RSTV: THE BIG PICTURE- STOP THE BRUTALITY
Introduction:
The issue of the heinous rape and murder of a Hyderabad veterinary doctor was raised in both houses of the Parliament. In the Rajya Sabha, lawmakers across party lines condemned the gruesome act and called for stricter laws against perpetrators. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah also spoke about the dastardly crime and said ‘What is required is not a new bill. What is required is political will, administrative skill, change of mindset and then go for the kill of the social evil. The burnt body of the veterinary doctor was found at Shadnagar outskirts in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district. As per the preliminary probe, the police suspect that the doctor was sexually assaulted before being charred to death. The police arrested four persons involved in the alleged rape and murder case of the veterinary doctor. Meanwhile, the body of a six-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped and strangled to death with her school belt, was found in Tonk district of Rajasthan. Police have arrested one person in connection which the brutal crime. The accused has been identified as 38-year-old Mahendra alias Dholiya.
Related Alarming Figures:
- 1 in 3 women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most frequently by an intimate partner.
- 71% of all human trafficking victims worldwide are women and girls, and 3 out of 4 of these women and girls are sexually exploited.
- Average time to conclude a rape case in India it takes 7-10 years.
- Out of 100 victims, 9 do not report the crimes because they do not have faith in the justice delivery system.
Reasons for assault on women:
- Sexual brutality is thus not an afterthought: it is the quintessential form of political privilege and social authority in our social context.
- Verbal and physical acts of sexualised humiliation and violence directed at the lower castes and Dalits are necessary for the survival of caste society and increasingly so, in the face of challenges and resistance.
- Birth-based superiority, illegitimate as it is, cannot be sustained, unless it is renewed day in and day out through a combination of patent lies and brute force.
- Rape victims are often encouraged by village elders and clan councils to “compromise” with the family of accused and drop charges or even to marry the attacker.
- Such compromises are aimed at keeping the peace between families or clan groups. What’s more, a girl’s eventual prospects of marriage are thought to be more important than bringing a rapist to justice.
- India’s court system is painfully slow, in part because of a shortage of judges. The country has about 15 judges for every 1 million people, while China has 159. A Delhi high court judge once estimated it would take 466 years to get through the backlog in the capital alone.
Society must be to Change:
- Social commitment and fear is absent in today’s society
- We need to provide children with greater parental guidance.
- In families, there should also be a relationship of authority and respect between parents and their children.
- Due to the patriarchal mindsets, for every rape reported, there are so many which go unrecorded.
- Men are more likely to perpetrate violence if they have low education, a history of child maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence against their mothers, harmful use of alcohol, unequal gender norms including attitudes accepting of violence, and a sense of entitlement over women.
- National Family Health Survey-4 revealed that every third married woman had experienced physical and/or sexual violence, but only 1.5% had sought help from the police.
- Proper quality education with high morals should become the responsibility of the Government. Education from childhood should involve gender sensitization.
- Changes in school and college syllabi to educate young people on the social values of equality and respect for women’s autonomy are needed.
Suggestions and Way Forward:
- Awareness about gender equality and women’s rights should be instilled in boys and girls from a very early age in order to bring about a change in the mindset of the future generation.
- Health care support
- Counseling
- There should be a special court with a woman judge and magistrate in each district.
- Mobile courts should be introduced as an effective strategy to provide justice to the victims.
- Government should ensure proper enforcement of existing laws.
- Women should be made aware of Women’s commission
- Offices of the Women’s commission should be opened at the district and lower levels.
- Police should be trained to be respectful and courteous to women in distress.
- A separate wing of police may opened for dealing with women’s issues, in all police stations and personnel of this wing should be exempted from other duties
- Media should be used to sensitise the officials and the public about violence so as to develop a positive attitude towards women in general, and women victims, in particular
- Censoring of the programmes should be implemented effectively, so that violence and negative impact programmes do not get undue attention of the public
- Strengthening research and research capacity to assess interventions to address partner violence.
- Women should be respected at home. When women are respected at home, then children also learn about the importance of respecting women. Parents cannot treat their sons and daughters differently.
- Gender-sensitization programmes should also be started for males of family, police personnel, medical fraternity etc. Police apathy, especially when a woman approaches the police should be worked upon.
- The misuse of technology has resulted in many crimes. The right use of technology needs to be emphasized.
- People should be made about Zero FIR.
