<p class="title">The name of the eight-year-old Kathua rape victim is trending not just on social media but also on a porn site.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Monday, it had topped the list of the most-searched names on a porn site, triggering surprise and outrage.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An official at the Centre for Internet and Society in Bengaluru attributes the curiosity to a “depraved, messed-up” mind.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Swaraj Barooah, senior programme manager at the centre, says, “It takes numbers to make something trend online.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">He attributes the unhealthy curiosity in rape footage to a lack of proper sex education in schools.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Violent acts are ingrained in the power politics and hierarchy of our society, he observes.</p>.<blockquote><p class="bodytext">“There are two categories that are widely searched online --- revenge and brutality porn. While revenge porn is usually uploaded by couples who break up, brutality porn is done without recognising the humanity of the person involved,” Barooah says.</p><p class="bodytext">Psychiatrists think people who search for rape videos have a “sick and deviant” mind.</p></blockquote>.<p class="bodytext">Dr Roshan Jain, senior psychiatrist, Apollo Hospital, thinks it calls for stringent punishment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The main problem with the Internet is that is it freely accessible and available on every device that we hold in our hands or carry in our bags. A click of a button will take you to millions of websites,” he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Watching brutality porn can become an addiction. “It is disturbing to know that such content has many takers,” he says.</p>.<h3 class="bodytext"><strong>Peer pressure</strong></h3>.<p>Counsellors working with Makkala Sahayavani (child helpline) say Bengaluru has its share of teenagers being treated for depression after watching porn sites.</p>.<p>“We have come across at least 10 cases in the last six months,” says a senior counsellor.</p>.<p>Because of peer pressure, children consider it fashionable to view pornography, and then experience guilt and low moods.</p>.<h3><strong>Two years in jail</strong></h3>.<p>Uploading and sharing pornography, especially child pornography, is taken seriously by the law.</p>.<p>“Downloading child pornography is an offence because it amounts to abetting a crime. It could attract a two-year term. The punishment differs on what roles are played in taking the crime forward,” says an officer.</p>
<p class="title">The name of the eight-year-old Kathua rape victim is trending not just on social media but also on a porn site.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Monday, it had topped the list of the most-searched names on a porn site, triggering surprise and outrage.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An official at the Centre for Internet and Society in Bengaluru attributes the curiosity to a “depraved, messed-up” mind.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Swaraj Barooah, senior programme manager at the centre, says, “It takes numbers to make something trend online.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">He attributes the unhealthy curiosity in rape footage to a lack of proper sex education in schools.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Violent acts are ingrained in the power politics and hierarchy of our society, he observes.</p>.<blockquote><p class="bodytext">“There are two categories that are widely searched online --- revenge and brutality porn. While revenge porn is usually uploaded by couples who break up, brutality porn is done without recognising the humanity of the person involved,” Barooah says.</p><p class="bodytext">Psychiatrists think people who search for rape videos have a “sick and deviant” mind.</p></blockquote>.<p class="bodytext">Dr Roshan Jain, senior psychiatrist, Apollo Hospital, thinks it calls for stringent punishment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“The main problem with the Internet is that is it freely accessible and available on every device that we hold in our hands or carry in our bags. A click of a button will take you to millions of websites,” he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Watching brutality porn can become an addiction. “It is disturbing to know that such content has many takers,” he says.</p>.<h3 class="bodytext"><strong>Peer pressure</strong></h3>.<p>Counsellors working with Makkala Sahayavani (child helpline) say Bengaluru has its share of teenagers being treated for depression after watching porn sites.</p>.<p>“We have come across at least 10 cases in the last six months,” says a senior counsellor.</p>.<p>Because of peer pressure, children consider it fashionable to view pornography, and then experience guilt and low moods.</p>.<h3><strong>Two years in jail</strong></h3>.<p>Uploading and sharing pornography, especially child pornography, is taken seriously by the law.</p>.<p>“Downloading child pornography is an offence because it amounts to abetting a crime. It could attract a two-year term. The punishment differs on what roles are played in taking the crime forward,” says an officer.</p>