E-Paper
Tackling the harms of non-consensual intimate images
This article is authored by Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research, New Delhi.
The internet has changed the lives of women all over India. By 2025, the country’s internet users are set to reach over 900 million, given the increasing popularity of Indic languages in online content. The digital gender gap is decreasing at an extraordinary rate, with women currently representing 47% of all users, the highest share seen to date.
Women today are using digital formats for education, business, professional development, and connecting with issues they care about in levels of scale that were unimaginable just one generation ago. Mobile banking has created financial independence, while online retail and learning provide pathways to careers. Most notably, social media has given women the tools to build public voices and connect with communities previously out of reach.
But alongside these opportunities lies a grim reality, the surge of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). The patriarchal and conservative norms that fuel offline abuse have seamlessly migrated online, where anonymity, speed, and permanence magnify the harm.
Among the most devastating forms is non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII). Whether taken without consent, stolen, shared without permission, or fabricated with artificial intelligence, NCII robs women of their dignity, privacy, and safety. The consequences are catastrophic, careers destroyed, families broken, mental health shattered, and in extreme cases, lives lost. And it does not matter whether the image is “real” or synthetic: The violation and its impact are equally grave.
Technology alone will not solve this crisis. Relying solely on technology does not address the issue and also leaves the victims vulnerable to harm.
The only way forward is to put survivors at the heart of solutions. This means breaking the silence and stigma, restoring agency, and providing comprehensive legal, psychological, and economic support. One promising solution is StopNCII.org, which allows individuals to proactively create secure digital fingerprints of their images so participating platforms can block them from being uploaded or resurfaced if they violate their policies. Importantly, survivors do not need to submit the actual image, a critical step in protecting privacy and safety.
But access to tools is not enough unless awareness is widespread, support systems are robust, and platforms integrate survivor-first protections as standard practice.
Ultimately, NCII is not a technology problem, it is a cultural one. Abuse thrives in a society that trivialises consent, mocks women’s suffering, and treats digital violations as entertainment. Unless we confront these toxic attitudes, no technological fix will ever be enough.
The real solution lies in reshaping culture. Boys and young men must be taught early and unequivocally that consent is non-negotiable. Families, schools, and communities must dismantle the stigma that silences survivors. And we must stop shaming women for the abuse they endure, and start holding perpetrators and enablers accountable.
The time has come for urgency and accountability. Platforms must not see survivor-centred tools like StopNCII as optional, but instead as a part of baseline protections. Governments and regulators need to hold perpetrators of these harms accountable with the same level of seriousness they give to attacks on women in their ‘real’ or offline lives. Civil society also must make an investment in cultural change, making education about consent as foundational as education about digital literacy.
Non-consensual intimate imagery is not simply a symptom of our digital age. It is the product of a culture that allows abuse to go unchecked and institutions that fail survivors. We can and we must create an internet that honors women's equality and dignity. Anything less is complicity. Survivors deserve justice, safety, and respect now.
This article is authored by Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research, New Delhi.
