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While #MeToo was shaking India this month with women addressing social media to share poignant stories of sexual harassment, aggression and even rape, they garnered broad support but also criticism and even abuse. The criticisms were directed particularly at women who had made allegations anonymously or had helped others to do so. But many women sharing anonymous accounts on Twitter said it was not free for all. They checked, as far as possible, the charges before taking them out.
Mahima Kukreja, a comic book artist and writer who launched the release of alleged stalkers on Oct. 4 by confronting comedian Utsav Chakraborty on Twitter for soliciting sexually explicit images of minors and sending obscene messages to other women , said that it was after a lot of thought that she had decided to publish anonymous accounts.
"These men were selling feminism and earning millions, but were failing in feminist action in real life," said Kukreja, 28. "There was a lot of resentment, anger and pain, and all of this resulted in encouraging more women to speak up."
Realizing that social media was the only way for many survivors to express herself, even anonymously, she opened her Twitter direct messenger to allow them to contact her. Most of the messages she received came from women she knew or from people with "great credibility." "They have nothing to gain by telling the truth, but only by hurting themselves," Kukreja said. "They were all very specific with details and I was just a messenger for them. There was no personal vendetta.
One journalist said that after publicly sharing her story of sexual harassment on Twitter, she had received encouraging messages from her friends. She then decided to help others to express themselves. "It is important to expose these men," said the reporter who requested anonymity. "I really wanted to help these women. I had the impression of being under my responsibility.
She has developed a procedure to verify the allegations, said the reporter. "As soon as I get a direct message from a survivor, I ask her for more accounts from other women," she explained. She also asked for witnesses or evidence of conversations with the alleged perpetrator. "I can feel the irregularities," she said. "I prefer if they choose not to be anonymous. But if they do, I tell them they should be prepared to face legal action or an investigation. It is important to think seriously about such things and not to act impulsively. "
More importantly, she said, she asked the survivors what they wanted to do. "Some want closure, others apologize while others want an investigation," she added.
After tweeting some anonymous stories of sexual harassment and abuse, the reporter stated that she had been contacted by the alleged perpetrators, threatening her or pleading to remove the tweets. "If he sends me a message, then I tell him to clarify the subject of public domain tweets, it's very simple," she said.
Kukreja left his direct mail open for 10 days and received hundreds of stories. Survivors also contacted her on Facebook and Instagram. "The type of message I received shows how insidious and deeply complex it is," she said.
While some women were followed online, others faced a more extreme situation. A Twitter user actively involved in compiling these tweets containing stories of sexual harassment and sexual assaults saw his account "banned" on October 7th. There is talk of fictitious prohibition when the account of a user has been totally or partially blocked for various reasons, so that makes it more difficult for others to see their tweets. Their account was then "doxxed" and their personal websites were hacked and degraded. Doxxing occurs when an account is hacked and that private information is leaked online with malicious intent.
"At a high cost"
For those who shared their experiences and those of other women on social media, it was very expensive. Many were mistreated, "hunted for their appearance" and sought to be discredited. "Internet users are so aggressive online," said Pia Hazarika, an illustrator part of a group of six women helping survivors get legal help and advice. "It's because they see men they like to be shot. Many women are now facing the drag on their accounts. "
Kukreja said, "This has had a considerable personal cost." "I do not have any mental bandwidth to deal with trolls," she added. "It's the most debilitating period of my life." What drives her to continue are the "messages of support".
Swetha Shankar of the International Foundation for the Prevention of Crime and Victim Care, an organization that supports victims of domestic violence, said that women who choose to tell their stories of harassment or abuse "often suffer impact, "which can lead to mental health problems and panic attacks. "This is an extremely stressful time for these women," she said.
The reporter who spoke anonymously said that her "sleep had been irregular" and that she often had nightmares. "I have dreams of men who would strangle me. I made the conscious decision not to talk about these things with my family and my friends because that's all I can think of, "she added.
Kukreja said that he had just been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. "I can feel my health deteriorate and the anxiety and panic attacks are constant," she added.
She had to close her Twitter direct messaging after 10 days "to recover". "It was very upsetting and I was delighted to relive the trauma through other stories and decided to step back temporarily," she said.
Shankar said that most women shared their stories knowing that they would not be believed and that trolling was just adding to their trauma. "There is gas lighting en masse," she says. Gaslighting is an emotional manipulation that causes the victim to question his memory and judgment.
"The challenge of having this movement online is that it is open to public questions and the judgment of all," said Shankar. "Survivors must also face the revelation of their identities. For them, there must be other support systems outside the online domain. "
This is where the Hazarika group can help. The group, formed on October 7, draws up a list of lawyers and advisers willing to help the survivors. "Many lawyers have come forward to help, but their voices have not been amplified," said Hazarika, explaining the need to compile the list, which currently contains 80 names of lawyers. "They are willing to legally assist the person at no cost. We check the referrals of lawyers and have experience of handling such cases before adding them to the list. "
