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A woman can file an FIR at any police station to report a sexual crime,even if the incident did not take place in the jurisdiction of that station. This is called a Zero FIR. Zero FIRs are useful if you are travelling at the time.
Police
Go to Police Station
An FIR can be filed at any police station or the one nearest to where the crime happened. Anyone, including a friend or relative can also file an FIR on a survivor’s behalf. However, at the time of reporting, the survivor will have to give a statement which a female police officer will record in the FIR.(( Section 46(4) of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.))
Call 100
By calling 100 a survivor can seek immediate help from the police. If a survivor is in trouble, a police unit will be sent to their location for further assistance.
Cyber Cells
By approaching the cyber cell of the Police, anyone can complain about online sexual harassment. For example, a complaint can be filed with the Delhi Cyber Crime unit online.
National Commission for Women
A survivor can approach the National Commission for Women (NCW) in any of the following ways(( National Commission for Women, available at http://ncw.nic.in/.)) :
Call 1091
- Call 1091
- Describe the crime in detail
- Give the address and contact number
A police unit will then be sent to the address given, to assist the survivor with the steps that need to be taken. Any kind of violence against women including sexual offences and domestic violence can be reported to 1091.
Online
The National Commission for Women has an online complaint system known as Complaints Registration and Monitoring System where a survivor can fill in details and file a formal complaint. The following information has to be given:
- Details of the complainant (the person who is filing the complaint),
- Details of the survivor (woman who has faced the violence),
- Details of respondent (perpetrator i.e. the person who commits sexual violence) and
- Details such as:
- Particulars of the Incident
- Date and Time
- Place of incident
A complaint with National Commission for Women can be filed by sending an email to complaintcell-ncw@nic.in with any details regarding the sexual assault such as the description of the person who commits sexual violence or the description of the incident.
Post/ Letter/ Messenger
A letter can be written to the National Commission for Women, to this address:
National Commission for Women
Plot-21, Jasola Institutional Area,
New Delhi- 110025
A friend/relative can also file a complaint on a survivor’s behalf or can handover the letter to a friend/relative who in turn can deposit it in the above-mentioned address.
Online Crime Reporting Portals
All the following ways given below can be used to report an online sexual crime. For example, if someone is stalking a person on Facebook or Instagram, then they can use any of the portals below to take an action.
Social Media Reporting
There are two ways through which a person can take action against the abuser. They can use either of the methods or both of them:
- Block Abusers on Social Media
- Report Abuse to the Administrators
- File a complaint with the Cyber Cell
To explore more on online crime reporting, read our explainer on Reporting Online Abuse.
Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
If anyone is facing any sexual harassment at work and they want to stop the sexual harassment through employer action (for example, dismissal of the perpetrator), then they can file a complaint with the Internal Committee, which is a complaint mechanism available at all offices.(( The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.)) Every survivor or someone on their behalf also, has the option of going to the police as well to file a complaint.
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Related Resources
What is Sexual Harassment?
Gargi mittal
August 31, 2022
Let me know how to file a complaint against violence
Nyaaya
September 1, 2022
You can use the same procedure as given in this explainer.
Anoop Singh Tomar
November 30, 2022
Video call aaya phir dhamki
Alka Manral
May 22, 2024
Cyber bullying aur blackmailing ka samna karne ke case mein, aap uss par rashtra ke portal mein shikayat darj kar sakte hain, jisme aapko mamle ke mahtvapurn tathyaon mein do numbers ka ullekh karna hoga. Shikayat darj karne se pehle, paryapt saboot ikattha karne aur apni shanti aur suraksha ke liye numbers ko block karne ka dhyan rakhein. Fir neeche diye gaye tareeke ka palan karein:
1. https://cybercrime.gov.in/ par jaayein.
2. Menu mein ‘Report other cyber crimes’ par click karein.
3. ‘File a Complaint’ par click karein.
4. Agar aap mahila ya bachcha hain, toh aap anjanepan mein report kar sakte hain ya fir “Report other Cyber Crimes” par click karein.
5. Shartein padhein aur unhe svikar karein.
6. Apna mobile number register karein aur apna naam aur rajya bharein.
7. Aap mamle ke mahatvapurn tathyaon ko bharein.
Aap mamle ki anjaanepan mein bhi report kar sakte hain. Report karne ke baad, aap apni report ko usi website par track kar sakte hain.
Mrs. das
September 12, 2023
I want to file a case on Vijaya das for sex crime.. and denying for DNA paternity test and not ready to take child responsibility and not sharing property for the child
Sejal
November 9, 2023
How can I file complain against NRI men who did sexual assault to Indian girl how can I punish him as he is staying outside India
Sandeep Kumar behera
November 12, 2023
My self Sandeep.
Actually one of my friend(female) is being harassed by her higher authority in workplace by the way of the authority used to comments on gesture, accent and asks about the personal information which clearly meant that he wants sexual favour from my friend.
In this situation , how to take action against the authority?
Ravi
January 5, 2024
if any lady or man is involving online live you tube with sex video , is any procedure for complaint.
Alka Manral
May 30, 2024
Yes, Firstly, please do not delete any evidentiary matter and try to have a record of all communication.
1. Report on YouTube: You may approach Google, or any other website and report the content through YouTube itself. After registering the complaint, action will be taken in due time. They are mandated to remove such content under 36 hours according to IT Rules 2011.
2. Offline complaint: A complaint can be filed at any one of the following forums –
Police Station – You may register an FIR at your nearest police station
3. Cyber cells – They are specially established to help the victims of cybercrime. The crime investigation department has to deal with such crimes. If there is no cyber cell in the area where you live, you can file an FIR at a local police station.
4. The National Commission for Women: The commission has the authority to set up an inquiry committee, conduct spot inquiries, interrogate, collect evidence, etc. You can call them at 1091.
At the police station, you can file your complaint under any of the following Indian Penal Code sections:
Section 354(C)– It punishes a man who captures or shares the image of women in a private space. The punishment includes jail time of at least 1 year and can extend to 3 years along with a fine.
Section 500– This Section provides for punishment for defamation. The person who defames another can be punished with imprisonment for upto 2 years or with a fine or both.
Section 504– This section says that if someone intentionally insults someone else, trying to make them angry and cause trouble in public, they can get punished. The punishment could be up to two years in jail, a fine, or both. So basically, if you purposely make someone mad to start a fight or cause trouble, you could get in big trouble yourself.
Section 506– This section talks about the punishment for criminal intimidation, which is threatening someone to make them do something or scare them. If someone is found guilty of criminal intimidation, they could be punished with up to two years in jail, a fine, or both. If the threat is serious, like threatening to kill or seriously hurt someone, or to damage property, or to accuse a woman of something bad, the punishment could be up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both.
Even the IT Act offers protection against such acts –
Section 67– The Section deals with punishment for publishing obscene material in electronic form. The punishment for the offence extends to three years and with a fine up to 5 lakh rupees.
Section 67A– The Section provides for punishment for publishing material containing the sexually explicit acts in electronic form. The punishment for the offence extends to 5 years and with a fine up to 10 lakh rupees.
Section 67B– This Section provides for punishment for publishing material depicting children in the sexually explicit acts in electronic form. The section aims to stop all publication, distribution, and consumption of child pornography.
Section 66E– The Section mentions punishment for violation of privacy. This section prohibits capturing and publishing the image of a person without consent when he/she didn’t expect anyone would capture their image. Basically, when a person is in a private setting and someone captures their image, this section punishes this act.
Meena Nelson
April 24, 2024
Ma’am , I faced sexual harassment, defamation , forcibily resignation at my school. I got panic attack due to the trauma caused by the Principal to cover up the crime committed by the school Admin .Since I did not resign I have been kept in the library as an open jail for the past six months undergoing severe mental trauma causing severe health concerns both physically and mentally. My husband is guarding the nation in the border serving in BSF and i am tortured here in Pune. My life is in stake. I have reported to educational department and also Women Council of Maharashtra yet the harrassment continues. I wish to file an FIR against the Admin Mr Prashanto who caused sexual harassment, the Principal Ms Saroja Rathnam who stopped and warned me of written complaint, supporting the Admin and the school legal Advisor Mr KC Kedia who is helping the admin forcing me to resign.
It is so disturbing and disheartening to see educators doing all this to me at the school where I worked hard with dedication for 12 years .
My health is at a bad stage and I need to voice out .
I need help.
Meena Nelson
J N Petit Technical High School
Bund Garden
Pune
7875565037
Alka Manral
May 31, 2024
The laws applicable for this under IPC are:
1. Section 354A – Sexual Harrassment
2. Section 354B – Assault or Use of force to disrobe a woman
3. Section 355 – Assault or use of force to dishonour person
There are multiple facilities to help you out if you have experienced sexual harrassment. Some of them have been listed below:
1. Zero FIR – You can go to any police station to file an FIR for sexual harrassment, regardless of the jursidiction, and they are duty bound to help you out.
2. Woman Police Officer Requirement – There needs to be a woman police officer present when the complaint is registered.
3. Free copy of FIR – You should get a free copy of the FIR
4. Evidence Required – The following things can be used as evidence in cases of sexual harassment:
(a) Proof of communication by the harasser
(b) Medical Evidence (DNA, Hair samples, etc)
(c) Eye witnesses
(d) Examples of evidence:
(e) Pornographic images on a person’s phone/chat
(f) Marks of hands / bruises / scratches on the woman’s body
(g) A witness saying they did not see the scene but heard the woman scream out loud
(h) A person who saw the woman being dragged into a room by a man
NIHARIKA
July 16, 2024
I am sexually abused and I want to raise a complaint on it
So kindly help me out