Monthly Corner
IDH Publication, 2026
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is not just a social issue, it’s a systemic challenge that undermines agricultural value chains.
In rural and isolated areas, GBV threatens women’s safety, limits their economic participation, and weakens food security. When women cannot work safely, entire communities lose resilience, and businesses lose productivity. Climate resilience strategies that overlook gendered risks leave communities exposed and women vulnerable.
Ending GBV is essential for building equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient agri-food systems; and it’s not only a human rights imperative, but also central to climate adaptation and economic stability.
The good news? Solutions work. Programs like the Women’s Safety Accelerator Fund (WSAF) demonstrate that addressing GBV can enhance productivity and strengthen workforce morale and brand reputation. Safe, inclusive workplaces aren’t just good ethics, they’re smart business.
Gurmeet Kaur Articles
Luc Barriere-Constantin Article
This article draws on the experience gained by The Constellation over the past 20 years. It is also a proposal for a new M&E and Learning framework to be adopted and adapted in future projects of all community-focused organisations.
Devaka K.C. Article
Sudeshna Sengupta Chapter in the book "Dialogues on Development edited by Prof Arash Faizli and Prof Amitabh Kundu."
Events
Vacancies
- We’re Hiring: National Evaluation Consultant – Bangladesh
UN Women is recruiting a National Evaluation Consultant (Bangladesh) to support the interim evaluation of the Joint Regional EmPower Programme (Phase II).
This is a great opportunity to work closely with the Evaluation Team Leader and contribute to generating credible, gender-responsive evidence that informs decision-making and strengthens programme impact.
📍 Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh (home-based with travel to project locations)
📅 Apply by: 24 February 2026, 5:00 PM
🔗 Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gar4ciRr
If you are passionate about feminist evaluation, gender equality, and rigorous evidence that drives change (or know someone who is) please apply or share within your networks.
- Seeking Senior Analyst - IPE Global
About the job
IPE Global Ltd. is a multi-disciplinary development sector consulting firm offering a range of integrated, innovative and high-quality services across several sectors and practices. We offer end-to-end consulting and project implementation services in the areas of Social and Economic Empowerment, Education and Skill Development, Public Health, Nutrition, WASH, Urban and Infrastructure Development, Private Sector Development, among others.
Over the last 26 years, IPE Global has successfully implemented over 1,200 projects in more than 100 countries. The group is headquartered in New Delhi, India with five international offices in United Kingdom, Kenya, Ethiopia, Philippines and Bangladesh. We partner with multilateral, bilateral, governments, corporates and not-for-profit entities in anchoring development agenda for sustained and equitable growth. We strive to create an enabling environment for path-breaking social and policy reforms that contribute to sustainable development.
Role Overview
IPE Global is seeking a motivated Senior Analyst – Low Carbon Pathways to strengthen and grow its Climate Change and Sustainability practice. The role will contribute to business development, program management, research, and technical delivery across climate mitigation, carbon markets, and energy transition. This position provides exceptional exposure to global climate policy, finance, and technology, working with a team of high-performing professionals and in collaboration with donors, foundations, research institutions, and public agencies.
Revenge Porn Isn’t About Images: It’s About Control
Revenge Porn Isn’t About Images: It’s About Control
By - Shipra
Intimate relationships often begin with hope, of trust, companionship, respect, and a shared life ahead. Nobody imagines that someone they once loved would one day weaponise their private moments against them. Yet for thousands of women in India, especially in heterosexual relationships, the end of a relationship doesn’t just bring heartbreak. It brings threats, humiliation, extortion, and the constant fear that their most private, consensual moments may be turned into a public spectacle.
When intimate images or videos are shared without consent, it is commonly known as revenge porn. More accurately, it is Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII), one of the most widespread forms of digital gender-based violence.
What NCII Really Is
In NCII, the survivor’s real or morphed images are shared publicly or used as a weapon: “Do what I say, or I’ll leak these.” Deepfake technology has made this violence even easier and more terrifying, as was evidenced in number of deepfake videos that circulated of Indian actresses recently. Patriarchy, which punishes women for desire and autonomy, acts as fertile ground for this abuse. The internet, with its anonymity and instant virality, further enables perpetrators. And weak legal protections mean survivors are often left to defend themselves alone.
The moment an NCII case surfaces, public scrutiny shifts almost instantly from the offender to the survivor. According to NCRP, online crimes against women rose 118.4%, from 22,188 cases in 2020 to 48,475 in 2024. The problem is not disappearing, it is exploding – and response to tackle it is slow and patchy.
Society: The Biggest Enabler of NCII
One does not need research to know that society is brutally insensitive toward survivors. Instead of questioning the perpetrator who violated someone’s privacy, the interrogation is directed towards the woman:
- Why did she take those pictures?
- Why was she in a non-marital relationship?
- Why did she trust him?
- What else did she expect?
The violent act becomes secondary. The woman’s “choices” become the crime, smattering her agency into pieces.
Her private life is dissected in newsrooms and online chatrooms. Strangers rummage through her past decisions as if searching for evidence to justify her trauma. Years of hard work, her career, relationships, identity, are overshadowed by a single violation she never consented to.
The same society that loudly talks about “culture” uses it to shame her. Survivors become cautionary tales, not victims deserving of empathy. Their right to live freely becomes the “mistake” they are punished for.
The Internet Never Forgets, And That’s Part of the Trauma
In a recent case, the Madras High Court ordered the complete removal of leaked intimate content involving a lawyer. But within days, the material resurfaced on nearly 30 new websites.
This is the brutal truth: once uploaded, erasure is never absolute. Survivors know this. That knowledge becomes a second wound, a lifelong fear that their past can be weaponised anytime, anywhere. Healing becomes almost impossible when the threat is perpetual.
NCII as Blackmail
NCII isn’t always about public release, it is used to control women. Many are coerced into staying in abusive relationships or fulfilling demands to avoid the leak.
A 2022 ISST study with young women from low-income communities in Delhi revealed chilling stories. One respondent shared how a stranger threatened to create fake nude images of her using her social media pictures and upload them with her phone number. Girls often depended on male friends for protection because approaching authorities felt riskier than staying silent.
Silence becomes a survival strategy in a society that refuses to stand with survivors. A major barrier is the information gap, many girls don’t know where to go, whom to report to, or whether they will be believed.
Legal Provisions in India: Progress, But Not Enough
Despite its prevalence, India still has no dedicated NCII law.
Neither the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) nor the Information Technology Act explicitly define or penalise NCII. Courts use a patchwork of provisions, Sections 66E, 67, 67A of the IT Act; Rule 3(2)(b) of the IT Rules; and Sections 77, 294, and 296 of BNS. But these laws do not capture the intent, harm, or permanence inherent in NCII. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act provides the “Right to Erasure,” but again, it does not criminalise NCII.
Recent judicial interventions, especially by the Madras High Court, have been progressive in ordering swift takedowns and protecting victim identity.
The 2025 SOP: A Step Forward
In November 2025, MeitY introduced a Standard Operating Procedure to Curtail NCII, mandating:
- takedown within 24 hours of reporting
- multiple reporting avenues (OSCs, in-apps, 1930 helpline, online portals)
- mandatory deployment of hash-matching and crawler technologies by digital platforms
- coordination with Sahyog (MHA-I4C), DoT, and a secure hash bank
- intermediary accountability
- capacity building for law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary
States like Kerala (CyberDome) and Telangana (Women Safety Wing Cyber Module) are also taking proactive steps.
However, the absence of a specific NCII law reflects an outdated perception, that digital violence is somehow “less real.” But in a world where online and offline lives are intertwined, digital abuse destroys reputations, livelihoods, and mental health.
Intermediaries must not be allowed to evade responsibility under provisions like Section 79 of the IT Act. Re-uploads and virality should trigger automatic liability.
Beyond Law: Changing Culture Is Non-Negotiable
Legal reforms alone cannot solve a problem so deeply rooted in misogyny. We need open conversations, in homes, classrooms, workplaces, and media, about consent, bodily autonomy, digital ethics, dignity, healthy relationships and responsible bystander behaviour among others.
We must build a shared understanding that NCII is not a reflection of a woman’s worth. It reflects the perpetrator’s violence. Even passive viewing of NCII is participation in harm. Each click fuels trauma. Women are more than their bodies, and their bodies are not repositories of family honour. Until we dismantle the cultural systems that shame survivors and protect perpetrators, NCII will remain a tool of control, not merely a technological problem, but a deeply social one.
It’s Time to Choose the Society We Want. Revenge porn is not about images. It is about power, punishment, and control. Technology may enable it, but society sustains it. If we want a better future, we must change both.
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