Cyber dept launches campaign to help women stay safe on Internet

Mumbai: The Maharashtra cyber department and district-level police across the state will be conducting a week-long campaign — ‘Cyber Safe Women’ — in more than 100 schools and colleges to guide women on how to stay safe in the cyber space. The department launched the campaign on January 3 as it is the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule, a social reformer and educationalist, who is regarded as the first woman teacher of India.

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Confirming the development, Brijesh Singh, special inspector general, Maharashtra cyber department, said, “We have made a standard presentation for the campaign which will be presented by police teams across Maharashta in more than 100 schools and colleges.”

Dr Balsing Rajput, superintendent of Maharashtra cyber department, said the campaign was triggered by incidents such as the Telangana gang rape and murder case last year, and the and 2016 Nirbhaya case. “The Maharashtra cyber department felt the need to create awareness among women and children and inform them about the law, their rights and how to stay safe while using social media and the Internet. We have seen that a lot of crime in the cyber world is targeted towards women and children and this is one of our initiatives to deal with the menace,” said Rajput. He said that the presentation also includes a small video in which chief minister Uddhav Thackeray speaks about the importance of staying safe in the cyber space.

“We will be making an-hour-long presentation at a Malad college today. The presentation will include a few videos and a Powerpoint presentation. We will be telling women and children how crimes target them in the virtual world and what precautions they need to take,” said an officer from Malad police station.