Bollywood expresses shock over 'Boys Locker Room' controversy

Leaked screenshots of a private Instagram chat group of teenage students stirred up a storm over rape culture in India

Delhi police, on Tuesday, were investigating an online chat group that made light of gang-rape and caused a backlash on social media over trivialising sexual assault, with one teenage boy questioned.

An Instagram chat group called “bois locker room” was the top trending hashtag on Twitter India, with many tweets using screenshots from the group to highlight derogatory comments made about women, sexism or victim-blaming.


Bollywood expressed shock and concern over the mindset of certain teenage boys in Delhi after the Boys Locker Room controversy exploded.

Leaked screenshots of a private Instagram chat group comprising some teenage school students from the Capital has stirred up a storm over rape culture in India. Many of these boys were allegedly seen sharing photos of underage girls, objectifying them, and planning "gang rapes".

"This a multi-faceted problem. Because everyone is still squeamish about sex education in our populous/moralistic country, teenagers are confusing porn for sex education! And now data is free. How dangerous! This will explode in our faces in the next five years sadly, I reckon," tweeted Richa Chadha.

https://twitter.com/RichaChadha/status/1257551313518366720

Swara Bhasker expressed: "#boyslockerroom a telling tale of how toxic masculinity starts young! Underage boys gleefully planning how to rape & gangrape minor girls. Parents and teachers must address this with those Kids. Not enough to ‘hang rapists'. we must attack the mentality that creates rapists!"

#boyslockerroom a telling tale of how toxic masculinity starts young! Underage boys gleefully planning how to rape & gangrape minor girls. Parents & teachers must address this with those Kids.. Not enough to ‘hang rapists’ .. we must attack the mentality that creates rapists! https://t.co/Jw4cFQ9gXM

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) May 5, 2020

Chandan Roy Sanyal shared: "15-year-old School Boys from distinguished Delhi schools talk about raping the girls in their own class. Shocked to the core !!"

15 year old School Boys from distinguished delhi schools talk about raping the girls in their own class. Shocked to the core !!

— CRS (@IamRoySanyal) May 5, 2020

Meanwhile, the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police has detained a 15-year-old student of a prominent school in South Delhi in connection with the Instagram chat group where rapes were glorified and photos of underage girls were being shared and objectified. Twenty-two other boys have also have been identified.

Sexual violence against women has become a major issue in India since 2012 gang-rape and murder of a woman on a bus in New Delhi that prompted tough new laws, but implementation has been poor and the attacks showed no signs of let-up.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.