Parliamentary Committee Calls for Comprehensive Cybercrime Legislation to Protect Women and Children
A parliamentary committee has strongly recommended that the government initiate a structured and time-bound examination to formulate a comprehensive and gender-sensitive cybercrime legislation. This urgent call comes in response to a sharp and alarming increase in cybercrime against women and children over recent years.
Staggering Rise in Cybercrime Cases
The Committee on the Empowerment of Women, chaired by BJP Lok Sabha MP Dr. D. Purandeswari, presented its report on "Cyber Crimes and Cyber safety of Women" in Parliament. The report highlights that data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reflects a nearly 239% increase in cybercrime against women and a multi-fold rise in cases involving children between 2017 and 2022. This dramatic escalation underscores the critical and growing seriousness of the situation.
A significant surge in such crimes was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting higher digital dependence as more activities moved online. The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) has reported more than 2.48 lakh complaints related to women and children between 2019 and April 2025, indicating both growing awareness and institutional action. However, the committee also noted the persistent phenomenon of under-reporting, driven by fear, stigma, and limited digital literacy, particularly among young girls, rural women, and socio-economically vulnerable groups.
Need for a Unified Legal Framework
The committee emphasized that cyber offences impacting women and children are currently addressed through multiple statutes, including the Information Technology Act, 2000; Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012; and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. While these provisions collectively cover a wide spectrum of offences, their dispersed nature often results in overlapping mandates, interpretational ambiguities, uneven enforcement, and procedural delays.
Against this backdrop, the committee stressed the necessity for a comprehensive cybercrime law that would complement and harmonize existing statutes rather than abruptly replacing them. This new legislation aims to provide a clearer, more effective legal framework to combat digital crimes specifically targeting vulnerable groups.
Recommendations for Social Media and Digital Platforms
The committee made several key recommendations to enhance safety on digital platforms:
- Introduce age-appropriate regulations and calibrated usage limits on social media platforms to safeguard children and adolescents from adverse psychological impacts.
- Implement safety-by-design standards to ensure responsible digital engagement from the ground up.
- Hold digital platforms, particularly social media, messaging, and hosting services, to higher accountability standards.
- Mandate KYC-based verification across all social media, dating, and gaming platforms to curb fake profiles, impersonation, and anonymous harassment.
- Require platforms to conduct periodic re-verification and maintain high-risk flags for accounts repeatedly reported for abuse.
- Establish strict licensing norms and age-verification protocols for dating and gaming apps, with penalties for platforms that fail to protect women and minors from fraudulent or coercive practices.
Basis of the Report and Future Steps
The committee's report is based on inputs received from various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Cyber Peace Foundation (an NGO), cyber experts from the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), and social media intermediaries such as Google and Meta. This collaborative approach ensures that the recommendations are well-rounded and informed by expert opinions from both governmental and non-governmental sectors.
The exponential surge in complaints recorded on the NCRP indicates a growing awareness among the public as well as increased institutional action. However, the committee's recommendations aim to bridge existing gaps in the legal and regulatory framework, ensuring that the digital space becomes safer for women and children. The call for a time-bound examination signals an urgent need for legislative action to address these pressing cyber safety concerns effectively.
