Saturday, 05 Oct, 2024
By: Team CVoter
The rise of social media has also made men feel okay about teasing and harassing women under the guise of masculinity. Both men and women are on the same page of agreement here.
Growing protests and increased reportage on sexual harassment in India does invite special scrutiny, however, according to a latest survey conducted by the C-Voter foundation, shows that the media content India consumes holds a significant influence over their demeanour.
The CVoter foundation conducted an all-India poll on women’s safety issues over 3,114 people via Computer Assisted Telephonic Interviews in the month of September 2024, which consists of 1,471 female samples – content on social media, OTT platforms and pornographic material was cited to be one of the main reasons why sexual harassment is rampant in India.
When asked the question – “How much do you think pornography has to contribute to incite men to rape or sexually harass women?” nearly 40% women responded, ‘Up to a great extent’, another 21% said ‘up to some extent’. There were only about 16% female respondents who believed that porn was ‘not at all responsible’ for inciting men to rape and sexually harass women.
The rise of social media has also made men feel okay about teasing and harassing women under the guise of masculinity. Both men and women are on the same page of agreement here.
When asked “How much do you think films & social media have led men to believe sexual harassment, stalking, or eve teasing are ‘manly things’, nearly 46% female and 31% male respondents said, ‘up to a great extent’, 26% female and 21% male respondents replied, ‘up to some extent’. Only 11% female respondents believed it was ‘not at all responsible’ while 22% male respondents share the same opinion.
Among the top reasons cited for sexual harassment in India, ‘rampant pornographic content on mobile phones’ was the second most common reason after ‘inadequacies in the legal and the justice system’
