In India, cyber abuse against women has reached deeply concerning levels. Cybercrime complaints in India surged to nearly 20 lakh in 2024, with online abuse against women accounting for a staggering 20 per cent of all cases, placing India third globally in online abuse against women And that’s just the official number. Many survivors avoid reporting due to shame, fear or dismissive attitudes, especially when dealing primarily with male cyber‑response teams.
Women make up only 7 to 8 per cent of India’s police force, and far fewer hold specialised training in cybercrime investigations. This imbalance contributes to law enforcement’s inability to empathise with survivors’ trauma or engage effectively with gendered crime.
One compelling tale of progress comes from Telangana. Assistant Inspector Rupali Bobade became Maharashtra’s first woman “cyber commando” after intensive national training in forensics, threat intelligence and AI tools at IIT Madras. She now leads cyber investigations and mentors other officers, a testament to the power of women in digital law enforcement.
Indian Innovations in Gender‑Responsive Policing
In Telangana, SHE Teams, under female leadership, conduct undercover operations. These operations, supported by WhatsApp and social media reporting channels, have led to an 85 per cent reduction in harassment in certain zones. In the first six months of 2024 alone, SHE Teams registered 6,129 cases, made 4,823 arrests, and addressed thousands of phone harassment, stalking and misbehaviour incidents. Their decoy operations, hotline integration, and counselling of offenders have become a potent model of community policing and deterrence.
In Jaipur, the newly inaugurated Cyber Support Centre, operated by the Rajasthan Police in collaboration with a Mumbai-based NGO, offers free psychological, legal, and technical support specifically to women and children facing cyber abuse. Women constitute around 30 per cent of all complaints, which largely involve cyberstalking and revenge porn. The initiative is part of the larger #CyberSafeJaipur campaign, which aims to build digital resilience and safeguard victims.
Why India Should Scale Up Women-Led Digital Policing
Survivors are more likely to report harassment when interacting with female officers who can understand the trauma, fear, or shame often associated with cybercrime. Specialised cyber training for women officers, particularly in regional language sensitisation and forensic skills, can significantly improve investigation quality and conviction rates.
Telangana’s Cyber Ambassador initiative magnifies this impact: nearly 10,000 public-school students (many of them girls) have learned to identify scams and digital abuse, acting as community advocates for safe internet use. Security expert Bruce Schneier has praised this approach, calling it “a great way to leverage that natural expertise” and effective for combating cyber vulnerabilities from an early age.
Expert Voices on Gender‑Inclusive Cyber Enforcement
Helen Millichap, UK lead for Violence Against Women and Girls at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, warns of “alarming and massive” online harm and the dangers of a “postcode lottery” in victim response. She calls for consistent standards so every survivor globally, receives the same level of empathetic support regardless of geography.
Alexander Seger, Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention Committee, underscores that the underrepresentation of women in cybercrime institutions weakens institutional understanding of crimes disproportionately targeting women.
What Experts and Studies Recommend
Interdisciplinary research analysing harassment in Indic social media languages calls for gender-sensitive classifiers and proactive detection tools tailored to India’s linguistic and cultural context. Experts emphasise improving digital literacy, strengthening cyber laws, and ensuring survivors encounter empathetic, trauma-informed policing from the first point of contact.
Forging a Gender‑Inclusive Cyber Policing Ecosystem in India
To transform India’s digital landscape into a safer space for women, the country must recruit and train more women police officers in cyber-specialisation, closing the gender gap in technology-enabled policing. Institutionalising female-led models like SHE Teams and cyber support cells and scaling them nationally will replicate proven success across states.
Mentorship and leadership pathways inspired by Mission Shakti and other state-level initiatives can create upward mobility for women in technology-based policing roles. Partnerships with NGOs and civic tech organisations, following the lead of initiatives like the Digital Rights Foundation, should integrate legal, psychological and technological support for survivors.
Finally, developing regionally grounded AI tools and reporting systems capable of accurately identifying harassment across India’s many languages is essential. Empowered female officers, backed by gender-sensitive technology and institutional frameworks, can ensure survivors obtain justice with both dignity and urgency.
Bridging gender gaps in cyber policing is not merely about representation: it is key to restoring trust, safety and justice in India’s digital era. By expanding women’s roles in cyber enforcement, India can transform online safety for all citizens, with data-driven leadership, innovative policymaking and survivor-centric policing at the forefront.
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