'We Think Digital': NCW Ties Up With Meta & CyberPeace To Offer Digital Training To Over 1 Million Women

Cyberspace has proved to be both an enabler as well as an impediment for people. As per statements by the National Commission for Women (NCW), India is the second-largest internet-using population and has the third-largest number of cybercrime cases. Many incidents go unreported, and despite that, the NCW claims that 98 per cent of cyber crimes are those committed against women.

Women's safety has been questioned both in the real and virtual world, and there have been continuous efforts to improve these. In a measure to address and act upon the rising cases of cybercrime and cyber-safety, the NCW launched the pan-Indian campaign known as We Think Digital (formerly Digital Shakti.)

In the first three phases of this project, the commission was able to reach out to about three lakh women. They would now be stepping into the fourth phase of the same and would be addressing the digital skill gap, helping women stay informed to be able to detect any form of illegal or inappropriate activity online.

Internet As An Enabler

The We Think Digital campaign, which was launched initially to tackle the rising concern of cyber-crimes against women, will be stepping into the next phase to empower women through the digital space. Expanding their ambit, the NCW announced that they would be providing training to enable women to use the digital space to enhance their career prospects. The initiative, run in collaboration with the CyberPeace Foundation and Meta, will dedicate the 4.0 version to training women on using the cyber world to their advantage while teaching them to be safe online.

Currently, there exists a huge digital skill gap in the country, and the mission aims to bridge this. Under the new version, they expect to be training one million women, including housewives and students from schools, colleges, and universities. The basic idea is to "help women use the digital knowledge responsibly and support them if they have any business ideas, for example, for start-up companies," said Major Vineet Kumar, founder and global president of CyberPeace Foundation. Building on this further, the Director and Head of Public Policy Meta India, Rajiv Aggarwal, stated that Meta continues to direct their efforts into enabling a safe online experience for women.

Glimpses of the ongoing Q & A session where our eminent panelists are addressing the queries of students and participants on the way ahead on creating safe cyber spaces at the #DigitalShakti4.0 launch. @PIBWCD @MinistryWCD @sharmarekha pic.twitter.com/Gtru808lqW

— NCW (@NCWIndia) November 15, 2022

Toward More Digital Participation

Launched in 2018, the We Think Digital programme essentially aimed to train women to fight cybercrime. Over three lakh women under the project were made aware of the cyber safety tips and tricks, the reporting and redressal mechanisms, data privacy, and the usage of technology for their benefit. These programs were designed carefully after studying the problems and finding the key reasons for cyber-crimes against women: huge gender inequality in India, lack of digital literacy, hesitance to file complaints, lack of support from family and/or law enforcement, and the general lack of awareness.

Sensitising women and helping them grow resilient, the campaign has been slowly but significantly bridging the digital gap. As the next step towards making cyberspace safe for women, they will be taught to make the most of what technology has to offer through safe navigation.

A report by The Hindu quoted the NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma saying, "Digital Shakti has been accelerating the digital participation of women and girls by training them to use technology to their advantage and to keep themselves safe online. I believe the project will continue to contribute towards the larger goal of fighting cyber violence against women and girls and making the internet a safer space for them." The launch of the fourth phase was followed up by an interactive panel that discussed cyber-enabled human trafficking and other forms of online violence in the presence of industry, government, and academic experts.

Also Read: This Social Media Platform Will Give Safe Space For Women, Transgenders To Express Themselves