The increasing menace of sextortion for Indian Men

With the repeated imposition of lockdowns and increasing use of video chats the sextortion rackets have made life miserable for men in various parts of India

A complaint at the Nagpur cyber cell of a 35-year-old Mumbai based businessman is the latest documented case of this relatively new blackmailing tool. The lockdown and later the partial restrictions related to the COVID19 pandemic has seen a surge in the number of complaints from male victims wherein they are being blackmailers, is threatening to make their videos and images viral on social media or send them to their relatives. A 54-year-old fashion designer had to pay up a substantial sum owing to such extortion.

The increasing peril of sextortion can be attributed to both social and psychological factors.

A man is usually reluctant to file a complaint or come out in the open with their problems when they are threatened due to the associated social stigma and the lack of compassion that he faces in most cases when he tries to approach the authorities. It must be noted that the officially recorded crimes when victims are males are usually much lower in proportion to the actual number of crimes committed.

On the psychological front, there is the "internet use disorder" which is associated with excessive use of online platforms and pornographic addiction. Less satisfying conjugal relations has been one of the major factors driving men to seek sensual pleasures through virtual platforms and thereby exposing them to the risk of blackmail.

These factors are pushing many men towards parting with their hard-earned money while some are being sent into a state of desperation and depression. Even undocumented suicides are not unheard of.

Intervention at both social and psychological level is essential to take care of this increasing danger for men. Stay tuned for the successive posts where I will be discussing about countering the issue on a psychological level and how to deal with social stigma as also what steps must be taken on various levels to deal with such problems.