrani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.