It is said rape culture exists because we don’t believe it does. From tacit acceptance of misogyny in everything from casual conversations with our peers to the media we consume, we accept the degradation of women and posit uncontrollable hyper-sexuality of men as the norm. But rape is endemic to our culture because there’s no widely accepted cultural definition of what it actually is.
Are we really moving ahead with the times or are we forming the largest regressive societyIJ And no, it does not just pertain to women; it’s more to do with societal norms and inequality among the sexes. Crimes against women have been on the rise despite concerns expressed by the public, media, politicians and social workers.
Statistics released by the police show 468 rape cases were reported in 2013. In 2014 till April 13, 532 cases have been reported already. It clearly shows little or nothing has been done about this heinous crime. Cases pertaining to molestation of women have also shown a significant rise. In 2013, 956 cases were reported; however, until April 2014, 1,168 cases have been registered already. The Delhi Police taking swift action on crimes against women has solved 392 rape cases out of the 532 reported and 765 cases of molestation have been solved out of the 1,168 reported. These efforts have been a direct result of the policy introduced by the top brass of Delhi Police directing all investigating officers (IOs) to file chargesheet within 20 days. “Increased awareness in the minds of the individuals about their rights and a growing attitudinal change to ascertain their rights to avenge against any kind of indiscrimination is one of the reasons for the rise in the registration of crime,” said Special Commissioner of Police (law and Order) Deepak Mishra.
Maximum cases of rape have shown accused-victim relationship to be of relatives and friends. Out of 532 cases reported, 363 were committed by family and 119 by neighbours. This becomes even more of a challenge for the police to solve such cases that occur within the ‘secure’ confines of home. The statistics compiled by Delhi Police show that in cases of rape and molestation, the place of occurrence has been homes and JJ clusters. Out of the 532 cases of rape reported in 2014, 385 took place at home. Out of the 1,168 cases of molestation that were registered in 2014, 440 cases were at home.
The scenario has not changed even though reforms have been made to the existing laws. The need of the hour is timely execution of these laws and if need be, introducing more stringent laws. “Ground level change is required and people have not been deterred since execution of laws has been fragmentary,” said Mishra.