Considering the social stigma attached to rape, it needs great courage and determination for the victim to take legal recourse for justice. Therefore, if a rape survivor decides to fight it out despite all odds, she becomes a saviour for other victims. Such women should be given state protection, particularly a foolproof financial support in her pursuit of justice
Crime against women, particularly sexual assault, is on the upsurge. The recent appalling incidents testify that despite a mass protest against the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and the subsequent enforcement of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Nirbhaya Act), nothing much has changed.
The audacity with which the accused executed the brutal rape and gruesome murder of a 26-year-old veterinary doctor on Hyderabad outskirts compels us to contemplate on what is wrong with us as a society. Implementation of stringent laws has failed to curb the barbarity. Reports show that a gruesome act of rape and murder, in most cases, is not the first offense of the perpetrators. As their crimes often go unregistered, they repeat it and their cruelty increases with each repetition of the act. A psychoanalyst has pointed out that those who repeat the crime, especially related to sexual assault, do it as an act of their right. And whenever a woman objects, they react as if their right is being curtailed by that woman.
Shiv Kumar Yadav, the Uber Cab driver, who was sentenced life-term for raping a 27-year old woman executive in 2013, exemplifies how a pervert keeps on repeating his crime when it goes unregistered. Investigation into the case revealed that Yadav had tried to molest many women of his village but since no complaint was registered officially no action was taken against him. In 2012 he was arrested for allegedly raping a bar dancer, but was acquitted for lack of evidence. A little courage and prompt legal action could have saved innocent from falling prey to the predator.
Due to social stigma attached to rape, many women prefer to keep quiet and this silence is exploited by the perpetrators. In an incident in April 2019 in Alwara, a woman, travelling with her husband on a bike, was waylaid and gang-raped, while her husband was brutally tortured. The accused took multiple videos of their heinous act and uploaded it on social networking sites. It was only after the video went viral that the couple lodged a complaint on May 4. The audacity of the criminals shows that there is no fear of law. But why is it so? Since majority of the sexual assault victims do not register their complaints, the rapists do not appear in news stories and thus go undetected. Thus it’s really important to register every rape case.
Registering the crime, however, doesn’t put an end to the misery of a woman. In fact it initiates a life-long struggle. Even if a woman, overcoming all the social and psychological barriers, registers her complaint, she faces legal harassment. Apart from the traumatic and unsympathetic medical examinations, she has to face inappropriate questions and indecent remarks. Her character is brutally assassinated. She is often pressurised to withdraw her complaint and even receives life threats from the influential and powerful perpetrators and their accomplices. Some do succumb to the family pressure and popular Indian thinking “jo hona tha so ho gaya”.
But the way an 18-year old girl showed exemplary courage by registering a case in Delhi Police station on April 16, 2019 against her parents, who had accepted a bribe from the accused (two rich property dealers who abducted and raped her) to compel her to withdraw her statement in the court is praiseworthy. The girl claimed that the accused had offered a hefty amount of `20 lakh and had even paid an advance of `5 lakh (which she had even deposited in the police station) to her parents to withdraw the case. Despite being poor and struggling to arrange money to fight the case against the perpetrators, she chose to stand by her dignity.
It reminds us of another incident where a 17-year old survivor of a gang-rape, in spite of receiving multiple threats, decided to file case against a powerful MLA of the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh. While acting on their threat, the brother of the MLA along with some goons, severely beat up her father and humiliated him in hospital, who later succumbed to his injuries. When her complaint went unnoticed, the Unnao girl tried to immolate herself in front of Uttar Pradesh Assembly, which drew public attention She knew about the consequences when she decided to file an FIR against such a powerful MLA, but nevertheless she decided to fight on.
Had these girls preferred to keep silence and not file case against the rapists, many others could have been a victim of their lust. And who knows how many victims have remained silent!
Thus fast-track court and legal reforms alone cannot help. What we desperately need at this moment is to get rape registered. The culprits need to be exposed. But this is not possible unless the stigma associated with rape is removed. The stigma is so ingrained in our culture that while we can easily identify ourselves as a victim of robbery or any other crime we do hesitate even to confide in our families about rape or sexual assault.
It does take immense courage to come out of the closet and expose the culprits while realising the consequences. Thus the courage a woman shows in registering a case of rape against her perpetrators should not be seen as just an urge to punish the culprits. It’s her fight for her self-respect and dignity. In the process of exposing the perverts she saves innumerous women from being harmed by them. Thus the perception of society needs to be changed. A rape survivor should not be looked down upon just as a helpless woman. Prying eyes and social exclusion is not what she deserves. Instead she should be seen as a warrior who has enough courage to fight against injustice and as “savior of modesty” of a lot other women.
While we acknowledge the physical courage exhibited by the brave hearts who save many lives from the clutches of death, a woman who has been courageous enough to conquer all psychological, social, economic and political barriers in exposing the perpetrators and thus protecting many lives from being harmed by the perverts also deserves to be honoured with bravery award for upholding moral courage. Recognition and respect alone can change our conditioned perceptions.
However besides moral support and encouragement what the survivors need is financial independence and security. The Government should ensure a policy to rehabilitate these women through respectable Government jobs according to their qualifications and abilities to enable them to continue their fight. They should be given duty leave to attend the court proceedings and additional financial assistance to afford lawyer’s fees. The Government must provide security to the survivors in case there is any threat.
True, unless society changes its perception, the stigma associated with rape will continue haunting the survivors and any financial assistance cannot compensate their ordeal. But a secure job can at least lighten their additional miseries related to career and finance. As the crime against women is not just a legal problem but a socio-political and psychological one, it becomes a collective responsibility of society to rehabilitate the survivors. However, it’s the perpetrators who should be compelled to share the responsibility of generating financial aid for the survivors. Resources can be generated by confiscating the properties of the perpetrators once their guilt is proven.
(Anish Gupta and Aaleya Giri teach Economics and English respectively at the University of Delhi)