On Monday evening, September 21, 2026, a 17-year-old girl was raped in a Delhi park by three men posing as police officers. A case was registered. And the Delhi Development Authority, the government body meant to protect these parks, came up with a brilliant solution: restrict public parks after sunset. Truly groundbreaking. Because yeah, how can people perpetrate violence if access is blocked? And did they stop there? No. The college next to the park shifted classes online. What’s next? Going back and staying in the kitchen?

The women-led protests

College students came to the streets — not just over this one isolated incident, but over a pattern of incidents and government negligence. Freedom marches broke out across Delhi University through late September — LSR, Miranda House, Gargi, Kamala Nehru, slogans like “Touch grass, not women” and “Curfew for rapists, not women.”

The Supreme Court even took suo motu cognisance, meaning “on its own motion”, saying women deserve to feel safe even at night. Great. Very good. Except — were women even safe at these women-safety protests? No. On October 3, at Jantar Mantar, three female journalists came forward alleging they were sexually assaulted while covering the very protest about women’s safety. Which is just. Incredible. What exactly are we protesting for, at this point?

The meme wave

And this is where I really love Gen Z. They knew their cause, and they picked a tool that would actually catch attention: memes. “Ek kachori do samosa, in mard ka kya barosa” — one kachori, two samosas, what’s the reliability of these men? Say it with your whole chest.

Meanwhile, four days into the protests, on September 25, while DU students were marching from Kamala Nehru College’s gates, the Prime Minister, who to this day has made no public statement on Aastha Kunj, was at a Bhajan Clubbing event in Delhi, playing a hand drum and swaying to a devotional pop song. He later posted about it. Called it “spectacular.” But yeah, come on. He’s a man. It’s safe for him to be out at night.

The other side

A month ago, roughly, a granite company owner in Tamil Nadu, was arrested for abusing schoolgirls — a pattern investigators now say spans over two decades. A complaint had been filed a year prior. Police closed it, citing insufficient evidence. It took a leaked video for anyone to look again.

Then, right on cue, the men arrived. To save patriarchy.

I am not making this up. NCMIndia Council For Men Affairs — a literal nonprofit — protested for gender-neutral laws and a “National Commission for Men,” holding up a banner that said “Long Live Patriarchy.” And the part that really gets me: a woman stood up at that protest and said it herself: “In the name of equality, they don’t want to sweep, mop, wash dishes, or raise children… They just want freedom and money… That’s why we stand for Long Live Patriarchy — because it is the man who builds the home. He protects the children, the elderly, and the women; he is the protector. I have a husband. I view him as a protector.”

Wow, ma’am. The audacity. Also — since you had the time to attend this protest, you could’ve used it to sweep, mop, or keep your mouth shut. Be a better wife next time.

A month ago, roughly, a group of women were attacked for reading The Diary of a Young Girl and I Am Malala. So — take our books, take our freedom, and what’s next? Where exactly are we going? And here we thought we’d have evolved into something better by 2026.

For more stories about feminism, women’s resistance, gender-based violence, and the fight for equality, follow Fourth Wave. Also subscribe to our Livestreams, sign up for our Newsletter, and support our work promoting gender equality worldwide. And if you’ve got a story or poem that focuses on women or other targeted groups, Submit to the Wave!

An Admiration Letter to Indian Gen Z Women was originally published in Fourth Wave on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Juice jacking is one of the most innovative and modern methods of hacking gadgets such as smartphones and computers that use USB cables for data transfer and charging. New insights show that public spaces are at risk and businesses can easily be hijacked with this method. Cybercriminals are now increasingly using juice jacking to gain control over networks to target individuals, steal and manipulate data, and gain personal information through phishing methods.

What no longer happens on the streets now takes place in the infinite vastness of the worldwide web. Growing cybercrime is countered by authorities who do not have sufficient resources at their disposal and legislative restrictions that essentially stifle criminal prosecution in Germany.

Our authorities are lagging behind the growing expertise and immense power of online criminals, as well as in the areas of data security and the investigation of serious crimes affecting our IT infrastructure.

Offenders can comfortably pursue their activities online, sit back and relax in the knowledge that our authorities are powerless to stop them, and insist on the protection of their rights, which guarantees their freedom and anonymity; our law enforcement agencies are prevented from efficiently protecting our most precious assets — our lives, our wellbeing, our data, our dignity, our freedom, our families, our assets, our privacy, our identities and our property.

The precautionary storage of internet data is controversial in Germany and has repeatedly occupied the German government and courts in recent years. Due to legal uncertainties, the old regulation on data retention has not been used since 2017. Critics fear that storage will undermine fundamental rights. Cybercriminals have had years to run wild and make their victims vulnerable to extortion by leveraging their increasingly sophisticated expertise.

Cyber-crime — a bigger deal than ever in this digital age

The debate has reignited — and rightly so. All previous attempts to introduce blanket data retention without cause have been overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice. German government wants to oblige internet providers to store users IP adresses for at least three months. A rising threat for consumers or offenders?

The Federal Cabinet in Germany approved a draft on April 22, 2026. If enacted, internet-access providers would generally have to retain:

• Assigned IP addresses
• The exact assignment period, recorded to the second
• Port numbers and other data needed to identify the subscriber

The proposed retention period is three months. The stated purpose is to help investigate serious online crimes. Not enough for a complex investigation. The proposal still has to complete the legislative process, including consideration by Parliament and possible further review. The Bundestag has expressed general support but requested changes, and compatibility with EU data-retention law remains contested.

The Bundestag discussed the draft in the first reading on June, 24 2026 and referred it to the committees. It has not yet been finally adopted. The Bundesrat has also made proposals for amendments, including on the use of the data by state authorities. The Ministry of Justice in Germany considers the new law on the storage of IP addresses to be “no serious infringement of fundamental rights” and in line with constitutional and European law. Critics see an amendment to the law as an erosion of fundamental rights.

While our fundamental rights are increasingly threatened by cybercriminals, our government is struggling to enforce laws that would allow our law enforcement agencies to protect them, restore them after serious crimes, and prosecute crimes. Where citizens, companies, institutions, and authorities are completely at the mercy of the technical expertise of online criminals, where the confidentiality of communications is not guaranteed in the slightest, where movement and personality profiles are created, and where data is spied on, delivered, and traded “on demand” on a silver platter, it is very obvious whose rights are being protected — those of offenders. How are investigators supposed to successfully solve complex and serious international crimes within three months when they are dealing with criminal actors who are highly skilled in technology?

The precautionary storage of IP addresses is intended to make it easier for investigators to solve crimes on the Internet. In the fight against cybercrime, investigative authorities have long been calling for access to more data — reasonably. Internet Protocol addresses, or IP addresses play a central role in investigations of cybercrime.

IP addresses are only stored temporarily, can change frequently. They are often insufficient for solving a crime, but much needed in the process. Bypassing IP addresses is part of everyday life for cybercriminals. I doubt that this will intimidate them in the slightest. Cybercriminals don’t see themselves as individuals who break the law as long as they don’t get caught. Should our investigators tap into the expertise of cybercriminals by hiring the people they hunt? It would be an interesting approach to get cybercriminals to switch sides — moving from committing serious crimes to pursuing those who commissioned them — especially in areas where “Crime-as-a-Service” is utilized.

With the new legislation, investigators would then be able to access this data in the future as before if there is a concrete initial suspicion of a crime and the query is necessary for solving it. For IT-savvy journalists, data retention does not provide sufficient leverage for efficient law enforcement. Well-trained investigators in digital forensics, changes in law enforcement practices, and more public education are needed.

In political debates, shouldn’t critical parties also take a look at the statistics from our law enforcement agencies?

Consider the financial losses, the crimes, and violations of fundamental rights in cyberspace. The limited capabilities of our law enforcement agencies and the superiority of offenders on the internet? Are the devastating effects of computer crime as financial crimes, child pornography, abuse, exploitation, hate speech, identity theft and fraud on individuals, companies, and authorities, as well as the apparent undermining of justice and democracy, now being weighed against alleged “mass surveillance”? It would be appropriate to make the reality of those affected more present in political debates so that even those who have not yet experienced it themselves can understand what it means to lose an identity, be a victim of child pornography, or lose all your assets to cybercrime.

Why should you care about juice jacking?

I am writing this article at a special request and recommendation, as the topic in the circle of data security activism is described as “hot stuff”, new, particularly underestimated in Germany, and little information is available to consumers about it, while the number affected of cybercrime, identity theft and unauthorized restriction of freedom is rising.

I have examined studies for this topic, the legal aspects, the situation, and experiences of those affected by cyber criminality, and exchanged thoughts with journalists on this topic in Germany.

Are our basic requirements for data security in place on a systemic — as well as local — level?

We do it every day in different places — charging our cell phones — quickly, conveniently, and completely harmlessly. In our own homes, at a public charging station at the airport, in the hotel lobby, or in a café. We would never think it possible that behind an innocent-looking power outlet could lurk a growing risk for data theft.

In the US and India, people are already aware of this new risk, but here in Germany, the advantages of technology seem to overshadow the security gaps for our data, while banks and public institutions are issuing warnings in other countries already.

Smartphones, laptops, and tablets are no longer just used for communication; nowadays, we use them for everything from booking tickets to shopping and everything else we can do on our cell phones. Even payment transactions, visits to government offices, and tax matters can be handled via our smartphones. They are considered a prime target.

Access to IT systems in preparation for data espionage before, manipulation and data theft, happens while charging smartphones, laptops, or tablets at public charging stations or compromised networks via wired networks, such as fiber telecommunication networks. This practice is not new, but the number of such cases is increasing. The FBI and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warned of the dangers of juice jacking as early as 2023.

In a juice jacking cyberattack, attackers use power grids to access highly confidential data, steal data, manipulate connections, and install malware (like codes, Trojans, spyware, keyloggers) in a targeted and undetected manner. Users are unaware that their sensitive personal data has actually been stolen in this type of attack. They have no idea that their personal data has been compromised. Attackers even have the ability to copy all data on a device if they have enough time. Antivirus programs do not protect against juice jacking attacks.

Not every disruption means that you have been the victim of a cyberattack, but certain signs warrant a closer look. Most people only notice when it is too late. In most cases, fraudsters use software to access their victims’ passwords, account details, and other personal data as soon as their devices are connected to one of the ports.

Juice jacking is a security vulnerability that exploits compromised USB charging points to attack connected devices. It can happen at public charging stations, but is also seen in targeted home or business networks.

Environmental Technology

Are our power grids safe and are telecommunication networks in private homes and in public places safe?

There is no simple answer. When devices are connected to a tampered port, they not only draw power, but may also unknowingly open a data connection that allows malware to be installed on a device or data to be stolen directly. A connection then opens a data path, not just a power path. It is a special challenge to buy a USB cable in Germany that is “only” used for power supply. The safest and most reliable way to charge a smartphone, laptop, or tablet is to connect it to a standard wall outlet using your own charging cable and power adapter. Wall outlets typically only supply power (no data), and using your own charger eliminates the risk of data theft or malware via public USB ports or tampered cables.

A standard method for transferring data is the USB port. The cable connection allows not only access to the smartphone, but also data exchange. This causes a mobile device to appear as an external drive. Ports are therefore not only used for power supply, but also for data transfer. Data connections that are specifically exploited by cybercriminals. A USB port with five connection points is a prime example of “juice jacking” technology, as only one connection is needed to charge a connected device and two of the other four connections are used for data transfer. Public USB charging stations can be manipulated to install malware or steal data.

With the help of new, modern fiber optic cable technology, cybercriminals can use juice jacking to access devices as if they were in a network environment. With the right tools and a little technical knowledge, anyone can install fiber optic cable in their home. In targeted attacks, supposed repairmen or technicians usually show up at the door and tamper with the cables, not to repair, but to install the environmental technology for data exploitation. The rest is done online or in the direct neighborhood.

A complicating factor is that, in the event of a crime, affected are unable to defend themselves, call for help, or receive support. The technology ensures a total isolation of individuals and businesses affected. The plea for help goes unheard — even if a report is filed. From the doorbell and telephone availability to connected computers — communication and all devices are completely monitored and controlled by criminals.

Type of juice jacking attacks

1. Data theft (passive juice jacking), secret data interception
   A smartphone/laptop/tablet is connected to a manipulated port. Without any visible signs, data and confidential information are tapped from a device by an attacker. This can include contacts, emails, text messages, photos, or even login details stored in the browser or other apps.
2. Malware installation (active juice jacking)
   The attacker uses the connection to install malware on a device. This malware can operate unnoticed in the background, log keystrokes, monitor activities, or send data to an external server. In some cases, it can even lead to you being locked out of your own device or hackers being granted remote access so that apps and settings can be manipulated without your knowledge.
3. Multi-device attack (one device becomes an accomplice)
   After infection via a compromised charging station, a device can transmit malware to other devices via shared cables or connections. A device effectively becomes a carrier and spreads the infection further.

Have you been “juice jacked”?

There are some tell-tale signs of being juice jacked — but these are only precautionary red flags, not the source:

• Unusual battery consumption? Your smartphone/laptop/tablet loses battery power much faster than usual, even during normal use.
• Overheating? Even if you are not running demanding apps, the device gets hot.
• Performance issues? frozen pages, apps take longer to open, sudden crashes.
• Pop-ups or ads? Strange ads, pop-ups, or redirects appear when you’re browsing or using apps.
• New or unknown apps? Apps appear that you didn’t download yourself.
• High data consumption? Your mobile data consumption increases inexplicably.-
• Changed settings? Things like your home page, default apps, or security settings have been changed without your knowledge.
• Unusual background activity? You notice background processes even though you are not currently using your smartphone.

When a device is connected to a USB port and you are asked whether you want to “trust this computer” or “share data,” you should better select “No” or “Charge only”.

Source of data and further reading

The Cyber Crime of Juice Jacking in Developing Economies: Susceptibilities, Consequences and Control Measures, November 2021 (European Journal of Information Technologies and Computer Science): John Adinya Odey, University of Calabar/ Bamidele Ola, University of the Cumberlands, Iwinosa Airen Agbonlahor/ Morgan State University

For more stories about cybercrime and its potential human rights violations, follow FOURTH WAVE. Also subscribe to our LIVESTREAMS, sign up for our NEWSLETTER, and SUPPORT our work promoting gender equality worldwide. And if you’ve got a story or poem that focuses on women or other targeted groups, SUBMIT to the Wave!

Electronic Surveillance and Data Theft: A New-Age Threat was originally published in Fourth Wave on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In March of 1972, a twenty-five-year-old woman from Isabela, Puerto Rico, gave birth to a baby girl a world away in Plainfield, New Jersey. This young Puerto Rican woman gave the baby up for adoption through Catholic Adoptions. The baby was placed with a couple in nearby Edison, New Jersey. Catholic Adoptions told (lied to) the white/Anglo couple that the baby was of “Mediterranean origin.” I am that baby.

I learned of my Hispanic/Latina ancestry through genetic testing in my forties. Later on, I obtained my original birth record and discovered my birth mother was born in Isabela, Puerto Rico.

Curiosity drove me to do some research about the cultural and political landscape in the 60s and 70s that might have driven a young Puerto Rican woman to give up a baby for adoption. In this research, I learned about the sterilization practices/policies on the island, and that Puerto Rican women were also the subjects of early research in the development of oral contraceptives.

The consequences of U.S. imperialism in the 1900s, specifically the Jones Act and Operation Bootstrap, were policies that benefited the U.S. and not Puerto Ricans, and paved the way for the reproductive politics that pushed the sterilization of Puerto Rican women and treated them like lab rats in the early development of oral contraceptives.

When I first learned about the sterilization practices, or as they call it in Puerto Rico, La Operación, it wasn’t long after the Dobbs Decision overturned Roe v. Wade, so bodily autonomy was top of mind. I’m a firm believer in bodily autonomy, and I couldn’t help but think that, like the Dobbs Decision, the push for the sterilization of Puerto Rican women was yet another example of those in power attempting to control women’s bodies and/or blame them for societal and economic issues. I recommend watching the 1982 documentary La Operación by Ana María García, which paints a picture of the mass sterilization efforts of the 1950s and 1960s.

Author and academic Laura Briggs has said it best: “All politics is reproductive politics.” Laura Briggs’s book, Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico, was a resource I turned to for more on this consequential topic. Between 1930 and 1970, over a third of Puerto Rican women had undergone tubal ligation, a significantly higher number than that of women in the States. However, the sterilization push was not limited to Puerto Rican women, but also to indigenous women, disabled women, and those with mental illness in the States.

Some in power deemed Puerto Rico overpopulated and pushed for sterilization as a means to help reduce poverty. Others adopted the eugenics angle, that Puerto Ricans were less than and therefore disposable. Some Puerto Ricans view this as tantamount to genocide. On the flip side, some women were glad to have the option to limit their family size or to not have children at all.

It seemed to me that the people in power, who were promoting sterilization to reduce poverty, chose to blame women for the economic woes of Puerto Rico rather than the economic policies that did not benefit the people of Puerto Rico and caused the poverty in the first place.

Beyond the horrific eugenics of it all, some women were pressured or coerced, at the very least, while others were subjected to the decisions of a eugenics board and were forced to be sterilized. Some women were paid to undergo the operation. Many women were not given informed consent and were unaware that the procedure was irreversible or were lied to and told that it was reversible. I have read accounts where women went in for an unrelated procedure and came out sterilized without their consent.

As if this were not enough of a horror, Clarence Gamble, heir to Procter and Gamble and a fervent eugenicist, funded and ran birth control clinics in Puerto Rico. He saw Puerto Rican women as fertile testing grounds for the secretive and unethical testing of early oral contraceptives. Puerto Rican women were once again denied informed consent and were not made aware of the potential side effects from the high doses of hormones. Three women died, and many others suffered considerable side effects, but Gamble’s only interest was efficacy in preventing pregnancy.

Birth control options are certainly an important part of women’s bodily autonomy in our modern world, but there was a great price paid by many Puerto Rican women in developing these options. In my eyes, it’s a crime that these women were treated as disposable. I wish more people knew about this dark, unfortunate history and the debt we owe to those women.

I also can’t help but draw parallels to the current state of affairs in the U.S. Those in power today are trying their very best to strip away the hard-fought rights of women. From overturning Roe v. Wade, attempting to restrict voting rights, and making it harder to get an education by changing regulations for student loans for those pursuing more traditionally female-dominated fields. The inherent sexism in these policies could not be more obvious.

The continued perpetuation of rape-culture and not holding men accountable for committing crimes demonstrates how women are still considered less than in our world. The treatment of immigrants as disposable is because those in power fear that they will be replaced by black and brown people as our population demographics change. It all comes back to reproduction, gender, and race disparities. Sadly, the same old story.

I’ve heard people hypothesize that the extreme politics that we are living through today just might be the extinction burst of the patriarchy. I truly didn’t expect in my lifetime to be in a period where women’s rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and immigrants’ rights would be backsliding so spectacularly. I desperately hope the midterms will bring us closer to an off-ramp to escape from this mess we’re in.

For more on this topic:

Briggs, Laura. Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico. University of California Press, 2002.

How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics By Laura Briggs. https://www.societyandspace.org/articles/how-all-politics-became-reproductive-politics-by-laura-briggs.

Hudes, Quiara Alegría. #OurMothersToo: Reckoning With My Abuela’s Coerced Sterilization. 17 June 2021. www.thenation.com, https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ourmotherstoo-reckoning-with-my-abuelas-coerced-sterilization/.

Kent, M. “Survey Report: Puerto Rico.” Population Today, vol. 15, no. 2, Feb. 1987, p. 4.

La Operación. Directed by Ana María García, Latin American Film Project/Cinema Guild, 1982.

mshgerty@uwm.edu. “Eugenics and Reproductive Coercion in Puerto Rico.” Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, 28 Apr. 2022, https://uwm.edu/clacs/eugenics-and-reproductive-coercion-in-puerto-rico/.

“They Call It La Operación” | New Internationalist. 5 Oct. 1987, https://newint.org/features/1987/10/05/call.

Walker, DeArbea. “Between 1930 and 1970, Around One Third of All Women in Puerto Rico Were Sterilized to Address Concerns of ‘Surplus Population.’” Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/women-puerto-rico-sterilized-birth-control-history-operation-bootstrap-2023-12.

About me

I’m a music junkie, an author, science teacher, Flamenco dancer, former marching band geek, and forever a Punk Rock Jersey Girl. I’m the author of a two-volume book series: In Between Shows, The A Sides and The B Sides. Think Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret meets Freaks and Geeks with a killer punk rock soundtrack. A coming-of-age tale that celebrates the late eighties punk/alternative music scene.

I’m currently in the query trenches for my next novel, A Year in My Life, the story of a young Puerto Rican woman on a quest to become a musician. It celebrates the Latin and rock-and-roll music of the 50s and 60s and sheds light on the forgotten history of sterilization and birth control development in Puerto Rico.

For more stories about reproductive justice, bodily autonomy, women’s rights, and the history of systemic oppression, follow Fourth Wave. Also subscribe to our Livestreams, sign up for our Newsletter, and support our work promoting gender equality worldwide. And if you’ve got a story or poem that focuses on women or other targeted groups, Submit to the Wave!

The Politics of Reproduction in Puerto Rico and the U.S was originally published in Fourth Wave on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.