Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service in the Central Region, Supt. Irene Serwaa Oppong has urged women despite their level of skills in the use of digital tools to be vigilant anytime they are navigating digital spaces.
She said being cautious will save them from becoming victims of ICT-facilitated gender-based violence (GBV) which she believes is not the preserve of only women who are digital illiterates but all women who engage in digital spaces.
Supt. Irene Oppong made this appeal while delivering the keynote address at a Grand Durbar held at UCC in commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration.
She indicated that with the advancement and development of technology in the country cybercriminals have taken undue advantage of cyberspace to embark on fraudulent activities.
She especially urged women to avoid taking nude pictures of themselves as they may risk it being leaked on the internet.
She explained saying “You use the mobile phone to record yourself, you give it to the other person on the other side, and when there is a problem or an attempt to break up with the person, he threatens to send the video viral. We have realized it’s a syndicate. A lady on the other side may pretend to be a man and will be communicating with you. And when she gets the video, she just passes it on to her masters outside the jurisdiction that she even told you she was. So, the masters start to ask for money. We had one case at our end and by the time the man came, she had already paid GHC 15,000 to the fraudsters. That’s how it is.”
She notes that romance fraud, mobile money fraud, online rent, child pornography, and extortion are some of the cyber frauds experienced in Ghana.
She, therefore, called on parents to monitor their ward’s activities on the internet in other for them not to fall prey to cyber criminals.
Supt. Irene Oppong further urged women who become victims of cyberspace gender-based violence not to let stigmatization deter them from reporting their ordeal to the police for the needed action to be taken against the perpetrators.
“Formerly, when we talk of cybercrime, police were finding the nearest crime to investigate and prosecute. Now, we have the laws, a whole unit who are equipped and they are capable of investigating it. Please forget about the stigma that people know your nude pictures and videos are out and report it for it to be investigated and for the perpetrator to be punished.”
The Grand Durbar which was held under the auspices of the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation (CEGRAD) UCC, was on the global theme for the 2023 IWD celebration, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”
The director of CEGRAD, Dr. Georgina Yaa Oduro while delivering her address opined that women are the main victims who cybercrimes. As such she prayed women to be conscious of their actions while using cyberspace.
At the ceremony, panelists called for the introduction of a cyber-course at the basic level to arm students with information about the activities of cybercriminals.
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Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
