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Volunteers of Better India participating in a candle light protest at India Gate in New Delhi on Tuesday condemning the gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a city bus. PTI photo
Following the spine-chilling and horrific gangrape and brutalisation of a 23-year-old in the national capital on Sunday, when Tehelka asked how the rapes could be stopped, there was only one refrain: attitude to women must change; the legal process of dealing with the crime must speed up; and men must be educated and ‘sensitised’ about women’s issues. Twenty personalities — lawyers, activists, writers, filmmakers – suggest some real solutions.
‘Attitudes to women and recognition of their full range of rights should be linked to recruitment, promotion’
Karuna Nundy, advocate, Supreme Court of India
There’s so much outrage this time, and outrage can change things. But the conviction of these rapists is clearly not enough, sexual violence runs deep in Delhi and unless we deal with the source, it’ll continue to pour forth. Here are some changes I’d like to see.
• Attitudes to women in the criminal justice system. Attitudes to women and recognition of their full range of rights should be linked to recruitment, promotion. The system should recognise and reward good police officer, a good magistrate, a good prosecutor by their attitudes to Dalit women, to lesbians, to sexually active women wearing skimpy clothing. Also penalise actors in the criminal justice system for the opposite, i.e. discriminatory behaviour. So when a policeman or woman, a prosecutor or a judge is recruited, their attitudes need to be part of the interview.
• Masculinity: Equality training in various spheres should be included in schools — what kind of citizens are we looking to produce? Showing children early on that people of other gender, other castes, religions are equal needs to be central to our education system. We’ve been thinking of the Dalit boy sitting in corner of classroom, who sees a cartoon that’s discriminatory. Think also of the girl who only sees Maharani Laxmibai and Sarojini Naidu in her history books. Teach women they are equal, and they are more likely to be treated that way. We need self defence classes in school for girls. And to teach boys that girls are equal. Boys should also be given empathy training to show them what it’s like to be a girl. Anger management courses have been proven to work.
• Allowing women to sue for money damages and injunctions in civil cases would help to go along with criminal cases. We need civil damages for victims of crime in India, it’s an easier forum for her to navigate, also on principle, she should be compensated for the psychological and material damage she is caused as well as have the perpetrator punished.
• Reform criminal justice system: The low conviction rate for rape — some figures show only 27 percent convictions — is also why rapists are not that scared and victims reluctant to go to court. Police reforms have been waiting to be implemented since the 1980s — police in Delhi need better investigation methods, find the right guy, ways to preserve evidence. We don’t have proper witness protections programmes, or the best prosecutors — though the victim’s lawyer being allowed to be present now helps somewhat.
• Some of the important changes — like quicker trials enabled by more judges and courtrooms are reforms the whole criminal justice system needs. Also you have to have to be able to complain effectively if your prosecutor is not competent or has been bribed.
‘What we need to do, and urgently, is two-pronged: systemic social change and legal reform’
Mihira Sood, advocate
Rape exists because of a patriarchal, misogynistic culture that condones it, whether tacitly or explicitly, and because of widespread lawlessness that encourages it. What we need to do, and urgently, is two-pronged: systemic social change and legal reform.
We must educate people, starting at the school level, about respect for women, for personal spaces and for the rule of law. We need to introspect, all of us, on how we contribute to the objectification of women, from the popular culture we consume to the way we bring up our children — from where it’s a slippery slope to a twisted and unjust understanding of sexual assault in legal terms.
In terms of the law, we urgently need a more comprehensive and inclusive definition of sexual violence, critical amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure that will reduce the time taken for trials, fast track courts for sexual assault cases, harsher punishments and a serious programme of police reform and sensitisation. All of these are doable, and all are equally crucial — not just for better implementation but also to signal the seriousness with which such crimes will be viewed.
Unfortunately, there appears to be little political will for any of these measures, which is where the media and the increasingly powerful voice of public — spirited citizens will have to take centrestage.
‘Men are raised in our society to think that we are men because we demand, we take, we win, we conquer’
Gautam Bhan, queer activist, academic and consultant
Men are not born biologically violent — we make them so. Our responses to sexual violence must recognise, name, and both institutionally and individually counter the dangerous mix of impunity and entitlement at the core of contemporary masculinity that allows such violence. Boys and men are raised in our society to think that we are men because we demand, we take, we win, we conquer. Add to that the sense of impunity pervasive in our cities on all fronts due to the failure of our institutions and we are brought to where we are today. We cannot legislate good behaviour, as the saying goes, we have to build its DNA — in schools, in homes, in public spaces, in our media — that must begin by refusing, unlearning and denying this entitlement and the violence it takes to live it as the only way to be “men.”
‘The outrage on this incident is welcome but the solution lies outside the law, in the mindset of the people’
Tridip Pais, lawyer
I don’t think what is needed is an increase in punishment or in speed of trial. What is required is a systemic change. The Mangalore pub incident also reflected the attitude of the Indian male. Boys were trying to get women to conform to certain standards. It is a high form of violence to subjugate a woman who otherwise wouldn’t pander to your ego. Rape is the worst form of that violation. It is a way of subjugating women and an attempt to establish their superiority through violence. Men have not been able to accept that they need to respect women.
During every war and riot men have wanted to violate women. Every riot today is followed by sexual violence. This happened in Gujarat too. It is a way of saying that I am superior. Harsher punishment won’t take you very far. A psychiatrist, Dr Mitra did a survey with rapists. He asked them if they would have committed the crime if the punishment was death penalty. Most respondents said that in that case they would have killed the woman. I am also against the death penalty. I do not endorse violence by the state in any form.
The implementation of law is very poor. Further the court staff, typist and the defense counsel treat rape cases as salacious gossip. Men need to go through a sea change on their attitude to women. There should be gender sensitisation classes in primary and secondary education. Bureaucrats, officers concerned with maintaining law and order and the security forces should also be sensitised. A nationalist like Sushma Swaraj would defend the rapist if he was in the security force and the incident had occurred on the border. The outrage on this incident is welcome but the solution lies outside the law, in the mindset of the people. We need to tackle the rape case, misogyny in office and the Mangalore pub incident equally seriously.
A quick trial can have adverse impacts. It will be difficult to prove a lot of things with such less time. One should have enough time to argue out a case. A time limit of one year sounds reasonable. Further, life imprisonment if implemented properly should work as punishment.
‘The community and the Police need to work together. This involves security at vulnerable places, at critical hours’
Kiran Bedi, former IPS officer
We had started gender sensitisation training at the police institute in collaboration with a gender training institute. It needs to be a continuous process. Unfortunately in government institutes rather then continue good practices tend to get broken down. The system breaks them down. After I left the gender training was discontinued.
Rape is rooted in two reasons. It is primarily a foundational issue. It is the failure of social norms, from the family to educational institutes, to exercise control. Thus society has gone weaker and become loose. People then behave like loose canons. They may have gone to school, but that is not education, that is literacy. Today the boys only want Mazaak and Mazaa- and that obviously means disrespect for women.
The police is a step behind and not in step with society. It is not audited and is monopolistic in nature. If you don’t conduct social audits, you don’t receive any feedback from the community. How are you to strategise without any feedback from the ground? The system suffers from a statistical approach. So, while you may have failed professionally you are still successful statistically. Statistics hide information. Statistics state there is only a marginal increase in rape cases. But hardly anyone reports them.
These things perpetuate crime and embolden the criminal. In the good old days we used to do group patrolling. The community and the police used to work together. Now they have abandoned support schemes such as citizens volunteer schemes.
We used to maintain a rough register that contained names of ruffians. The officers used to visit their homes and check on them. We even kept an eye on school dropouts. Nobody was out of sight. We did that with minimum manpower and maximum community support.
Good policing means that the law is the same for everyone. We never spared any VIP. It was all about being accountable to the community. Today, the police is accountable only to the VIP.
We need to rise to the challenge and co-opt private security if there is a problem of manpower. I have trained thousands of boys and girls in civil defense. Where are they? Where are the citizen wardens?
There are four steps to what I call the Complete Criminal Justice System:
All this “outrage” counts for jackshit. Face it. So all of us can quietly go back home, stop protesting, posting on facebook, passing commentaries etc, and just let the rapists do their thing and hope it’s no one we care about the next time.
You’re right Sean… Keep protesting and hope for change!
As a 1st step, in police reforms, percentage based salary cut to be introduced to all police officers in a area depending on their ranks if there is a crime, and depending on the crime severity. Also if the area is crime free, police should be given percentage based bonus. This way there is an incentive and a deterrent for Police to show the right attitude and perform their duties properly.
When salary gets impacted the crime rates will drop down to large extent. This will be Quick win situation to reduce crime rates immediately. Still bigger crimes will happen due to corruption etc and for that reforms in other sectors can be effected also to stifle down a person such that it makes it difficult for him to commit wrongdoings. We need to take baby steps but start immediately and effect things one by one.
Then once the above is in place total reform needs to be introduced other sectors also, for which I have multiple suggestions.
Request Tehelka to garner support from other media organizations and for once place a sensible breaking news titles SUGGESTIONS for POLICE REFORMS, and place the above comments and other such comments so that the law makers bring this into effect immediately. There is no harm in bringing the above suggestion into effect.
Solution : Every woman in Delhi should be treated as the ek lauti beti of a powerful neta (Touch her and there will be instant action and severe reprisals — and not just against the men with the temerity to commit such a crime. Officials will be transferred, demoted, or sacked. Cases will be fast-tracked. All those elaborate excuses about socio-cultural changes, policing problems, women’s behaviour, attire etc will disappear overnight. – Lakshmi Chaudhry
I think rapists should be castrated. At least after they are released they will not be a threat to society!
Not necessarily true. They can still physically hurt other women, perhaps even the original victim. In fact, the fact that they’ve been emasculated might just make them even more bitter and angry, and hence more brutal. The inability to rape might just spawn the desire to murder. It’s something to think about. Life imprisonment or death might be the only logical punishment.
A big issue is the pervading sexual repression that exists. When something is repressed it comes out in undesirable, unpredictable and often violent ways. Sex needs to be normalised as a simple facet of human life. Censorship of films and TV needs to be liberalised so that people can see it for the very normal act that it is. People will soon become normalised by it and a greater maturity will exist when people lose the distinct fascination that lies when sex and sexuality is hidden and denied.
I agree with you.Moral policing by parents and political parties make things worse.Hanging the rapists won’t solve the problem.
I find it quite amusing that while growing up I saw Shakti Kapoor rape countless women on TV but now that legally speaking I am an adult I can’t watch the Dirty Picture on the TV.
Sir, Western countries are liberal so do u say rape doesn’t exist there.There’s rape every minute in any civilized, liberal and developed countries. don’t preach us!
Legalize Rape in India
Dear All,
My name does not matter. What matters is I was born in India to middle class parents who came from very humble beginnings and worked day and night to raise me. I am married. I work in a good place, live in a metro and own a car. I have my fair share of financial difficulties but we are a small family and overall things are good.
However, there has been a storm brewing within me from a long time. A storm that my parents and wife know little about. Whenever I read about female infanticide in India or an incident of rape or sexual molestation, I feel a deep sense of contempt. I start feeling disgusted with myself, and I feel that I am in some way a part of this crime.
I move on after some time but somewhere deep within a sense of shame and disgust has accumulated and now after the horrendous incidents of rape that I have been reading since the past two months – I have come to one conclusion. I have been seeing it the wrong way.
In certain tribes of Africa, cannibalism is allowed because it is a part of their culture – humans eat humans. To judge them with the same eyes as a western culture would be preposterous. Do we judge snakes and lizards when they eat their own eggs?
Similarly we should stop attempting to consider ourselves as humans. We are far advanced that the westerners. We know that at the end – “everything is maya” and that we are all part of this huge cosmos. So when we rape a woman we are not doing her any harm – it is just two energies interacting with each other. The “human” world is not evolved to see it in that way.
So these human rights and western culture does not apply to us – we are much ahead of them. We spit on the roads, take bribes, leech on woman because we know that at the end of it we are all energies and souls who interact with each other – our bodies are just mediums of this world and this incarnation. We have moved beyond relations, men, woman etc. We have become so evolved a culture that these silly laws of human beings are not applicable to us.
Once I realized this – my entire sense of guilt and despair went away. We should be proud of ourselves and we not stop at rape, infact we should have sex with our mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, cows, dogs, sheep …please remember it is just two energies interacting with each other.
I hope after reading this email you all will stop feeling guilty and accept our superiority. Happy raping!!!!
“We should be proud of ourselves and we not stop at rape, infact we should have sex with our mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, cows, dogs, sheep”. It’s statements like yours that make people see a link between rapists and barbaric monkeys! This is the year 2013. We have the technologies, made incredible discoveries, America even send a man to the moon. Man should be able to become heroes by preventing rape or teaching men that rape is wrong AND ways women can prevent themselves from being rape in order to be safe, but it is those pro-rape barbaric monkeys who suggest things should be the way they are because they are too stupid and disgusting to change. So what, you think that rape and “energies” is the same thing?! WELL IT’S NOT! Even if you are refering to “energies” with “love” IT IS STILL NOT THE SAME THING! I’m sure there is a reason why intelligent design separated man from monkeys. The reason tribes practice cannibalism and snakes eat eggs because they need to survive. Men do not need rape to survive, they just do it because of how aggressive they are without sex. It will be easier for them to just spank their monkeys anyways. How would you like it if you were in prison and a man rapes you in the shower? You still gonna be a bigshot even after youur humiliating experience? I heard what happens in prison but I don’t need to tell you. You can ask the men in prison how horrible prision rape is. To me, rape is a human issue. Men, women, children, and animals are forced to having sex with perverted men who wanted to release their “energies” just because their monkey instincts tell them to. I believe rape is a barbaric practice men use to threaten society, put women down, traumatize children, and get away with the disturbing crime by blaming on others, therefore, rape should be a serious crime. I don’t care if rapist gets the death penalty. We don’t need a lot of stupid monkeys wrecking society. I rest my case.
^^@Hamlet Great way of pointing out how the human psychology works. Find an excuse (religion most commonly used) which appeases your psyche, mind, conscience, soul whatever and go ahead with whatever you want to do anyways. Rapists, murderers, dictators etc have been using this formula for ages to get away with the most heinous activities one can imagine. Hitler being prime example of such a sick mind.
This article carefully neglects a very important point. The portrayal of women in films and Advertisement. What do the ads say, if you wanna get that blonde eat this, drink that, wear this, drive this. The body of a women is used to lure customers for every product. And the role of women in films ? She is out there to get the guy, dance for him, strip for him and sleep for him. Where is respect for women in the films ? Its the age of munni and sheila’s and this is what you get out of it. What does a man on the street think when he sees a women ? He would stare at his face and private parts and think how to get her. This is sadly what almost every men think.
Asim, Absolutely correct! Portraying woman as an object of enjoyment must stop. This is in fact one of the most important factors that contributes to the making of “mindset”. Media says mindset must change, but how to bring about that change?? No answers!
This article carefully neglects a very important point. The portrayal of women in films and Advertisement. What do the ads say, if you wanna get that blonde eat this, drink that, wear this, drive this. The body of a women is used to lure customers for every product. And the role of women in films ? She is out there to get the guy, dance for him, strip for him and sleep with him. Where is respect for women in the films ? Its the age of Munnis and Sheilas and this is what you get out of it. What does a man on the street think when he sees a women ? He would stare at her face and private parts and think how to get her. This is sadly what almost every men think.
Dr Ambedkar once prophesied and said “On the 26th January, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality”. social and economic equality still remains a distant dream in India, but there are other stratum with in social and economic spheres where equality is not just a distant dream but remains in oblivion; Gender is one such strata. Gender inequality cuts across caste, class, race and the gap is more wide in patriarchal societies, such as of northern India. which also explains the other social phenomenon which are more prevalent in northern India societies, for example skewed sex ratio, dowry, rapes. Now rapes are something Men have used regularly as a means of asserting their dominance, specially in a situation when they feel threatened for their social position. But the social position could be in context of caste, class, race and just not gender.
so all the rapes are not necessarily are result of gender inequality.
The rapists should not exist on earth at all..They are the unbearable burden..These people should be hanged till death or they should be beaten till thier death,so that they feel the pain too and the same pain they dared to cause to the 23 yr old woman in the bus in New Delhi..
…dont ask for solution ..All we need to think is why is it happening ..wat is the root cause…. Where is India standing as in Culture wise …Do really we care about our so valued Indian culture ..which tells us women are respected more than anything ..And women should also remember and mind that they r women wid respect, wid lots of guts, and culture dey should possess…… Fighting, protesting and conquering isn’t d actual solution …all we need to understand our own simple living of life …and make our generation proud of us …dont put them rules n regulations in d name of culture …
Just as we know the name and face of the victim more often than not stigmatizing her for life and the offender is forgotten we must begin to change that at once, the victim needs to be able to choose anonymity while her rapists must be brought to justice with full details of their faces, names, address and their place of employment or education is flashed around until everyone knows that this was/ are the man/ men who raped some woman and they face social castration if not chemical or physical castration.
when a girl is born she has to struggle to reach her target. she fulfills her parents dreams. she stands as a pillar for her brothers. she moves like a free soul in all house. but if this type of things happen in India it is natural that parents will fear for their girl’s security which mqy adruptly lead to education loss.
today people also love to watch n read these kind of reports.
if we want India to be free of all these incidents . we need to give a punishment that all further creators will fear.
i feel shame for bieng an Indian
I believe castration would be a start for those folks. Perhaps having the castration carried out by about 100 previously raped women might be just the thing. Anyone who rapes a women is a pig, coward and a total sicko.
I am still trying to grasp and to understand what happened to this young woman of 23 who had her whole life ahead of her but had it taken away in a lightning flash. All because she chose to go to the movies to enjoy a night out with her boyfriend. They call her “braveheart” and she probably was given how she fought for her life even after they(the animals) had brutalized her so terribly. It takes guts and a will to live to scribble, “I want to live” even after knowing that what they did would never be erased from her mind, had she lived. But she didn’t and a family lost their loved one through the atrocity of six men who had no respect for societies boundaries. They not only raped her but did only what animals would do. Have we not evolved? It seems like a rage killing to me, but why? What caused these men to act the way they did? Did they not have mothers, sisters or even wives? Did they not see their faces when they brutalized her? No, I did not know her but I felt her pain, her cries for help and the hopelessness of her situation. And my heart still cries for her.
These are barbarians – inhumane – No religion says one can be inhumane – it is the upbrnging that counts . I truly feel these idiots, schools they atended never teach such crimes, parrents don’t teach such acts. Its the leadership that gets them in wrong directions. India many leaders misue the powers.If such crimes were taken seriously this will not have happened, The police simply want easy money, they ignore this crimes. Sayings the women are to be blamed, by right this police need to be taught good lessons. Why the women, don’t the men have “brains’ how do they come to this world, women give birth to this idiots, don’t this men have mothers, sisters, wifes and than lastly DAUGHTERS! – Now I sincerely believe 6 idiots need to die – hey! not so “easy ” they say the 18 year old is juvanile he can RAPE, than take out intestines from a body still alive – you say this idiot is juvanile – No he is a DEVIL. They first need trashing by the day, only than sent the gallows Hanged till death
give jobs to cute persons dats the only hope i would say
death is the secondary solition ,first the rapists had to be punished in such a way that they have to feel the pain of a girl who they raped.then they should be killed ,by seeing this no other man should get an idea of raping.
the girls population in india is less,now it is completely decreasing,just think there are more than 100000 rape cases which had come to light,and we dont know how many how many are still hiding.if this continues no women would be alive.please, respecting women is respecting yourself and the nation.these lunatics ,brutal men should realisa their mistake and should die in repentence ,tyey have to repent cause the land on which they are living is a women ,the food they are eating is a women ,the money,the water ,their mother ,sister ,wife,daughter are also women
the brutals must suffer the pain which is equal to athe pain of the raped girl and then should die in repentence ,by watching this no other men should dare to rape,if this continues no foriengners would visit our legendary India.and at last our nation would not be marked in world map,and would stand first in crimes regarding girl,and would loose its respect,and the Indians would pray that they should not have other life after their death in India as a girl.
Start an anti rape movement in India that delivers quick and sever justice to rapists. Cut off their sexual organs and they can die or live without them.
I think society is also to blame for rape in India. People in India look down at women. They would rather abort girls than boys which makes the ration of females to males 940 to 1,000. These women are ashamed because even their families say they are disappointments. These women and girls commit suicide because of how society views them.
Let every one analyse,understand,think and take correctice action on “What prompts a man/boy to do sexual crimes gain womrn/girl”Is it parnetal upbringing, loss of moral values.Media effect,weaternization,suppresses cultures,zero fear to law & order,political games,insensitivity,insecures,women/Girls’s advancements …etc Pl remeber that India can not afford to keep vigil on 800 crores poulation.Most of cases, most of rapists are psychologically sick, morally gegraded,provoked by politicks or seductive women/girls.Every one has to take care of thier sisters/duaghters/moms…etc with clear guidelines on dress code,thoughts,behaviour,culture at thier family level.Every Mard (??) has to realize that He can remain MARD only by being protective to Women/girl but not by raping/assaulting them to prove thier masculinity.If still some MARDS wants to release thier sperms there are many ways…Go to Randi/prostitutes/masturbution/screw your own Mom..but not other helpless and innocent Women/girls in society.If any any MARD (??) finds other men (??) indulging in acts of Rape or Sexual assault , he must guts to fight and stop such crimes against women/girl.It is collective thinking and unity among all of our men group can only Save India from such heinous crimes.But at same time for want of money/fame, some women/girl do promote false propogana against honest and innocent Men ( as we read in New Papers ), we < MARD team must identify and eliminate such senseless Women/Girls to save 99.5% of innocent girls/Women from sexual assaults.We wish MARD team to unite together and work for protection of genuine Women/girls across the World.MARD team Zindabad! Vijayakumar,Chennai