Online Harassment Against Women: A Critical Analysis of Existing Legal Frameworks and Enforcement Challenges

<p><em>A literature review has been carried out to determine international and national legal frameworks regarding international transportation of nuclear and radioactive materials through the Lombok Strait in Indonesia. </em><em>The </em><em>Lombok Strait is one of the Indonesian Archipelagic Sea Lanes which has been regulated both in the national and international legal frameworks as a pathway between two oceans that passes through Indonesian waters. Transportation of goods by ship is passage of innocent as stated in Sea Law Convention. However, due to nuclear and radioactive materials are not ordinary goods, the safety and security of nuclear and radioactive materials should be ensured. The paper examines Indonesian national laws on nuclear and radioactive materials transport through Lombok Strait. Review results that a</em><em>part from the carrier should comply with national and international legal frameworks, coordination between governmental agencies in Indonesia including local governments plays an important role in the innocent passage through the Lombok Strait. Finally, ensuring nuclear and radioactive materials transports are safe and secure in the context of international shipment is a necessity to ensure safety and security for workers, public and the environment.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em>Keyword</em></strong><strong><em>s</em></strong><strong><em>:</em></strong><em> </em><em>Lombok Strait; nuclear; transport.</em><strong><em></em></strong></p>

Bystander apathy has been a source of debate for decades. In the past half-century, psychologists developed theoretical frameworks to understand bystander activity, commonly referred to as bystander intervention models (BIMs). More recently, BIMs have been modified to facilitate initiatives to prevent various forms of online victimization. This chapter begins with a review of BIMs and recent applications of bystander intervention research to online environments. We also present several future directions for research along with applications for reducing technology-facilitated violence, including programming recommendations and theoretical development.

Digital transformation and the COVID-19 pandemic have caused a paradigm shift in work; hybrid work arrangements that combine remote and in-office work are becoming the norm in many business organizations worldwide. Employees benefit from the flexible working arrangements that the hybrid work offers, but they often navigate in uncertainty in terms of legal protection and contractual arrangements, even in the EU (European Union). WB (Western Balkan) countries have embraced hybrid work with a constant effort to align their policy and legal framework to the EU standards, as pressing requisites of EU integration aspirations. This study aims to explore the readiness of WB countries’ national legal and policy frameworks to regulate hybrid work through mapping and analyzing the dimensions of hybrid work in national legal and policy frameworks through a comparative legal and policy analysis. Results reveal that in the majority of the legal frameworks of WB countries, there is no specific definition of hybrid work, and legal arrangements on homework or telework can be found in the legal frameworks of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Employees’ working conditions, work-life balance, gender aspect, and well-being are not fully addressed. Policy instruments remain underdeveloped, with Serbia being the only country with significant labor reform progress. National legal frameworks need further harmonization, whereas national policies need to tailor proper policy instruments that address hybrid work. Received: 17 January 2026 / Revised: 24 February 2026 / Accepted: 7 March 2026 / Published: 25 March 2026

In its General Comment 25 (2021), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child encourages state parties to ensure the protection and upholding of children’s rights on the internet. To achieve this, a strong legislative framework is required. Therefore, this article aims to examine the degree to which children’s rights to privacy and data protection are incorporated and enshrined into the Nigerian and South African regulatory frameworks. These countries are state parties to various regional and international laws that safeguard the rights of children. The article also aims to explore relevant legislation in the European Union (EU) and the United States of America, as both are assumed to contain comprehensive provisions for protecting the right to privacy of children and protection from online abuse. The purpose is to compare the US and EU laws with the Nigerian and South African laws, detect deficiencies and/or best practices, and the key regulatory and implementation challenges of their legal frameworks. The article adopts a doctrinal approach that enables the analysis of various applicable international, regional and national legal frameworks in South Africa and Nigeria. The article finds, among others, that, although both countries have made notable progress in enacting laws safeguarding the rights of children offline and online, the legal frameworks of these countries do not adequately safeguard children’s rights to privacy in the online ecosystem. The article argues that with weak legislation, the effective protection of children’s right to privacy and their participation in the digital space may be negatively affected. Hence, a reform of the relevant laws is crucial in the two countries, and children should be consulted in the process as they possess the statutory right to be engaged in issues that concern them.

Child marriage has been an age-long problem in Ghana’s quest of protecting the rights and development of young girls. Though there are various international and domestic legal frameworks to assist the Ghana government in taking proactive steps in fighting against child marriages, there are some deep-rooted cultural practices commemorated in some Ghanaian traditional communities that seem to derail the government’s efforts. This paper aims to analyze the Boekpayoo customary ceremony organized by the Nungua Traditional Council in Ghana at the Gborbu temple on the 30th of March 2024. It offers a deeper understanding of the appropriateness and legality of the Boekpayoo customary ceremony to show how Ghana struggles to end all forms of child or early marriage. This paper puts the customary ceremony under the lens of existing domestic and international legal frameworks and cultural anthropology perspectives. This paper has relied on and has been critically analyzed through secondary data from national and international legal instruments, cultural anthropology literature, and news reports. This study revealed that the procedure for the Boekpayoo ceremony, as well as the fitting appointment for occupying the position of Naa Yoomo Ayemuede, is legitimate, as it helps in the preservation and promotion of the place-identity history and culture of the Ga-Dangmes. However, the timing and selection of Naa Okromo need to be analyzed as they are not in accordance with the established national and international legal frameworks.

Over the centuries, philosophers and scholars have debated and explored what drives inequity and fragmentation and their implications for justice and societal well-being. More recently, the introduction and codification of international and national legal frameworks has advanced universal rights and welfare. Research has also made an unambiguous, pragmatic case for equity and inclusion, underlining the benefits of inclusion as well as the risks attendant in exclusion. This chapter discusses philosophical foundations, scholarly analyses, and theories; the international legal framework; research showing how diverse societies benefit from varied perspectives and expertise; links between economic inclusion, on one hand, and growth and development, on the other; how exclusion results in underdevelopment, persistent pockets of poverty, economic underperformance, and disparities in income; and the implications of grievance for intractable conflict and unrelenting violence.

The rapid expansion of digital technology has transformed communication and social interaction, but it has also intensified the vulnerability of women to cybercrime. This paper critically examines the nature and extent of cybercrime victimization of women, analyzing its forms, causes, legal responses, and consequences. The study explores major cyber offences against women, including cyber stalking, cyber bullying, online sexual harassment, image-based abuse, doxxing, revenge pornography, identity theft, impersonation, and financial frauds. The research identifies key contributing factors such as technological advancements, socio-cultural conditions, psychological influences, patriarchal structures, lack of digital literacy, and the anonymity afforded to offenders in cyberspace. It evaluates the legal framework in India, with particular reference to the Information Technology Act, 2000, relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, constitutional safeguards, and the role of cyber cells and specialized agencies. Judicial approaches and landmark case laws are examined to assess the effectiveness of existing remedies and enforcement mechanisms. The paper further analyzes the profound psychological, social, economic, and privacy-related impact of cyber victimization on women, highlighting long-term trauma and mental health concerns. It also discusses critical challenges such as under-reporting of offences, investigative and jurisdictional difficulties, limited public awareness, and inadequate victim support systems. Based on its findings, the study proposes legal reforms, policy measures, technological safeguards, and victim-centric approaches to strengthen protection mechanisms and promote safer digital environments for women. The paper concludes that a comprehensive and coordinated response involving law, technology, institutions, and civil society is essential to combat cybercrime against women effectively. Keywords - Cybercrime, Women Safety, Online Harassment, Digital Victimization’ Legal Framework

Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA), including deepfake sexual abuse - where fake yet lifelike sexual content is generated of non-consenting persons - constitutes a growing form of digitally mediated gender-based violence that remains largely under-researched within non-Anglophonic contexts. This study explores how IBSA is constructed and perceived by both laypeople and lawyers in Greece, a Southern European setting characterised by economic precarity, traditional gender norms, and evolving yet challenging legal frameworks. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 21 participants either originating from or living in Greece (n = 16 lay persons, n = 5 legal professionals), we employed constructionist thematic analysis to examine how participants discursively frame IBSA, its motivations, barriers to reporting, legal challenges, and preventative measures. Five themes were identified: (1) constructions of IBSA as gendered violence motivated by control, humiliation, and financial exploitation; (2) barriers to reporting shaped by shame, stigma, and widespread mistrust in police institutions; (3) legal barriers related to financial inaccessibility and fragmented, outdated legal frameworks; (4) the central role of informal support networks alongside calls for education and public awareness; and (5) deepfake technologies as an emergent form of economic exploitation, particularly impacting sex workers within a legal vacuum. The findings highlight the need for structurally informed, context-sensitive responses to IBSA that address the intersections of gender, law, technology, and economic vulnerability.

Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA), including deepfake sexual abuse - where fake yet lifelike sexual content is generated of non-consenting persons - constitutes a growing form of digitally mediated gender-based violence that remains largely under-researched within non-Anglophonic contexts. This study explores how IBSA is constructed and perceived by both laypeople and lawyers in Greece, a Southern European setting characterised by economic precarity, traditional gender norms, and evolving yet challenging legal frameworks. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 21 participants either originating from or living in Greece (n = 16 lay persons, n = 5 legal professionals), we employed constructionist thematic analysis to examine how participants discursively frame IBSA, its motivations, barriers to reporting, legal challenges, and preventative measures. Five themes were identified: (1) constructions of IBSA as gendered violence motivated by control, humiliation, and financial exploitation; (2) barriers to reporting shaped by shame, stigma, and widespread mistrust in police institutions; (3) legal barriers related to financial inaccessibility and fragmented, outdated legal frameworks; (4) the central role of informal support networks alongside calls for education and public awareness; and (5) deepfake technologies as an emergent form of economic exploitation, particularly impacting sex workers within a legal vacuum. The findings highlight the need for structurally informed, context-sensitive responses to IBSA that address the intersections of gender, law, technology, and economic vulnerability.

Land-based sources of marine pollution pose one of the most serious threats to the marine environment of Bangladesh. While the Bay of Bengal under Bangladesh’s territory provides the whole country with numerous opportunities and hope for a sustainable future, increased marine pollution from land-based sources is making those benefits run dry. This article explores the legal standards set by Bangladesh with a particular focus on the land-based activities polluting the marine environment. It discovers that the national legal and policy framework on environmental protection addresses the issue of marine pollution from land- based activities (MPLBA) step-by-step. However, those ambitious initiatives sadly fall short of holistic implementation measures. The paper finally identifies how the existing national, regional and international legal framework can best be applied to combat marine pollution from land-based activities in Bangladesh. Dhaka University Law Journal Vol.35, Issue.2, December 2024 P. 139-165

SummaryThis chapter provides an overview of the international and regional legal and policy frameworks relevant to the prevention and management of marine litter. These instruments set the obligations and guidance for national action of participating countries. Legal and policy responses by governments provide an opportunity to address the many drivers of marine litter across the life cycle, from the design of products to the management of the waste they generate. Public awareness, consumer behaviour and industry engagement also play key roles in preventing marine litter. These interventions alone remain voluntary, fragmented and insufficient to tackle the marine litter problem. The national and/or regional responsibility of parties to prevent marine litter as established by these frameworks is not unique to the countries of Africa, and many of the barriers to effective compliance are shared with developing countries in other regions. The social context in which national implementation measures must operate can be unique to countries or regions. This chapter summarises the duties established by the legal and policy frameworks at the international and regional levels that may be applied to the issue of marine litter. It provides an African context to the barriers and drivers of effective implementation of national measures in compliance with international obligations. The scope of this chapter extends beyond the responsibility to prevent marine pollution, to establish a holistic and integrated duty of governments to provide a healthy environment and sustainable livelihoods as recognised in the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The review of these international, regional and national legal and policy frameworks therefore considers the inclusion of these broader principles to underpin prevention and management of marine litter.

The issue of uncontrollable children is no longer peculiar in the present days. Uncontrollable children can be found in almost every country across the globe. Although this issue is no longer novel, uncontrollable children are being defined and treated differently in different jurisdictions. On this note, numerous international legal instruments have been adopted to protect the welfare of all children which includes the protection on the uncontrollable children. This article aims to comparatively analyse the available provisions extracted from international legal instruments that form part of the international legal framework on uncontrollable children with the Malaysian legal framework regarding uncontrollable children to analyse the consistency between the former and the latter legal frameworks. The preliminary finding from this article is that the legal framework on uncontrollable children in the Child Act 2001 has substantially incorporated the proper treatment which is required by the international legal framework and is consistent with the international legal framework. This can be seen in particular following the disintegration of the treatment on uncontrollable children and juvenile offenders as well as the prioritisation of family-based care subsequent to the 2016 amendment of the Child Act 2001. This development to carry out reform process is commendable in the aspect of children’s rights and consistent with the aspiration of the international legal framework in preserving the best interest of the child which includes uncontrollable children. In reaching this finding, content analysis was carried out pertaining to the provisions of the international and Malaysian legal frameworks on the treatment of uncontrollable children which suggests that the Malaysian government has been taking some significant efforts to incorporate the international standards within its domestic law.

The principle of self-submission refers to the voluntary acceptance of a specific legal framework, particularly within Sharia economic dispute resolution. Law No. 3 of 2006 expanded the jurisdiction of Indonesia’s Religious Courts to adjudicate Sharia economic disputes, allowing non-Muslim litigants to participate under the condition of self-submission. While this legal provision promotes inclusivity, its practical application remains underexplored, particularly concerning its consistency with fundamental legal principles and its effectiveness in ensuring legal certainty. This study addresses this gap by critically examining the normative foundations and implementation of self-submission in Sharia economic dispute resolution through the lens of Lawrence M. Friedman’s legal system theory, which evaluates legal substance, legal structure, and legal culture. Employing a normative juridical approach, this research analyses statutory regulations, legal precedents, and court decisions to assess self-submission's coherence, adaptability, and limitations in Sharia economic adjudication. The findings indicate that while the principle of self-submission is structurally embedded within the legal system, its enforcement faces challenges in judicial interpretation, procedural inconsistencies, and the extent of its applicability to non-Muslim litigants. Furthermore, the study identifies gaps in legal certainty and harmonization with broader national and international legal frameworks. As a contribution to the discourse on Sharia economic law, this research proposes normative refinements and procedural enhancements to improve the clarity and effectiveness of self-submission, thereby strengthening Indonesia’s Sharia economic dispute resolution mechanism. These findings have broader implications for legal pluralism and the evolution of Sharia economic law in multi-religious societies.

Incidents of violence perpetrated through digital technology platforms or facilitated by these means have been reported, often in high-income countries. Very little scholarly attention has been given to the nature of technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA) across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite an explosion in the use of various technologies. We conducted a literature review to identify and harmonize available data relating to the types of TFVA taking place in SSA. This was followed by an online survey of young adults through the SHYad.NET forum to understand the nature of TFVA among young adults in SSA. Our literature review revealed various types of TFVA to be happening across SSA, including cyberbullying, cyberstalking, trolling, dating abuse, image-based sexual violence, sextortion, and revenge porn. The results of our online survey revealed that both young men and women experience TFVA, with the most commonly reported TFVA being receiving unwanted sexually explicit images, comments, emails, or text messages. Female respondents more often reported repeated and/or unwanted sexual requests online via email or text message while male respondents more often reported experiencing violent threats. Respondents used various means to cope with TFVA including blocking the abuser or deleting the abused profile on social media.

The rapid digital expansion in India has brought immense opportunities but has also led to an alarming rise in cybercrime, with women being disproportionately targeted. Cyber threats such as online harassment, cyber stalking, identity theft, and financial fraud have become significant concerns, exposing female users to serious psychological, financial, and social consequences. The anonymity of the internet has emboldened cybercriminals, making it easier to perpetrate crimes like morphing, revenge pornography, and deepfake manipulation, which often lead to public shaming and emotional distress. Additionally, cases of online financial fraud and phishing scams disproportionately affect women due to targeted social engineering tactics. Despite the growing threat, legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms remain inadequate in effectively addressing these crimes. While initiatives such as the Information Technology Act, 2000, and various helplines exist, challenges such as victim hesitancy, lack of digital awareness, and inefficient legal procedures hinder effective redressal. This paper explores the rising cyber threats against women in India, examines real-world case studies, and evaluates the existing legal and social response mechanisms. It further emphasizes the need for stronger cybersecurity policies, public awareness campaigns, and enhanced legal frameworks to ensure the safety and digital empowerment of women in India.