Thresholds of Digital Duress: Women, Online Harassment, and the Limits of IT Law Protection in a Digital Economy

Gendered discrimination persists across societal structures, and efforts to address this inequality have been ongoing for decades. The proliferation of digital communication has transgressed physical boundaries of harassment, creating new forms of online abuse. Harmful behaviors such as non-consensual image sharing, doxxing, and trolling result in severe psychological and reputational harm. While existing laws provide some safeguards, they struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving digital threats. Through the lens of law and economics, cyber harassment is a negative externality within the digital ecosystem wherein the cost of harm is not borne by either the perpetrator or the platform. This paper therefore situates legal adequacies within broader questions of incentive structures and market failure in digital environments. This paper examines cyber harassment against women and evaluates the adequacy of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and allied provisions. It analyzes judicial interpretations, explores challenges posed by emerging technologies like Generative AI, and assesses intermediary liability frameworks and content blocking mechanisms. The paper identifies critical gaps including procedural delays, inadequate awareness, and insufficient oversight mechanisms. It argues for comprehensive reforms including specialized prosecution units, expedited judicial remedies, robust oversight mechanisms, and proactive digital literacy programs. Addressing cyber harassment requires a gender-responsive legal framework that synchronizes institutional capacity with social measures to create safer digital spaces aligned with principles of gender justice and digital inclusion.