A 26-year-old woman veterinarian was recently raped and killed in Hyderabad.
This has led to an outpouring of anger across the country and in Parliament.
What happened?
On her scooter developing a problem, she called up her sister when a lorry driver offered help and told her that she was scared by the presence of some drivers.
She died of asphyxiation while being raped as the killers gagged and smothered her.
Four lorry workers, arrested on charges of raping and killing her, were kept in solitary confinement.
Several MPs questioned the adequacy of criminal laws and the judicial system in this regard.
As, the current provisions permit under-age convicts to get away with lenient punishment.
Others are sentenced to death only to escape through mercy petitions.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the government was ready to make more stringent provisions in law.
What are the existing provisions?
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act was passed in 2013.
This came after the 2012 Nirbhaya outrage in Delhi and the following recommendations made by Justice J.S. Verma Committee.
It brought changes to -
the Indian Penal Code
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
the Indian Evidence Act, 1872
the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
Key amendments were brought in to provide for death penalty for rape that led to death of the victim or reduced the survivor to a persistent vegetative state.
It also applied to anyone found guilty of rape more than once.
In 2018, further changes introduced death as the maximum punishment for every perpetrator in a gang-rape when the victim is less than 12 years.
Life-long imprisonment was given if the victim is less than 16 years.
What happened in the Delhi case?
In the Delhi case, a fast-track trial court sentenced four to death in September 2013.
However, the only juvenile accused was freed after a short period at a remand home.
The Supreme Court dismissed their appeals against conviction in 2017.
Two years on, the convicts have filed curative petitions in the court and one has already written to the President of India for clemency.
What are the recent incidents?
After the Nirbhaya incident, the UNHR chief had called rape and violence against women in India a “national problem” which would need “national solutions”.
Unfortunately, in the recent weeks too, rapes and assault have been reported from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
The National Crime Records Bureau which released its 2017 data recently said a total of 3.59 lakh cases of crimes against women were reported.
It noted that there was a 6% rise compared to 2016.
Of the above, assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty comprised 21.7%, and rape 7%.
What do these call for?
For every rape reported, there are many which go unrecorded given the patriarchal mindsets in the society.
A suggestion by an MP that rapists “must be brought out in public and lynched” is hardly the answer.
Better policing, fast-track courts, quick sentencing are the need of the hour as each can serve as a deterrent.
Public places must be made safer for all.
But besides these, a sustainable measure would be to include gender sensitisation in every curriculum, right from school.
Boys and girls should be raised right in an atmosphere of freedom and a culture of mutual respect.
