The rise and rapid evolution of technology has brought with it greater access to information and insights from around the world. But for all the benefits that provides, it also has a dark side.

As the country moves toward a more modernised future, its young and fast-growing population is embracing the whistles and bells of technology. Now, despite a ban on pornography, India is the third-leading consumer of such online content, surpassed only by the United States and the UK.

Dainik Bhaskar noticed that, in addition to a rise in pornography consumption, assaults on females were growing, too. India has one of the most unsafe environments for women, with a female being raped every 15 minutes. Rape is the fourth most-common crime against women in the country, and the most common way for officials to address the problem is to punish an offender when they’re caught.

Because this approach seemed to be doing little to curb the problem, DB chose a different approach: To get to the root of the problem, which is linked to the excess consumption of pornography.

DB noted that the rise in rape cases paralleled the consumption of Internet data. With the recent addition of 4G networks, which provided online access to more regions, and the availability of such things as cheap mobile data, free WiFi, and easily affordable smartphones, online pornography is more accessible than ever. Most of the perpetrators accused in rape and assault cases could be linked back to overconsumption of porn, and that became the newspaper’s focus.

Building education and awareness

To provide education on how pornography equates to female sexual assault and to raise awareness about how prevalent the problem is, DB launched its “Say No to Porn” campaign.

The campaign took a multi-faceted approach, beginning with an editorial campaign featuring reports and articles that took a deep dive into the problem. Experts from areas including information technology, cybersecurity, and legal weighed in with their perspectives as well.

DB then took the conversation to the masses through talk shows and discussions that were designed to engage and inform the public. The entire campaign gained more traction when it was backed by VIPs, influencers, and opinion-makers from different states. DB also established a “missed call” phone number, in which people could call and hang up as a way to show that they supported the effort.  

The campaign ran in 12 states an in 65 editions including Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi. As a result of this campaign, 190,000 people gave their support via missed call, 117,000 people signed the online petition to ban all porn Web sites, and an untold number learned what they could do to help bring an end to this problem.

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