Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo join hands for #IndiaAgainstAbuse

Sayani Gupta and Maanvi Gagroo are heading the campaign against online abuse. (Photo: Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo/Instagram)
Actors Sayani Gupta and Maanvi Gagroo, along with entrepreneur Nikhil Taneja, have joined hands to put an end to toxicity on social media. The trio has started the #IndiaAgainstAbuse campaign to make the internet a safer place for women.

Talking about the campaign, Sayani said, “There is so much toxicity, targeted abuse, bullying and harassment on social media, especially of women. This has escalated in the last few years. But ever since the lockdown, this has grown drastically.” The actor added that until now, she was reporting and blocking them, and suggested everyone she knew to do the same. But a recent incident “shook” her and she decided that “something needs to be done.”

Sayani Gupta mentioned a recent incident where a stand-up comic had to face rape and death threats on social media. The Four More Shots Please actor said, “It is so scathing. Somebody has gone to the extent of openly giving rape and death threats. That’s when you realise that it is happening because there are no repercussions. Anyone can get away by doing anything because nobody knows where they are. Great that this guy was arrested, but these are bailable offences. They will get out in a few hours or the next day, and they might do the same thing again. In fact, after this (incident), this guy’s following on Instagram increased.”

Sayani shared that she spoke to a few of her friends, and that is when her Four More Shots Please co-star Maanvi Gagroo suggested that they work on this campaign together. Uptil now, they have gotten over twelve thousand signatories which includes film personalities like Swara Bhasker, Sonam Kapoor, Vikramaditya Motwane, Kabir Khan, among many others. The actor revealed they have already joined hands with Change.org for #IndiaAgainstAbuse.

Sayani said what they ultimately want, is to make the virtual world a cleaner space. “We are talking to government bodies who work towards the welfare of women and children. The idea is to make it a cleaner environment.”

The actor added, “If somebody can spew venom on your social media, then why can’t you make sure that they are punished in some way. Either their account is suspended, or they are given a warning, or the platforms do a hygiene check and not let people who are serial offenders make another account.”

Sayani Gupta concluded by saying that she is already in talks with Instagram and Facebook and hopes that something good comes out of this endeavour. “All we want is platforms to take accountability,” she signed off.

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