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Recent incidents of alleged rape in Hathras and consequent death of the victim have once again brought in sharp focus the issue of security of women. In any society, women are more vulnerable than men to various crimes being committed against them.
The reasons for the same include patriarchal society, impression in society that men are more powerful than women, and thus women are weak, false feeling that honor of the family is being violated by a section of women; particularly when they marry against existing norms, women are helpless and cannot retaliate, because of the genetic reasons of body, women have to tolerate the offence committed against them, & religious teachings that women are prohibited from outdoor activities. The type of offences which take place against women include murder, attempt to murder, rape and murder, unnatural intercourse, rape, gang rape, serious hurt, acid attack to disfigure , hurt, molestation, harassment by husband or his relatives and friends, abortion without permission, harassment for dowry demand by husband, and in laws, , kidnapping, human trafficking, harassment at work places and cyber crimes.
This is only by way of example and the list is unending. The government has enacted stringent laws to protect the women. These include general laws as well as special laws, such as Indian Penal code, Dowry prohibition act, Protection of Children from sexual offences Act, Prevention of Medical termination of pregnancy on the basis of sex determination. Women of all agees remain vulnerable to various attacks. I propose to analyse these offences one by one and discuss measures to prevent these offences
The most heinous offence against women is rape. According to available details this may be broadly categorized firstly as sexual intercourse against the wishes and forced on her and secondly induced under false promise to marry, where the woman may be having a living relationship or otherwise. Third category which internationally is being discussed is marital rape which means rape by her husband since the intercourse or unnatural intercourse is against her wishes even though she is married to him.
Available details of incidents of reported rape indicate that nearly ninety seven percent of these incidents are committed by persons who are family members, including step father, father, brother, nearby male relatives or persons who are well known to the victim. Three percent are committed by unknown persons. The victims include women of all age groups starting from less than five years old to women who are more than sixty years old as well.
But maximum victims are in the age group of twelve to thirty. The place of these offences include the house itself, nearby premises, near toilets, shelter homes, railway stations, bus stands, isolated places, orphanages, vehicles including buses, taxis, & autos. The timing of the offence is not specific but darkness or twilight could be a contributory factor. According to a study, in thirty two percent cases, the offence was registered in less than twenty four hours, in twenty seven percent cases, it was registered after twenty four hours but in less than seven days, in sixteen percent cases, it was registered after one month while in remaining it was reported much later.
Though rape is most serious offence and punishable more than three years imprisonment, and hence tried by Sessions Court, the conviction rate is around twenty percent or less..
The above points indicate steps needed to be taken. First and foremost it needs to be underlined, that the victim needs moral support to come forward and complain, from friends, relatives as well as members of NGOs having a reputation for voluntary service. Out of pressure, threat, duress, false promises of marriage, the victim generally refuses to disclose unless it becomes inevitable or she realizes that the offender has cheated her and is refusing to keep the promises of marriage.
Even though youngsters are exposed to all advertisements and films, they are inquisitive about having sex, the natural consequences of such physical relationship cannot be prevented. Irrespective of attraction towards opposite sex, which is obvious in the youth, certain minimum distance and precautions have to be developed and implemented till the girl attains marriageable age that is eighteen or above. At present, the number of single mothers is growing every day and girls as young as thirteen or fourteen getting pregnant is increasing every day in all sections of the society. Any physical relationship by opposite sex whether known or otherwise, whether by consent or under pressure or under attraction should be immediately communicated to seniors, family members, friends and if possible to police. The earlier one reports, one can get effective remedy to such incidents.
Even if the person is known, and has a friendly relationship, the parents can show understanding and by mutual consent, the marriage knot can be tied. Parents of young girls also need to show more understanding and maturity and not insist that the marriage has to be with a person of their choice and not of the girl. After the recent judgment by the Supreme Court that any incident of minor girl going missing from house has to be registered as an incident of kidnapping & abduction, the number of offences under this head have gone up in a geometrical ratio.Though few of these are detected, very few of these agree to go back to their parents and are forced to be kept in shelter homes till they become mature. Young girls also need to appreciate the concerns of their parents.
Several instances have come to light where the males have deceived the girls by giving false identity of belonging to the same religion, or caste as of the victim. After the girl becomes pregnant and is helpless, the true identity of male regarding belonging to other religion is disclosed and the girl is forced to either change her religion or spend her life as destitute and refused by her parents and relatives. Another important factor is to avoid being alone with any male or a group of males, how so ever close they might be. Instances have come to notice, when the victim was offered a drink mixed with some material as a result of which she becomes unconscious and then a victim of the lust.
As far as instances of rape against minor girls particularly who are less than five years, these evoke instant wrath from the entire community. In other countries, legally it is binding on parents to ensure that children less than five are not permitted to remain alone at any time. If it is noticed, the parents are punished by law. In India, this is a glaring gap, which the law makers need to address urgently. These young girls are highly vulnerable, and need protection from parents as well as through legal provisions to punish the violators sternly.
Before the incident of rape takes place, there might have been several instances of harassment, taunting, or approaching the victim under some pretext or the other. Usually the victim tends to ignore these or not to report these to law enforcement authorities or family members. There is a possibility that these might be construed as encouragement or consent by the offender and he feels emboldened to make further advances. It is said that women have sixth sense about males how the opposite sex is behaving and what could be his motives.
It is advisable that these should be neutralized there and then so that further damage is controlled in time. While working as DGP in Maharashtra, I had issued a circular that if stern action is taken in incidents of molestation, further incidents of rape can get prevented. Strict orders were issued to all police officers, to ensure that chargesheet is filed in incidents of molestation within twenty four hours. This practice resulted in immediate trial of the offender and the sentences were also declared in no time. I remember in many incidents, Magistrates had sent the offender to jail for a term of three years within two months of the incident.
To strengthen women security, the Government of India has launched national emergency number 112 and it caters for all emergencies including offences, medical & fire. Similarly to prevent threats and misuse of cyberspace, even anonymous complaints can be launched through www.cybercrime.gov.in. Helpline is available and it is 1555260 . One can contact the same from 9 am to 6 pm.
It is need of the hour that police officers are allowed to investigate these offences without resorting to any politics about the same in the name of religion, caste or language. Reports from post mortem and forensic experts need to be honoured without any hesitation. Any effort to hoodwink the public for the sake of politics is bound to result in injustice to victim as well as to others . Every effort should be made to support the victim to withstand the pressure when the trial is going on,so that the offenders are punished and the victim gets justice.
By Praveen Dixit DGP ( Rtd) Maharashtra, Mumbai
