Sextortion and ways to tackle it

Introduction:

Merely three weeks ago, a headline in a newspaper that read “Mumbai man falls prey to online sextortion,” where a 40-year-old man was blackmailed by a woman for money [1]. These cases are increasing tremendously in this pandemic as more and more people are joining various dating platforms for sexual gratification. The abusers threaten to use the victim’s intimate pictures to defame him. This crime employs different non-physical variations of coercion to extort financial or sexual favors from the victim.

In the early 2000s, we assumed that crimes like sextortion were more commonly observed in Western countries. However, times have changed drastically. In February 2020, British researchers from a cybersecurity firm called Sophos successfully traced the origin of millions of sextortion emails [2]. Unfortunately, India ranked 5th on their global list, with our country being the source of 3.73% of all sextortion emails. As per the report provided by their lab, Brazil, Vietnam, Argentina, Italy, India, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Peru, and Columbia are the top ten countries where sextortion is becoming more and more rampant. It has targeted people from teenage age to full-grown adults.

What is Sextortion?

Before diving deep into the nuances and legislation of sextortion, let’s understand what constitutes the crime of sextortion. The crime of sextortion refers to the broad category of physical and mental exploitation in which the accused’s use of power is his means of coercion. The usual means of force is to threaten the victim by using their sexual images or any sexual information. Since the definition of sextortion describes it as an abuse of power, the crime is considered to be a form of corruption.

The accused is usually a person entrusted with a position of power – such as judges, government officials, teachers, elders, doctors, and employers. These people seek to coerce sexual favors in exchange for anything within their authority to grant or withhold, for example, government officials asking for sexual favors to obtain permits or licenses, interviewers who ask for sexual favors in exchange for a job, or teachers asking for sexual favors in return for marks.

The term “sextortion” also refers to a form of blackmail in which sexual images or sexual information is used to extort money or sexual pleasure from the victim. It can be through texts or videos, and pictures. The most common means of this blackmail is through various social media platforms, for example, an online boyfriend threatening to share an intimate or nude photo of his online girlfriend. He can later force her to perform sexual acts or pose naked in front of a camera, thus producing nonconsensual hardcore pornography.

This method of sextortion is also used to blackmail the LGBT community, who prefer to keep their sexual orientation private. The victim faces immense humiliation and insult, leading him to face and suffer from countless traumas. It even leads to the victims taking their own lives. This is why it has become crucial to educate people and spread awareness about this crime and tackle this problem in the most efficient manner.

History of Sextortion

The term “sextortion” was initially seen in print media of California in 1950. In early 2009, the Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone communication, iroc2.org, started to warn the general public about the growing number of victims of “sextortion.” They began to educate the public about the sexual abuse that happened via live events and websites, like sextortion.org. This crime originated and became an extension of a growing trend called “sexting.” 

While sexting, innocent, unsuspecting individuals would share compromising pictures and videos without really understanding the short as well as long-term consequences of sharing these kinds of “private” photos on these social media platforms. In a country like India, it is even more essential to raise awareness for crimes like sextortion. The nature of the offense makes it very easy for our society to blame the victim. “They sent the pictures themself. It was bound to happen”. This attitude is the reason behind the suicides of these victims. Moreover, it is even more shocking when the High Courts in India share the same view.

Legislation in India

In a case (OP Jindal case) [3] related to sextortion and rape of a university student, the Haryana High Court and Punjab High Court granted bail to three convicts, quoting the victim’s story to be a “misadventure from a promiscuous attitude and a voyeuristic mind.” This judgment represents the reflection of our patriarchal society. The accused usually thrive on the silence of their victims and their lack of knowledge about the laws related to this crime. The Constitution of India has some statutes to safeguard the citizens from the offense of sextortion.

1. Section 108(1)(i)(a) of CrPc: This section grants the victims their power to go to the Magistrate of their locality and report to him about the person that may have circulated her/his inappropriate pictures or videos. After this information, the Magistrate has the authority to detain that person and order him to sign a bond that prevents him from circulating any obscene material related to the victim. This can stop the accused from doing further damage to the reputation of the victim. Section 108 serves as quick remedial action for the victim, as she/he can complain without giving any direct evidence.
2. Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC): This section incriminates any individual who threatens to distribute or has already distributed any obscene picture of another individual through various electronic means, which includes apps and different social media platforms.
3. Section 354C of the Indian Penal Code (IPC): This section empowers those women whose obscene pictures have been clicked without their consent or knowledge. They can file a voyeurism case, along with several other sections of the Information Technology Act.

In December 2018, the administration of Jammu and Kashmir introduced “sextortion” as a separate criminal offense. In this law, they made it clear that the defense of the victim’s consent in clicking and sending the pictures will play no role in the legal proceedings [4]. However, the state does not have a separate constitution after the revocation of Article 370.

Punishment for Sextortion

According to Section 503 of the Indian Penal Code, whoever threatens another individual with an injury to his person, reputation (as seen in sextortion), or property, or to the person or reputation of anyone in whom that individual is interested, with the intent to cause harm or alarm to that person, or omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the implementation of such threat, commits the act of criminal intimidation. The punishment for criminal intimidation can range from a fine to imprisonment of two years.     

India needs to make a specific provision for criminalizing sextortion. Our constitution still hasn’t defined sextortion as a separate law. It is considered to be an extension of corruption and sexual harassment. However, to effectively tackle this problem, a specific and clear definition of sextortion must be added to the Indian Penal Code. California has added just a few words to the provisions of extortion so that the victims of sextortion get a clear and definite path for remedial purposes [5]. India also needs to enforce laws that aid the victims of sextortion.

Incidents of Sextortion

• In February 2010, Anthony Stancl of Wisconsin received the punishment of 15 years in prison after he catfished his classmates. He pretended to be a girl, tricking his male friends into sending him nude photos. Anthony used to extort those photos for homosexual sex. [6]
• Christopher Patrick Gunn of Montgomery, Alabama, got a prison time of 35 years after being convicted for sextortion. He used to make fake Facebook profiles to manipulate underage girls into sending nude pictures and videos. [7]
• Michael Ngilangwa was a secondary school teacher in Tanzania who demanded sexual favors from his students in exchange for good marks. He received a sentence of one year in prison or paid a fine.[8]

The examples mentioned above demonstrate the development of sextortion laws in various countries. But in India, we still don’t have a law that deals specifically with the offense of sextortion. Our current legal machinery is not equipped enough to deal with cases that are purely related to sextortion. 

Case Laws in India

Our legal framework lacks the words like “sextortion” or “revenge porn” in it. However, we have made some progress through the judgments given by the honorable judges. In the year 2018, a Bengal Judgement (State of West Bengal vs Animesh Boxi) [9] was deemed to be the first “revenge porn” conviction in India.

Facts of the case – The nude videos that were distributed to several people were recorded by the girl herself on her phone. The accused had access to that video, and in a fit of rage, he decided to share it.

The judgment of the case – The accused was sentenced to five years in jail and a fine of Rs. 9000. The Hon’ble Judges gave this judgment based on equity, justice, and good conscience. 

Conclusion

After analyzing different legal provisions related to sextortion, one may note that there is still a long way to go before we get equipped with handling such complex technical crimes. One can easily find loopholes in our legal machinery due to the lack of any specific definition. Our constitution needs to grant us various fundamental rights that run parallel with the current changing society. Society should also gain a new perspective instead of ostracizing the victim. If we keep silencing the victims, naming and criminalization will never take place.

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References:

[1] Vijay Kumar Yadav, Mumbai man falls prey to online sextortion, Hindustan Times, (January 21, 2021), https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/mumbai-man-falls-prey-to-online-sextortion-101611174740552.html

[2] Mohammad Faisal, India among top 10 sextortion email source countries: What is it, what happens to ransom money?, The Indian Express, (April 28, 2020), https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/india-top-10-sextortion-country-how-to-protect-from-cyber-attack-6380192/

[3] Legal Correspondent, CBI ready to probe Jindal varsity student’s rape case, The Hindu, (May 30, 2015), https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cbi-ready-to-probe-jindal-varsity-students-rape-case/article7261699.ece

[4] Express Web Desk, What is J&K’s sextortion law?, The Indian Express, (December 15, 2018), https://indianexpress.com/article/what-is/what-is-jks-sextortion-law-5494954/

[5] Paul Wallin, Sextortion is a Crime in California (PC 518), Wallin & Klarich, (April, 2018),  https://www.wklaw.com/sextortion-crime-california-pc-518/

[6] Kim Zetter, Wisconsin teen gets 15 years for Facebook sextortion scam, wired, (February 25, 2010), https://www.wired.com/2010/02/teen-gets-15-years-for-sex-extortion/amp

[7] The FBI, Child Predator is Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for His Massive Online Sextortion Scheme, The FBI, (January 23, 2013), https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/mobile/press-releases/2013/child-predator-is-sentenced-to-35-years-in-prison-for-his-massive-online-sextortion-scheme

[8] Bahati Mandago, Tanzania: Say No to Sextortion, Gender Links for Equality and Justice (December 20, 2018), https://genderlinks.org.za/news/tanzania-say-no-to-sextortion/

[9] State of West Bengal vs Animesh Boxi CRM No 11806 of 2017

V. Anirudh Narendra, Samraddhi Shetty, Of sextortion, laws, and what victims of this crime can do, BusinessLine, (May 2, 2018), https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/of-sextortion-laws-and-what-victims-of-this-crime-can-do/article23726557.ece

Theekshna Amin, Laws Related to Sextortion, Lawyered, (June 26, 2020), https://www.lawyered.in/legal-disrupt/articles/laws-related-sextortion/