By Virginia Saldanha

Mumbai, Dec 7, 2019: After the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder, in 2012, the Justice Verma Commission, through an extensive consultative process put forward a number of recommendations to tighten the rape laws, make the investigation process more woman sensitive, and put safety measures in place by the government.

Seven years later we still continue to read of innumerable rapes, gang rapes and murders of victims, and the stress victims and their families/supporters go through during the investigation. The recent horrific gangrape of a veterinary doctor in Hyderabad followed by the immediate arrest of four suspects, and on the December 6, the news of an early morning encounter killing of those suspects in police custody has shocked many.

We now hear “Lynch the culprits,” “Death to the rapists,” “castrate rapists,” and other sound byes in reports on the violence to women. All agree that a convicted rapist has to receive severe punishment. The victims’ families grieve — hurt and angry. They buy into the clamour for the harshest punishment to the rapists and understandably so. But the question that begs an answer: “How did we cultivate so many violent rapists?”

During the current scenario where patriarchal responses to rape and violence to women prevail, the government seems to be playing to the gallery. This explains the accolades and celebrations we saw on the TV news on the morning of December 6 in Hyderabad when the news of the encounter killing of the suspected rapists was made known. The police were thanked and hailed as heroes. But did they really do their job according to the Law? And follow the Code of Criminal Procedure?

A lot of questions are left unanswered. Who were the suspects arrested within 24 hours of the crime being reported? On what grounds were they arrested and taken into custody? Can an encounter killing of suspects take place in police custody?

India has the best laws in place to protect women. Yet India is known as the most dangerous country for women, according to a study conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2018. The study cited India’s high incidences of sexual violence, lack of access to justice in rape cases, child marriage, female feticide and human trafficking. India outranked Syria and Afghanistan, countries currently embroiled in a war!

I was recently at a film screening on domestic violence for a group of college students that was followed by a discussion. It was alarming to discover that many students agreed that women have to obey and submit to their husbands in marriage. A UNICEF Global report of 2012 revealed 57 percent of adolescent boys and 53 percent of adolescent girls in India felt that it is alright for a man to beat a woman if she has not cooked a proper meal for him, if she does something without his permission or refuses to submit to sex when demanded by their husband. This reflects the deep rooted negative attitudes towards women that are prevalent in Indian culture that normalise violence done to women.

These deeply rooted patriarchal attitudes are reflected in all sectors of society – in politics, government institutions, families and even religious bodies.

While the Catholic Church has taken initiatives to bring out a Gender Policy and a Policy to deal with Sexual Harassment in the workplace, much like the government of India, with all its great laws, handling of actual cases of violence and abuse is abysmal. Nothing is being done through educational institutions to change attitudes. It was disconcerting to read that the CCBI Commission for Women, at its recent meeting focused on a woman’s role as devoted mother. A role that is submissive, serving, and fraught with vulnerability to violence.

During the period from November 25, the International Day Against Violence to Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day, UN Women promotes 16 days of activism against violence to women. Sadly in India we have had nothing but horrendous news of violence to women and lack of justice to victims of rape during this period.

On December 6 evening in UP a woman dancer at a wedding celebration was shot in the face because she stopped dancing, by a male who had supposedly instructed her not to stop. A few days earlier the young Unnao victim of gang rape on her way to court was waylaid and warned not to pursue the case. When she refused she was tied up and burnt by her rapists. She died on December 6 night.

Closer to home, Franciscan Clarist Congregation Sister Lissy Vadakkel, a prime witness in the Mulakkal rape case, complained that she is being pressured to retract her witness in the case. She laments the treatment and isolation she is being subjected to by her congregation because she has decided to give witness.

The accused Mulakkal arrives in court accompanied by an entourage of priests to demonstrate institutional support for him. At the same time, not representative of the Indian Church leadership has bothered to visit the survivor. In the Church rape survivors and whilesleblowers and witnesses are made to feel like criminals while the accused are treated like victims.

For any serious change to occur there must be dedicated action towards education at all levels to bring about a change in attitude towards women and girls. Positive action has to be taken in all sectors to bring about equality between women and men.

All crimes against women have to be reported and justice delivered according to court procedure. The government has to ensure that fast track courts for handling cases of violence are indeed fast track, so that women’s lives are not derailed for the long periods of time currently taken to settle these cases.

India has a lot to do to demonstrate that it is serious about dealing with violence to women. As of now India seems to have lost the plot.