Online Women safety

India has one of the youngest youth demographics in the world and among the most active online. As online interactions increase, more content is created and shared among people, helping them form new and wonderful connections. Sometimes, however, these interactions also make them vulnerable to harm.

What constitute as online harassment of women?

Sharing embarrassing and cruel content about a person to impersonation

Stalking and electronic surveillance

Non-consensual use of photography

Violent threats and hate speech

Defamation

Flaming- use of vitriolic and hostile messages including threats, insults

Trolling

The online harassment of women, sometimes called Cyber-sexism or cyber-misogyny, is specifically gendered abuse targeted at women and girls online.

It incorporates sexism, racism and religious prejudice.

How women disproportionately get affected?

Often women are blamed: Often, crimes that disproportionately impact women devolve into mass panic and lead to an all too predictable top-down discourse around the need to protect our sisters and daughters.

Curbing the freedom of Women: The reaction, however well intentioned, will end up denying women their freedom and agency by their so-called protectors, many of whom are simply telling women to go offline, to be ashamed of expressing themselves, to stay in their lane.

What is role of intermediaries in preventing such abuses?

Making intermediary liable: As of now, the intermediaries are not liable for any third-party data or communication link hosted or stored by them.

Mandatory Data retention by intermediaries: They are required to retain the requisite data for duration as prescribed by the Government and supply the same to the authorities concerned, as and when sought.

Punishment for Non-compliance is: Highlighting any contravention attracts punishment as prescribed under the IT Act.

What are the Steps taken by the Government?

IT rules 2021: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Defined Categories of abuse: They include contents that are defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another’s privacy, insulting or harassing on the basis of gender, libellous, racially or ethnically objectionable, etc.

Prohibition on derogatory publications: The intermediaries, on the direction of the court or appropriate government agency, are prohibited from hosting, storing or publishing any information declared unlawful.

Removal of content within 24 hours: Within 24 hours from the receipt of a complaint from, or on behalf of, an individual about any offensive content, they are required to take all reasonable and practicable measures to remove or disable access to it.

Meetings of parliamentary committees: Various parliament committees in India have held meetings to discuss the issue of online safety of women over the years, and part of the government’s motivation in notifying the new IT rules had been rooted in the growing concern regarding the safety and security of users, particularly women and children. These are very good tangible steps.

Amendment in IT act should include the concerns of women: With the IT Act coming up for a rehaul, there is an opportunity to discuss in detail the nature of technology-facilitated abuse, capturing what this means, understanding how cases impact individuals as well as communities, the language needed to capture such offences and the punishment penalties, jail or even rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators. This could be the start of an era of evidence-based discussion.

MARS A new alert system to detect Methane emissions

A new satellite-based system will now help governments detect methane emissions and tackle them. The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) was launched at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

What is Methane Alert and Response System (MARS)?

MARS is a part of global efforts to slow climate change by tracking the global warming gas.

The system will be the first publicly available global system to connect methane detection to notification processes transparently.

The data-to-action platform was set up as part of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) strategy to get policy-relevant data into the right hands for emissions mitigation.

How the “MARS” will work?

The Methane Alert and Response System, or MARS, will integrate data from a large number of existing and future satellites to identify significant methane emission events anywhere in the world.

It will send out notifications to the relevant stakeholders and support and track mitigation progress.

According to the UN statement MARS will track the large point emission sources, mainly in the fossil fuel industry, but with time, would be able to detect emissions from coal, waste, livestock and rice fields as well.

UNEP will continue to monitor the event location and make the data and analysis available to the public between 45 and 75 days after detection.

Methane a dangerous greenhouse gas

A major greenhouse gas: Methane is the second-most common of the six major greenhouse gases, but is far more dangerous than carbon dioxide in its potential to cause global warming.

One of major contributor of GHG emissions: Contribution Accounting for about 17 per cent of the current global greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the key reasons behind Temperature rise: Methane is blamed for having caused at least 25 to 30 per cent of temperature rise since the pre-industrial times.

Methane largely a Sectoral gas: Unlike carbon dioxide, methane is largely a sectoral gas, and there are only a few sources of emission.

Few sources large emissions of methane: The global warming potential of methane is about 80 times that of carbon dioxide. It accounts for a small portion of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions compared to carbon dioxide.

Why such alert system is necessary?

To achieve the target set by Global methane pledge: At the Glasgow climate conference last year, nearly 100 countries had come together in a voluntary pledge the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030 from the 2020 levels. More countries have joined in this initiative since then, bringing the total to nearly 130.

To keep the temperature, rise below 5-degree Celsius: A 30 per cent reduction in methane emissions by 2030 is expected to result in avoiding 0.2 degree rise in temperature by the year 2050, and is considered absolutely essential in the global efforts to keep the temperature increase below the 1.5-degree Celsius target. This is a global, not a national reduction target.

Reducing methane emissions from the atmosphere provides multiple benefits: Methane being a sectoral gas with few sources of emission, it is possible to cut down on methane emissions without having widespread impact on the economy, a reduction in methane emissions brings big benefits in a short time.

MARS Provides technical and advisory to the partners: If requested, MARS partners will also provide technical or advisory services, such as help in assessing mitigation opportunities.

All you need to know about Conference of Parties (COP).

Unless the parties decide otherwise, every year The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convenes what is called a Conference of Parties (COP), a meeting that brings together leaders and delegates from around the world to strengthen their commitments and actions against specific climate change goals.

The parties are the 198 countries that ratified the UNFCCC.

The UNFCCC is an international treaty focused on preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system, primarily by stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Regulation the election finance

Elections are to democracy what financial markets are to the economy. The absence of an omnibus law to regulate elections and political parties in India is a legislative gap waiting to be filled.

Significance of political parties in democracy

A political party is an organized group of citizens who hold common views on governance and act as a political unit that seeks to obtain control of government with a view to further the agenda and policy they profess.

 Political parties maintain a continuous connection between the people and those who represent them either in government or in the opposition.

Political parties in India are extra-constitutional, but they are the breathing air of the political system.

Current procedure of recognizing and regulating the political parties In India

Registration of political parties: The Representation of the People Act 1951 was amended in 1988 to add a new section IVA on “Registration of political parties” by which the Election Commission of India (ECI) exercises its mandate for superintendence, direction, and control of elections under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.

Recognition as national or state political party: Association of citizens can apply to the ECI to be registered by submitting its Memorandum of Association and swearing allegiance to the Constitution. It requires fulfilment of performance criteria, including a minimum share of the electoral votes cast in the last election and the number of seats won to become a recognized national or a state party.

A regulatory gap in Municipal political parties: Municipalities became the third level of government, three decades ago in 1992, through the 74thconstitutional amendment. But a parallel recognition for political parties operating only at the municipal level is yet to be conceptualized.

Mechanism of Election funding

Encouraging private corporates and individual investment: Indian government does not directly fund election campaigns of parties or independents. However, it has made political parties exempt from income tax, to encourage private corporate and individual investment in building political parties.

Limit on election campaign expenditure: The ECI set upper-end limits (January 2022) for election campaign expenditure in parliamentary seats at INR9.5 million and INR4 million in state legislature seats.

Electoral bonds to end large cash payments in election finance.

Scheme of electoral bonds:

A publicly owned commercial bank, with the largest network of branches is the only designated vendor.

Bonds remain valid for 15 days within which they can be encased through the bank account of the selected political party.

The purchaser-donor enjoys tax credits on the purchased bonds as in any other donation to charities.

Association of democratic records: The idea was to facilitate large donors, preferring anonymity whilst donating funds for elections, with an alternative to cash payments.

What is the cause of concerns over the electoral bonds?

Anonymity of the electoral bonds: The anonymity afforded by the bonds is primarily versus citizens.

Bond vendor is a government owned bank: SBI is a government-owned bank, which can be persuaded by the government into sharing data informally regarding the bond purchases and encashments by political parties

What can be done to ensure the security of the donor?

Bond Digitization: Bonds should be digitized and the privacy of the transfer should be protected through encryption.

Authorized access: Redemption is through banking the audit trail of the donor and the recipient would exist for authorized access.

Enhancing transparency with ECI: Transparency should be enhanced whilst protecting anonymity by authorizing ECI to collect and publish de-personalized information.

Personal data should be accessed with the specific orders only: Access for security and criminal investigation agencies to the personal data should come via a specific order of the ECI allowing such privileged access.

What are the suggestions for better governance of the political parties?

Strict Supervision of political parties: Poor Intra-party governance is concentrated in the Registered Unrecognize Political Parties (RUPP). Most are in breach of their undertaking to fight an election within five years and remain active thereafter.

Strengthen the Regulatory compliance: The benefit of income tax exemption should only be available after registered parties demonstrate a five-year record of compliance with the regulations.

Enforce inner-party democracy and avoiding conflict of interest: Making party members occupying party positions, ineligible for holding executive positions in government. This is necessary to create a complete segregation of functions within the ruling party and the government

Empower ECI to regulate political parties: The misuse of the fiscal privileges afforded to political parties can be minimized through targeted regulatory tweaks, within the existing construct of private financing and the inner functioning of parties improved through targeted regulation.