PREVALENCE OF ONLINE DATING VIOLENCE

By Kumar Aghna Mukherjee

Ph.D. Scholar, National Law University, Odisha, India.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21025493

ABSTRACT

The attempt of the study is to analyze the prevalence of cyber dating violence cyber control and cyber aggression in the youth of the society. The paper is an attempt to shed some light on the exploitation and victimization of the innocent youth through or in the cyberspace. Dating-violence is a new concept triggered predominantly with the large-scale use of the advanced-technological devices, though, its consequential resultant mostly directed to the common offences like, assault, battery, etc. But what has newly evolved are: a) the use of tools to commit such offence; and b) the mode and shade of such offences. The colloquial word ‘dating’ is directed to signify the particular act-situation of young minds to meet at appointed date, time, place for exchange and interact with the view to develop intimacy. This particular attempt is not objectionable from the legal point of view and now becomes to certain extent the accepted social norms as well. The Bonafide intention to develop healthy relation through persuasion is the centre-stage of negotiation and conciliation, while such persuasion, being made unilaterally with an ulterior motive to achieve some malafide object enables to be the point of outcry in public domain. The outcome of dating appears to be in various colours, shades and shapes, the matured versions of what however customised sometimes as abetment, fraud, forced rape, conspiracy, stalking, etc. Dating is an assertion of right of privacy where accountability per se is a misnomer however, dating is the rudimentary stage whence from the persuasion towards a leally wrong is directed.

Keywords- Online Dating, Dating Violence, Youth, Right to Privacy.

I. Introduction

Dating violence rates continue to climb. Adolescence and early adulthood offer the best window to intervene. You face a much higher risk of involvement if you grew up witnessing family violence and later engage in drinking, drug use, or other reckless acts[1]. The danger happens directly on your phone. Indian dating app users increased nearly 300 percent over five years to reach 82 million active profiles. This digital expansion brings higher rates of online abuse. In 2022, the National Crime Records Bureau (2023) reported an 11 percent increase in cybercrimes against women, recording over 2,200 specific instances where perpetrators published sexually explicit material without consent. You need to protect your accounts. As researchers, we require empirical data to help the legal system penalize people who treat dating platforms as permission to talk, stalk, threaten, and victimize.

II. What is dating violence?

Interpersonal Partner violence in adolescent couples or "Dating violence", refers to repeated abusive behaviors that a teenager exercises over a girl with whom he maintains or has maintained a romantic relationship with the intention of exercising dominion and control over her and the relationship. This behavior can manifest itself in four ways: aggression: physical, psychological, sexual and economic.[2]

Dating-violence is a new concept triggered predominantly with the large-scale use of the advanced-technological devices, though, its consequential resultant mostly directed to the common offences like, assault, battery, etc. But what has newly evolved are: a) the use of tools to commit such offence; and b) the mode and shade of such offences.

Controlling behavior may include:

• Not letting you hang out with your friends

• Calling or paging you frequently to find out where you are, whom you're with, and what you're doing

• Telling you what to wear

• Having to be with you all the time

Verbal and emotional abuse may include:

• Calling you names

• Jealousy

• Belittling you (cutting you down)

• Threatening to hurt you, someone in your family, or himself or herself if you don't do what he or she wants.

Physical abuse may include:

• Shoving

• Punching

• slapping

• Pinching

• Hitting

• Kicking

• Hair pulling

• Strangling

Sexual abuse may include:

• Unwanted touching and kissing

• Forcing you to have sex

• Not letting you use birth control

• Forcing you to do other sexual things

This particular attempt is not objectionable from the legal point of view and now becomes to certain extent the accepted social norms as well. The bonafide intention to develop healthy relation through persuasion is the centre-stage of negotiation and conciliation, while such persuasion, being made unilaterally with an ulterior motive to achieve some malafide object enables to be the point of outcry in public domain. The outcome of dating appears to be in various colours, shades and shapes – the matured versions of what however customised sometimes as abetment, fraud, forced rape, conspiracy, stalking, etc. Dating is an assertion of right of privacy where accountability per se is a misnomer however, dating is the rudimentary stage whence from the persuasion towards a real relationship is directed.

It is also relevant to mention that a disturbing amount of dating violence has been detected amongst adolescence and emerging adults. The high frequency at which emerging adults utilize their time on online platforms or social media sites makes them easy targets and more vulnerable for such type of victimization. This can be also attributed to the fact that young adulthood or adolescence is the period of change in the nature of such youths and the importance of relationship building with pears and potential romantic partners are highly likely.

During adolescence and young adulthood, it is more acceptable to interact and be more communicative, as a result of which certain behaviors are tolerated which should otherwise not be tolerated. It is also relevant to mention that it is in this stage of a human beings life he or she is expected to get there first experience of a romantic relationship as a result of which certain behaviors which are acceptable are not condemn by the young and naive youth. Certain times the youth fall prey to self-victimization as they are underwear that they are victims of dating violence or perpetration or divide behavior which day do not deserve and can easily avoid or forbid. And when such perpetration goes on long enough it also has clear implications for future intimate partner violence and possibility of the transmission of violent behavior from one generation to another.

Adolescent abusers use strict coercive control. They dominate you. An abuser will weaponize digital platforms to issue targeted insults, or they will extort you by threatening to distribute your intimate photographs and private messages across the internet[7]. They force you to commit crimes. Then they use your forced participation as permanent blackmail. Following a physical attack, the perpetrator frequently deploys calculated apologies and false promises of reform to maintain dominance[8]. These tactics mirror adult criminal behaviour perfectly. The law ignores this. You cannot prosecute these specific offenses under general penal provisions because those statutes require a discrete physical incident and completely fail to comprehend the ongoing reality of relational abuse. We need a precise statutory framework[9].

III. Safety Measures

Cautionary approach by different websites and companies with regards to young participants.

Online or cyber aggression or violence is still in its nascent stage, the perpetration of which is yet to be mainstream. However, it doesn't eradicate or hide the problem of cyber aggression and dating violence. So as the gatekeepers of communication and the ones who profit most from it online platforms should make sure that these kinds of activities are minimized. Today thanks to data research online companies have the full information of their subscribers which they use as a marketing tool they can do the same to alert the authorities when some suspected or violent activities occur in their platform. It might not be confined just to dating violence but also online scams, ponzi schemes and other kinds of fraudulent activities.

Better awareness and training for the youth with regards to online activities.

From a stage of infancy human beings are programmed to be aware and cautious of certain things, however the elements of danger today have reached the cyber space or online platform. It is the duty of not only parents but also educational institute and law and order officials to make sure that these views are aware of the dangers and no how to protect themselves from such dangerous activities.

Better training and recognition of dating violence or online violence by concerned guardians and staff.

The sexual nature of the high frequency behaviour of youth on online platforms cannot be ignoring similarly stigmatization of premertal relationships or premertal romantic relationships can also not be ignored. In order to protect the youth from engaging in dialogue or in relationships with the wrong people online concerned authorities and guardians should first be able to recognise predictorial or exploitative behaviour. And once aware of their wards online behaviour they can better protect them or help them steer clear from searching online Deviants and violent people.[10]

Schools can introduce awareness programs and try to warn their students from the danger of online exploitation and at least make them aware of which kind of sites not to visit and what kind of people not to trust while communicating online. It will also cause a snowball effect as once the youth are aware of the different exploitative and deviant individuals on the cyber space they will organically grow more cautious and also won their peers of the same.[11]

IV. Conclusion

From all of the above data we can conclude that dating violence is not only present but frequent in the lives of young adults. It has now become a very visible problem but a solvable one. From all the research work I've tried to come up with some solutions

1) Before you start make sure who you are dating.

We often tend to jump into relationships without properly evaluating our situation. We should be absolutely sure that we know who we are dating and how can we be happy together. We should keep our expectations realistic. We should try to know and understand the other person before we enter into a relationship. Sometimes we do feel a certain way about a person but it all changes after we start becoming intimate. It's very essential that we do not let our feelings for a person hide his or her flaws.

2) During the relationship we should be very calculative and cautious

When we are in a relationship, we should always remember to make the other person and ourself comfortable. Both partners are equally important in a relationship. One should never consent to something that he or she is not comfortable with. We shall be honest with our partner. As keeping quiet to please him or her creates communication gap. Communication is essential for a good relationship. It's very important to be safe as prevention is always better than cure.

3) Seek help and assistance

Once we do get into a situation where domestic violence is inevitable or has already taken place. We should reach out to friends and family. It's very difficult for an individual to evaluate his or her situation at the time. Having trusted people around us will not only help us solve the problem, but it can also help solve it. Every person should have faith and not be scared at the time and be open and clear about the situation. Man is a social animal, and it will socialise in its own ways. We have advanced a great deal in our social interaction methods. The platform of digital technology has helped aide and accelerate research, communication, entertainment and many others, alluring everyone to different platforms. However, we cannot trust the intention of everyone present in the cyber space as a result of which its best we protect ourselves from said exploitation. It is important to be safe and not vulnerable while we do so. Love and affection should not end up in violence and torture.

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[1] Delphine Theobald and David P Farrington, 'Advancing knowledge about dating violence' (2016) 26 Crim Behav & Mental Health 225

[2] Maria del Carmen Monreal Gimeno, Factors Associated with Dating Violence, 9 BRAZ. J. PUB. POL'y 56 (2019).

[3] https://victimsofcrime.org/help-for-crime-victims/get-help-bulletins-for-crime-victims/bulletins-for-teens/dating-violence

[4] Supra 4

[5] Supra 4

[6] Supra 4

[7] David B Sugarman and Gerald T Hotaling, 'Dating Violence: Prevalence, Context, and Risk Markers' in Maureen A Pirog Good and Jan E Stets (eds), Violence in Dating Relationships: Emerging Social Issues (Praeger Publishers 1989); Barrie Levy, Dating Violence: Young Women in Danger (Seal Press 1991)

[8] Denise Gamache, 'Domination and Control: The Social Context of Dating Violence' in Barrie Levy (ed), Dating Violence: Young Women in Danger (Seal Press 1991)

[9] KE Lane and PA Gwartney Gibbs, 'Violence in the Context of Dating and Sex' (1989) 4 Journal of Family Violence 45

[10] Carlson, C. N. 2003. Invisible victims: Holding the educational sys- tem liable for teen dating violence at school. Harvard Women's Law Journal 26: 351-93

[11] Stader, L 2011. The Clearing House , 2011, Vol. 84, No. 4, School Safety: Implications and Guidelines for Secondary Schools (2011), pp. 139-143