Violence against women usually conjures up images of sexual assault, physical injuries and blood. Cyber violence, therefore, does not shake up people as much when a victim speaks about her experiences. Why not just ignore or block the offender? Why not move on instead of making a 'fuss'?
Though recognised as a crime, many women are expected to put up with online harassment because it's not taken as seriously. In a series of self-portraits, 24-year-old Sabaritha Ernavoor, a social worker and photographer, has set out to capture the impact that cyber violence can have.
Titled Infected Net, the black and white photographs featuring the artist are interspersed with screenshots of abusive messages she collected from women in her social circle.
Sabaritha says she is determined to live an independent life, and stays alone in Chennai. A graduate from the Madras School of Social Work, Sabaritha has been working with non-governmental organisations for the last 3.5 years. She uses the camera as a form of self-expression.
"Last year, I wanted to practise photography but I wasn't interested in doing it around a theme. I was alone and I only had my phone to connect to others. I found that the messages, good or bad, I received from people I knew had a great influence on me. I literally felt suppressed at one point. Someone I know suggested that I write about it but I didn't know how to convey my thoughts in words. I had a camera and a tripod and I decided to capture my emotions... whether I was crying, getting angry or acting crazy," she recalls.
For this project, which happened prior to Infected Net, Sabaritha placed the pictures along with the messages that elicited the response. Infected Net too is along similar lines, and began from conversations that Sabaritha had with women around her. She spoke to around 20-25 women about their experiences.
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"I asked them what kind of messages they received, how they responded to it. At some point, it occurred to me that I should document this. For 8-9 months, I spoke to women expressly with the idea of documenting their experiences online. Even senior journalists have gone through cyber violence," she says.
Sabaritha recalls that when she was 15, she received obscene messages from a boy her age.
"I wondered why someone would use technology this way and send such comments. Do they not regret it at all? People don't even accept that leering is abusive, so they don't get why such messages are abusive. They ask why you can't just ignore it. They say don't post photos. Why don't they recognise it as abuse?" she asks.
"A senior, well-known photographer I know asked me if I want to sleep with him. He has a family. I have screenshots as evidence. I put up a general post about this, without naming him and within two days, he messaged and told me that he'd 'realised' his mistake," she says.
"I still don't understand men! They said if you show a woman part by part, it's not vulgarity... They asked me whether I'm coming from a family or not. These are professional photographers, assistant directors...men who read literature! While one asked me to share the images again because he'd not seen it 'properly', another told me not to post the pictures anywhere," she says.
The reception from women was markedly different.
"None of the women questioned me. Even the ones who are not particularly ideologically inclined," she adds.
All images courtesy: Sabaritha Ernavoor