Can Online Abuse Be Addressed In DV Courts?

With the increasing use of digital technology, abuse has also taken new forms such as online harassment, stalking, and threats via electronic means. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) recognizes abuse in various forms, including emotional and psychological harm that can occur through online platforms, and DV courts have adapted to address these challenges.

Recognition and Handling of Online Abuse in DV Courts

Online Abuse as Domestic Violence

The DV Act includes mental cruelty and emotional abuse as forms of domestic violence.

Online abuse such as cyberstalking, sending threatening or obscene messages, spreading defamatory content, and harassment through social media fall under this scope.

Protection Orders Covering Online Abuse

Courts can issue protection orders that prohibit the abuser from contacting or harassing the survivor through digital means.

Restraining orders can specifically include bans on sending messages, emails, or using social media to intimidate or abuse.

Evidence and Complaints

Survivors should collect and preserve digital evidence like screenshots, messages, call records, and emails.

Complaints can be filed in DV courts alongside cybercrime complaints under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Coordination with Cybercrime Authorities

DV courts often coordinate with cybercrime cells for investigation of online abuse cases.

Cybercrime laws provide additional penalties for electronic harassment and identity theft.

Judicial Awareness and Evolving Jurisprudence

Courts have increasingly recognized the impact of online abuse on survivors’ mental health.

Judgments have upheld the issuance of protection orders against online harassment as part of domestic violence remedies.

Limitations and Challenges

Gathering digital evidence requires technical knowledge.

Perpetrators may use anonymous accounts, complicating identification.

Courts emphasize timely reporting and expert support.

Consumer Safety Tips

• Save and back up all electronic communications related to abuse.
• Report online abuse promptly to the Protection Officer or court.
• File complaints with local cybercrime authorities simultaneously.
• Use privacy settings on social media and block abusers.
• Seek support from NGOs specializing in cyber harassment.

Example

A woman in Mumbai faced continuous harassment through abusive messages and defamatory posts on social media by her husband. She filed a DV complaint, and the court issued a protection order restraining him from any form of contact, including online communication, while also coordinating with cybercrime authorities to address the digital abuse.