Cyber crimes, cyber harassment and cyber behavioural aberrations are here to stay in this world which is absolutely dependent on the World Wide Web for its day to day business. Cyber issues were once limited to hacking and subsequent financial crimes but now has grown to increase its social impact to such an extent that 26% of the suicides that happen across the globe are now attributed to cyber causes. 

The mobile phone is another instrument which has toppled the equations of safety in public places and now even in the privacy of one’s homes. There have been several incidents where private moments of married people have been copied on cell phones and used in pornographic representations.

The basic issue on the web could be a hacked Facebook or Orkut account, and related harassment including morphing of photos in the account for blackmailing the victim financially or emotionally and in some cases both. Ignorance about how to deal with the situation and the extent of social damage that would ensue as also fear of social ostracization following the public exhibition of such objects. This usually leads to a lot of stress and lack of guidance on who could help the victims have been reasons for suicides. In Kerala alone, in the period of 2008-2010, there have been 45 suicides related to cyber causes.  

In case of the younger generation, teenagers and youth who are the most active on the cyber circuit, fear of parental strictures keep them from discussing the problems with them. Teachers too often fall into the same genre. The worst comes from the fact that neither of these groups are equipped to help because a good majority of parents and teachers are not cyber-savvy and cannot advise effective measures. Most of them are unsure and ignorant about what counselling can be effective here and unaware to gauge the extent of damage already done. In many cases such half-knowledge has resulted in destruction of evidence in the belief that this would put an end to the issues. But later this has been found to be the main obstruction in police enquiries when things get out of hand and the authorities are called in at last. Asking help from the police is usually avoided by any common man for fear of publicity and media coverage as also enquiries into one’s activities which may turn out to be not legal after all, even unknowingly. 

All this points to the need of an interface between a victim and authorities which is in the form of an expert who can offer guidance on cyber issues. It has been found that many of the issues which resulted in suicides have been relatively simple issues which have no gigantic dimensions and it was the ignorance of the victim and his/her advisors which aggravated the situation.

This cyber help line in Kerala endeavours to help victims of cyber issues through guidance over a toll free helpline and help them judge the gravity of the trouble they are in and attempt a solution which could be a mere blocking of a mail id or perhaps registering a complaint with the police. The cyber cell of the police department has a spectacular role in keeping such issues under control and helping to maintain a social health.