Electronic harassments may be direct or indirect. Threatening, bullying, or intimidating messages sent directly to the victim via e-mail or other communications mediums (such as hacking email address) are examples of direct electronic harassments. On the contrary, spreading rumors about the victim in various social networking sites; posting information about the victim on online dating sites or sex services, as well as sending messages in the victim´s name and so forth are forms of indirect electronic harassments.[break]
Neha Shrestha, 22, a student and victim of electronic harassment said, “I have been receiving nuisance text messages for three months,” adding, “I have even changed my number but still I am receiving those messages.”
She also shared that because of those harassing messages, once her parents misunderstood her and seized her cell phone. Too often parents believe these things will stop the bullying when in truth it just makes the teen feel as if she is being penalized.
"Please do not blame your child, take away their internet access, phone or punish them for being the victim. In fact, you need to understand them and solve those problems," Shrestha advised.
Similar is the case with another victim Deepika Thapaliya, 24, a student. “Most of the people we girls meet online have wrong intentions and are very vulgar,” said Thapaliya.
She shared that once a predator hacked her Facebook account, deleted all her photographs and posted some vulgar ones.
“I really felt helpless as I could do nothing except seeing what the person does with my Facebook account,” said Thapaliya adding, “I had to explain each and every friend of mine that my Facebook has been hacked by someone and now it´s no more my account.”
In addition, she advised young girls to learn about blocking software for emails and instant messages. She strongly advised against answering harassing messages and giving out personal information online or sharing passwords and user names with anyone.
Likewise, there are same cases where girls are harassed through emails. Dikshya Maharjan, 22, another victim of electronic harassment said, “I have been receiving harassing emails from an individual of whom I did not give my address and I have asked him several times to cease from writing to me but to no avail.”
She further shared that she receives those stalking mails both in her in-box and her junk mail. Usually, she delete without opening them. She has contact with several friends and
relatives. So she really doesn´t want to change her email address.
Youngsters these days find chatting with strangers very interesting and exciting and some are addicted to it. In the process of frequent chatting, girls develop emotional attachments to strangers and are attracted by whatever he says or does.
“Girls do not hesitate giving their personal information to the online person they believe they can trust,” said Archita Pant, lamenting, “The problem arises when the online friend does not appear to be the way they describe.”
She also shared that the respondents will be disappointed and they will have emotional distress and face difficulty in getting over the bad experience.
Pant also explained that once trust is established, predators persuade girls into compromising positions over web cam. Images are saved without the girl´s knowledge and then later used to blackmail the victim into further sexual acts.
When talking about frustrating text messages, Pant suggested that a victim can make a complaint to Nepal Telecom and block the numbers.
Thus, the explosive growth in using different forms of electronic communications, especially internet use has brought with it an equal explosion in the misuse of these new forms of communication. One needs to be very careful while using any of them.
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