Maneka Gandhi asks women, children to report abuse cases on Twitter using #HelpMeWCD

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has promised assured assistance to any woman or child facing harassment or violence.

Gandhi said that any woman or child facing abuse can report the crime to her ministry by tweeting with the hashtag #HelpMeWCD.

Any woman or child facing harassment/ violence can report to us by tweeting with the hashtag #HelpMeWCD for an assured response. pic.twitter.com/7MDfv4Z0cs

— Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) March 20, 2017

The minister added that anyone could also report harassment at workplace with the hashtag #HelpMeWCD.

If you too face any harassment at your workplace, flag me using hashtag #HelpMeWCD. 4/4

— Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) March 23, 2017

It is, of course, encouraging to see a Union minister take an active interest in responding promptly to cases of harassment of women and children. And this move is a simple and creative use of technology to fight assault on women and children.

However, because Twitter is a public platform, any woman or child who posts about a crime on Twitter will make his or her identity known to everyone on Twitter. This is problematic because in cases of sexual or physical abuse, the identity of the victim is usually protected to keep him or her safe from any unwanted public backlash.

Moreover, it will take a lot more to effectively address the problem of abuse in India, keeping in mind the fact a very small section of our country has access to internet right now.