Bois Locker Room-A Social Media Scandal
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This Blog is written by Rachna Kumari from KIIT School of Law, Odisha. Edited by Maulika Awasthi.
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1. INTRODUCTION
“Everybody should want to make sure that we have the cyber tools necessary to investigate cybercrimes, and to be prepared to defend against them and to bring people to justice who commit it.”- Janet Reno[i]
The extraordinary development of data society and its reliance on Internet utilization around the globe and especially in India is along the side joined by the helplessness of social orders to cybercrime. Cybercriminals are not compelled by geological impediments as cyberspace is a free-streaming, borderless, and a worldwide issue. These wrongdoings can’t be discouraged by local laws; India in such a situation resembles exposed targets. The recent example of such misdeed is a “bois Locker Room.”[ii] On 3rd May 2020 discussion emitted the nation over as of late after the discussion in a gathering having a place with for the most part adolescents from the ‘high class’ of Delhi broke out in the open, including a chat room of adolescent men from Delhi. The controversy flared over the internet where screen captures of chats which demonstrated minors glorified rape culture and enjoyed sharing salacious photographs of underage young girls on the gathering.[iii] The article focuses to set the platform to question the criminal justice framework that has gotten underway in the #boislockerroom case, it is significant that we acutely center around how the notion of masculinity, particularly among young blood add to sexual savagery, and how cultural reactions, including lawful activity against the blamed, need to represent these elements.
2. DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND HOW IT’S PROMOTING RAPE CULTURE
Bois Locker Room was an Instagram (social media) scandal (twitter- #boislockersroom) which unnecessarily trended in the top spot for 3 long days. It was one of those pleasant groups where youngsters bond by trading jokes, senseless recordings and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. When it had around 50 individuals, it had transformed into an abominable trade of assaulting young ladies and sharing bare pictures of young girls and young women. Where the Members of the groups, said to be in Class 11 and 12 understudies from some of the Delhi’s renowned schools. They posted photographs of high school young girls without their consent along with hostile remarks. Various discussions purportedly demonstrated individuals discussing explicitly ambushing their classmates and one explicit case where a member of the group whose name was, “Sidharth”. He proposed assaulting a specific underage woman. This started wrath about the presence of Rape culture and normalization of rape, misogyny, and objectification in schools.[iv]
The Bois Locker Room was an unnecessary public outrage BECAUSE IT WAS A RUMOUR (MORE OR THE LESS) rumour in the sense that so-called public outrage was based on partial facts and not complete facts, & suddenly when people realize that their anxiety & anger was vain, there was no # trending about this. This depicts the careless nature of people using social platforms & contributing to rumours. The harmful obsession of sharing everything without a proper background check, which included filthy content. It showed that the individuals of the group had lower moral values. They glorified Rape culture and this is how rape culture takes root among the children. Rape is not a joke, one shouldn’t even think of raping someone, but none the less first it’s a moral wrong of an individual than it’s a legal wrong because rape itself is an inhumane crime ( talking about raping someone is not a legal wrong, it only covers the ambit of moral wrong). Without knowing the complete facts and the story of the incident people started sharing screenshots of the bios locker room group discussing over the social media. #boislockerroom was trending on twitter for three days. This shows the astuteness standard of particular demography of our nation and some opportunist who are so-called young influencers; they grabbed the opportunity and made YouTube video, slamming everybody who was part of the Bois Locker Room which included both the boys and girls just for the reason that they needed views and likes. Do our social values have gone exorbitantly down that it will be judged & adjudicated by views & likes?
3. SEX EDUCATION – STILL A STIGMA IN INDIAN SOCIETY?
“Young people are going to learn about sex and our question has to be where do we want them to learn? From the media? From their friends? Or do we want them to learn from an educated, responsible adult?”– TAMARA KREININ, attributed, “Carnal Knowledge: The Sex Ed Debate” [v]
Sex education is characterized as an educational program that expects to construct a solid establishment for deep-rooted sexual wellbeing by securing data and mentalities, convictions, and qualities about one’s personality, relationships, and intimacy.[vi] while young women are granted some amount of sex education when they start their menstrual cycle, for young men sex is regularly an ignored theme. Without legitimate sex education, kids are watching adults at home and likewise building up their attitudes and pattern of behavior. Where the developed nations are acing with regards to sex education, in India it’s still a taboo. Removing the taboo of sex education is the first step, we as a general public must be agreeable to plunk down and discuss the sexual act and educate children. We as adults in Indian society give the feeling that it is a major mystery and something awful. Indeed, even today the moment there is an intimate scene in a film, guardians advise their wards to get up and leave. We need to escape such an outlook. We ought to have the option to have a sound and open discussion with the kids and not to forbid the topic.[vii]
Violence against women is generally comprehended by researchers as not being about sexual want however similar to an expression of male-centric patriarchal power. The need to communicate such power anyway may frequently originate from the need to communicate one’s manliness. An elective part of the scholars proposes that sexual violence is utilized for keeping up power chains of command between men as much as it is utilized for strengthening progressive systems among people. Masculinity researchers in this way draw join between the exhibition of ‘authoritative masculinity’ and sexual savagery/provocation.[viii]
What is in question is, young women, however humanity, conventionality, society, innocence! These should be spared. First, we have to break our psychological obstructions. We need to quit thinking and saying “what would we be able to do?” It’s our youngsters, it’s our general public! Furthermore, we need to step in to spare it. So we have to assemble our fortitude, voice it out, disapprove of casualty disgracing, request equality, create little dread, form solid interchanges. We have to open locks of our psychological obstructions to abstain from generating more “Bois Locker Rooms”.
4. LAW AND IT’S PUNISHMENT REGARDING THE CYBERCRIME
The presence of domineering goals of ‘masculinity’ unquestionably doesn’t excuse culpability for the violations submitted by the #boislockerroom group. Be that as it may, insignificant retributive discipline can’t change the wrongdoers or hinder comparable wrongdoings until and except if we advance elective goals of masculinity. Sadly, current criminal justice solutions for violations against young girls and women, especially those carried out by teenagers, don’t factor in strategies for redesigning the exhibition of domineering performance of hegemonic masculinity by offenders. In the #boislockerroom case, it is generally likely that the wrongdoers, whenever attempted and indicted, will be condemned under Juvenile Justice Act. There is no legitimate system for explicitly managing youngsters blamed for submitting sexual offenses. The offenders might be discharged waiting on the post-trial process, coordinated to perform ‘community service’ or attend general ‘restorative services’ which may exclude sexual orientation treatment. Regardless of whether they are detained or committed to observation homes (which looks like correctional ward), they will probably be made to undergo ‘vocational training’ which will never really address the variables persuading them to submit savagery against women.
The offenses committed by the Bois Locker Room group shall be liable under:
a) Violation Of Privacy- Sec 66E of The Information Technology Act, 2000
This covers the sharing of pictures of “a private area or part of any individual without their assent”. The sharing of private pictures of any young women on the group (even the individuals who are 18 or above) would be an offense under this section.
In the case of Bijunu Kindiyan v. State Of Kerala[ix] it appears that the petitioner is the Director of Bisan Media Private Limited, which runs an online news entry under the name and style ‘Kerala Online News”. At the time when the private photos of the actress were transferred by the first denounced in different sites got viral over the web, he immediately reported it to his news portal. On the charge that the said report would ipso facto disregard Section 66 E and 67 of the Information Technology Act.
b) Transmitting Sexually Explicit Material Depicting A Child- Sec 67B of The Information Technology Act, 2000
This covers the delineation of youngsters in sexual acts or conducts, however, the creation or conveyance of any digital text or pictures that portray kids “in the foul or obscene or explicitly unequivocal way”. The sharing of any genuine or morphed pictures of underage young girls on the group would be viewed as an offense under this section and maybe even some of the remarks and conversations on the group could fall within its ambit as well.[x]
In the case of Sharat Babu Digumarti v. Govt of NCT of Delhi[xi] it was held that Whoever distributes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted material on an electronic structure which portrays youngsters occupied with an explicitly express act or direct; or makes text or advanced pictures, gathers, looks for, peruses, downloads publicize, advances, trades or disperses material in any electronic structure delineating children in a foul or explicitly unequivocal way, or develops, tempts or actuates kids to online relationship with at least one child for and on an explicitly express act or in a way that may irritate a sensible grown-up online, or encourages mishandling teenagers on the web; in any electronic form own maltreatment or that of others relating to explicitly unequivocal act with kids, will be rebuffed on first conviction with the detainment of either depiction for a term which may reach out to five years and with a heavy fine.
c) Voyeurism- Sec 354C of Indian Penal Code
This covers the taking or sharing of an image of a woman taking part in a private demonstration in conditions where she would expect Privacy.
d) Child Pornography- Sec 14 And 15 Of The POSCO Act
The use of a child for explicit purposes – which covers photographs of their sexual organs or their profane/revolting portrayal – is an offense under Section 14 of the POCSO Act. Indeed, even the storage of any pornographic material including a child with the expectation or intent of sharing it is an offense under Section 15.
The sharing of morphed and real pictures of underage young girls on the social media by the ‘Bois Locker Room’ group, would be an infringement of these provisions.
In the case of K. Muthu Mariappan v, The State rep by the Inspector of Police, Tuticorin District,[xii] it was held that whoever, using any and all means at all, prompts any minor girl less than eighteen years to go from wherever or to do any act with the goal that such an underage girl might be, or realizing that all things considered, she will be, constrained or tempted to unlawful intercourse with someone else will be culpable with detainment which may extend to ten years, and will also be subject to fine.
It’s clear by now, that the activities of the young boys on the group does not qualify as jokes, and is culpable under the law. Misinformed tropes like ‘young men will be young men’s can’t justify what is clear criminal conduct (especially the sharing of private pictures of young women). One of the difficulties for this situation is obvious that a significant number of young men in this group are less than 18years themselves and the arrangements of the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 would apply to them. The most extreme punishment by a JJB for an adolescent is 3 years detainment. In any case, besides the POCSO Act offenses, the maximum punishment endorsed under the law for a large portion of the potential offenses here is the equivalent, so the punishment is unlikely to be less extreme.
5. CONCLUSION
After doing a proficient amount of research work on the ‘Bois Locker Room’ case, I could procure the fact that if we are not serious about understanding the ideals of gender equality for both women, men, and third gender and wish to make equivalent open doors for all of them, it is basic that elective well known social pictures and accounts about sexual orientation are made for girls and boys, and young women and men. It is essential that the State develops multi-foundational techniques for treating juvenile sex offenders, especially those which empower the investigation and development of substitute masculine identities. Outside of the legal system, it is important to have discussions about deconstructing sex education at homes, schools, and work environments. Sex education discussion should not be constrained to clarifying subjects of safe sex and assent, yet ought to likewise include examining stereotypes and anxieties about the impact of gender roles on sexual interaction. We frequently condone misogyny in movies and writing on the ground that these don’t impact individuals, however, the way that these fill in as reference focuses for glorified thoughts of masculinity and femininity, especially for teenagers, which can never again be denied. [xiii]
6. REFERENCES
[i] Reno, J. (n.d.). Cyber Quotes. BrainyQuote. Retrieved July 20, 2020,
From https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/cyber-quotes
[ii] Ravi, S. (2020, May 22). Bois Locker Room, a reflection of an existing mindset. The Hindu.
[iii] Wikipedia contributors. (2020, June 20). Bois Locker Room. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bois_Locker_Room
[iv] Duvvuru, K. (2020, May 10). Bois Locker Room. Countercurrents.Org.
https://countercurrents.org/2020/05/bois-locker-room/
[v] KREININ attributed, “Carnal Knowledge: The Sex Ed Debate,” T. A. M. A. R. A. (n.d.). Sex Education Quotes. Notable-Quotes.Com. Retrieved July 17, 2020,
from http://www.notable-quotes.com/s/sex_education_quotes.html
[vi] Ismail, Shajahan, Rao, Wylie, S. A. T. S. S. K. (n.d.). Adolescent sex education in India: Current perspectives. PubMed Central (PMC). Retrieved July 17, 2020, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711229/
[vii] Ravi, S. (2020b, May 22). Bois Locker Room, a reflection of an existing mindset. The Hindu.
[viii] Agarwal, M. M. A. A. (2020, June 15). The crux of the bois locker room case lies in unpacking the link between the performance of masculinity and sexual violence. Firstpost.
[ix] Just a moment… (n.d.). Indiankanoon.Org. Retrieved July 20, 2020, from
[x] Sachdev, V. (2020, May 5). Can Members of the ‘Boys Locker Room’ Group be Punished Under Law? the quiet.
https://www.thequint.com/news/law/boys-locker-room-criminal-offences-ipc-it-act-pocso-sharing-
images-underage-girls#:%7E:text=The%20sharing%20of%20morphed%20and,a%20fine
[xi] Pant, P. A. M. D. C. (2016, December 14). Sharat Babu Digumarti Vs. Govt of NCT of Delhi Court Judgment. Legal Crystal.
https://www.legalcrystal.com/case/77743/sharat-babu-digumarti-vs-govt-nct-delhi
[xii] Just a moment… (n.d.-b). Indian Kanoon. Retrieved July 20, 2020, from
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/13522556/
[xiii] Staff, F. P. (2020, July 20). Coronavirus LIVE Updates: After Bengal, MP announces..ay lockdown every week in districts with the high caseload. Firstpost.