Screenshots of an Instagram group chat of young Delhi boys called "boys locker room" was recently busted for glorifying gang rape. Teenaged boys have reportedly been sharing pictures of girls, some as young as 15-16, objectifying them, morphing their pictures, using abusive language and talking about ‘gang raping girls’. Social media users are now urging the Police to take action against the perpetrators before things escalate further.
A girl, who knows these guys tweeted, "A group of south delhi guys aged 17-18 types have this ig gc named "boy's locker room" where they shit on, objectify and morph pictures of girls their age. 2 boys from my school are a part of it. MY FRIENDS AND I ARE FREAKING OUT THIS IS SO EWWW AND NOW MY MOM WANTS ME TO QUIT IG"
Also Read: Boys Locker Room - Woman posed as boy for Snapchat conversation
"We weren't active"
One of the boys who was active in this group posted a long public apology. "I am sorry. I have a whole life ahead of me. I don't want some stupid testosterone-fuelled decisions to spoil it," he said. A few users have the justification that they weren't active in the group and didn't say anything. But don't they need to realise that by being a part of the group, not reporting it, not leaving it, not calling it out, they enabled such action?
We also spoke to some young women to know what they think about this incident:
I am worried.
"This locker room incident is so scary, it prompts us to yet again question the way we are raising our boys. Where are we going wrong? What is leading to this mass toxic behaviour? As a mother to a young girl, I am worried about the kind of world that awaits my daughter when she grows up. And how it is only worse than the one I grew up in. How have we gone backwards?" says Yamini Pustake Bhalerao.
I feel like nothing has changed.
"What troubles me the most about the boys' locker room incident is that they are 15-16 years old kids. They are the future generation. I always thought that the coming generation has progressive views about females. But this incident has totally disappointed me. I feel like nothing has changed. I have realised that fight against patriarchy will continue over generations," says Saumya Tiwari.
"The locker room incident is deeply disturbing. It's so shameful how these boys are objectifying women. I think the cyber safety wing should look in this matter and a complaint should be registered with them as soon as possible," says Divya Rawat.
Severe Punishment needed
"People do not consider this to be problematic since it is happening inside the close doors. But on a wider spectrum, this is where the initiation of rape culture takes place. For them, this was for fun/pleasure, but for a girl, it's about her dignity. But maybe our boys haven't been taught that way. Maybe they only know to objectify girls. This time, a severe punishment might teach a lesson to the perpetrators," says Anushika Srivastava.
Why I am not surprised
I am not surprised because in school, I witnessed another similar fight where a boys' only group said something offensive about a female classmate. The reason behind their apology was that this should not reach the principal. And I can tell you that their concern was how the girl got to know. Their only concern was to find the snitch and never let him back in the group. There was no lesson learnt.
Also Read: Does Boys Locker Room have its roots in misogyny infested family Whatsapp groups?
Tiny note for the parents
By telling your daughters that it is their responsibility to keep themselves safe, you imply to your sons that it is not their responsibility to keep their actions in check. Stop teaching your daughters to be safe in this world. Start making this world safe for someone else's daughter. Then one day, you won't have to worry about your daughter's safety.
Some women's groups have raise an issue with Instagram on the matter. Here's a statement the IG India Communications person shared with SheThePeople.
“We absolutely do not allow behaviour that promotes sexual violence or exploits anyone, especially women and young people, and have actioned content violating our Community Standards as we were made aware of it. We have policies that disallow the sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery, as well as threats to share such imagery and we take this issue very seriously. Ensuring our community can express themselves in a safe and respectful way is our top priority.”
Also Read: Dear Men, Feminism Needs To Come To Our Homes & Kitchens Too
Ayushi Aggarwal is an intern at SheThePeople.TV
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