Cybercrime and Cybersecurity: An Appraisal of Gender Based Offences

Despite the advancement and development of society, crime is nonetheless pervasive and destructive. As technology and crime detection techniques advance, criminals also come up with new strategies to circumvent these systems. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and access points have significantly increased in Nigeria as a result of the country's rapidly growing internet usage, which has benefited the socioeconomic and educational development of the nation. Although cyberspace provides women with safe spaces for private communication, information access, and freedom of expression, the same anonymity and privacy also allow those who abuse information and communication technology (ICT) to commit crimes, including violence against women. By including cyber-based abuse and emphasising the difficulties women encounter in addressing this changing manifestation of gender inequality, this work explored new analytical viewpoints on violence against women. In order to ensure thorough analysis, the study used doctrinal research strategy, that is, consulting primary and secondary legal sources, including legislation, official statistics, treaties, conventions, protocols, court rulings, and declassified government papers. The results showed that violence against women is still pervasive, that women continue to face obstacles as workers and business owners, and that in many communities, women do not participate equally in household, community, workplace, and national decision-making. As a result, the study suggested that individuals in charge of digital content creation, technology infrastructure, and the larger enabling environment of cyberspace should make protecting the safety and dignity of women and girls a top priority. Ignoring this obligation compromises the internet's ability to promote women's empowerment and gender equality. In order to guarantee proper protection and efficient remedies, the study also underpinned the necessity of comprehensive criminal law that specifically targets the many types of online violence against women.