The ghastly rape and murder of a young physician in a Kolkata hospital shook the nation. Clearly serious gender violence seems to be on the rise — rape, acid attacks, molestation, honour killings etc. Whenever particularly heinous offences take place, stricter laws are enacted, greater punishment is provided, and often extra-judicial killings are encouraged with societal sanction. But are our children and women any safer? What do we need to do?
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveal that annually about 30,000 rapes are reported in our country. Many experts believe that all over the world a majority of rapes go unreported. Even in India only about 25-30% of rapes are reported. The world over, many more rapes are reported per unit population. The United Kingdom, with a population of 65 million, reports about 16,000 rapes annually, and the United States, with a population of about 330 million, reports about 100,000 cases. But this lower incidence is no cause of comfort to us, because even one case of sexual violence is one too many, and cannot be tolerated.
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We have become more sensitive to sexual violence and less tolerant of it in recent years. In the past our criminal justice system often shamed the victim, accused her of somehow ‘inviting’ attention of predators, and let off criminals on some specious pretext or other. Mercifully, after several missteps, the laws have been strengthened, and the courts have been adopting a more sensitive and victim-friendly approach.
There is certainly a case for death penalty in extreme cases. But mere harsher punishment on statute books will not deter the criminals. Even as the mass protests after the Abhaya incident are going on, the media reported that in Rajasthan, several rapists have been now convicted more than three decades after their crimes came to light! More than 130,000 rape cases are pending in trial courts right now. Swift, sure and stern punishments should be the norm at least in case of heinous offences like rape. Our justice system is in shambles. Over 50 million cases are pending in our courts, about two-thirds being criminal cases. We only spend 0.7% of GDP on law enforcement including crime investigation, forensics, prosecution and courts, as opposed to 1.5 to 2.5% spent in countries that enforce law effectively.
We need to overhaul the whole justice system — civil and criminal — including investigation, forensics, procedures, prosecution and judiciary. Might has become right in India, and armed goondas and organised criminals have become the ‘undeclared judges’ dispensing rough and ready justice for a price, largely as a response to failure of rule of law. Sadly, rule of law is not on the agenda of any political party. At the very least we need to ensure prompt, fair and effective investigation, vigorous prosecution, speedy trial and swift and sure justice in courts in respect of heinous offences like rape, murder, abduction for a ransom etc.
As people lost faith in our justice system’s capacity to punish brutal crimes against women, there is pressure on governments and police to resort to extrajudicial killings. Often, many innocent citizens, little realizing the dangers of vigilante justice, are applauding the quick execution of the criminals by the policemen acting as judge, jury and executioner. While nobody sheds tears for the criminals who perpetrate ghastly crimes, the dangers of false ‘encounters’ are obvious; soon innocent citizens will be victims of unlawful ‘encounters’ either to appease public sentiment for ‘revenge justice’ or to implicate and execute inconvenient dissenters who antagonise those in power. Reform of the justice system, especially in respect of brutal crimes, cannot brook any further delay. We need to act now.
Much more needs to be done to reduce serious sexual violence. On a daily basis, millions of women are subjected to eve-teasing, harassment, catcalls, vulgar or lascivious comments, and groping in our public spaces. Most women have learnt to deal stoically with this daily humiliation. As these low threshold offences go unpunished, a permissive culture of sexual harassment is prevailing; some of the culprits escalate the spiral of violence and graduate to rape and murder. In 2009, Gram Nyayalaya Act was enacted providing for summary trails and swift disposal of most simple cases; it remained on statute books without implementation in most states. We need to amend the law to extend it to cities and towns where the need is greater, give special focus to low threshold offences against women, appoint about 10,000 local courts all over the country, and ensure summary disposal of relatively small cases — civil or criminal — within 90 days. If the UK could sentence rioters after due process and trial within 15 days, there is no reason why we cannot render justice in simple cases within days and weeks.
Finally, the rapists come from our own society and our families. Evidence the world over suggests that a majority of rapes are committed by people known to the victim. Speedy and effective justice will help, but is not enough. There are several media reports of bystanders refusing to intervene when a woman is molested in public. We need to change the culture of society in respect of women and crime or injustice to ‘others’. And we need to raise our boys at home and educate them at school better. In a patriarchal society if boys are raised as privileged and entitled princes, and our practices and attitudes at home and school make them believe that women are inferior and expected to be submissive, then violence against women is normalised. A lot needs to be done while raising children to promote gender sensitivity, mutual respect, recognition of boundaries, and healthy relationships. There are no shortcuts. We need to ensure the safety of women at home and in public spaces even as their freedom is enhanced and they play their rightful role in our family, society and economy.
The author is the founder of Lok Satta movement and Foundation for Democratic Reforms. Email: drjploksatta@gmail.com / Twitter @jp_loksatta
