TW: Sexism, Sexual assault

Going by the name of “#BoisLockerRoom, a teenage boys group was found sharing nude pictures of underage girls and planning assaults and gang-rapes on them.

Apart form the fact that it is illegal to morph and share images of people’s private parts under Section 66E of the IT Act, there's a bigger problem to face here -- the inherent rape culture that has been threatening the safety of our women, persistently. 

As the boys are as young as 16-year-olds -- it is evident that misogyny starts from an early age, and it’s important for us to counter this by having appropriate education for youth, and includes Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE). 

Therefore we’re asking Ministry of Human Resouce Development (MHRD) and Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to ramp up measures on gender sensitisation in the education system.

Quoting directly from a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, 

"The relationship between gender and violence is complex. School-based programmes can address gender norms and attitudes before they become deeply ingrained in children and youth. Such initiatives address gender norms, dating violence and sexual abuse among teenagers and young adults."

Here's some good news -- in a statement in Lock Sabha last year in July -- Smriti Zubin Irani Minister of Women and Child Development (MWCD) mentioned the role and importance of National Council of Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks to promote gender sensitisation in textbooks. 

The matter is already on the agenda with the government and we have a fresh case of #BoysLockerRoom threatening the safety of young girls and women -- it's the perfect time to ask the ministries to induce gender-sensitisation seminars, activities and comprehensive sex education (CSE).

, looking back we know that consciously or unconsciously, we have all been part of the #lockerroom conversations -- it could be sexist WhatsApp forward, it could be a group chat degrading a woman.

Women deserve to live without the anxiety of “hurting the male ego” and the threat of getting “punished” for it. Women deserve the peace of mind of not being attacked for being present at a public place or platform, and for exercising their agency.

We already built relations with the ministries on the member-led camapigns we won -- getting sexual harassment whistleblowers back on Symbiosis campus and kickstarting ICC proceedings for Indian Museum survivor.

Let’s utilise this network with these ministries and ask them to enhance gender sensitisation in schools where they teach men to speak up next time and not trivialise something that contributes to rape culture and give information to womxn to find effective redressal.    

#SayNoToLockerRoomConvo

#Let’sCallAnEmergencyAnEmergency

#IfNotNowWhen

Sources:

Promoting gender equality to prevent violence against women -- WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Press Information Bureau, Government of India: PIB Delhi, Gender Sensitization

Boys Locker Room: Delhi Teens’ Chat On ‘Gang-Raping Girls’ Leaked -- The Quint 

‘Boys locker room’: South Delhi boys create Instagram group to share lewd photos of girls, FIR filed -- Scroll.in