New Delhi, 28 March 2008   

Rape On The Rise

TIME TO REVIEW LAWS  

By V.S. Dharmakumar

There has been a phenomenal eight-fold increase in rape cases in India since 1971, reveals the National Crimes Records Bureau. Every hour, crime against women has been on the rise-- two rapes, two kidnappings and four molestations. The report said 8.2 per cent of the total rape victims were girls below the age of 15 years, while 17.4 per cent were teenaged girls. Nearly two-thirds were in the age group of 18-30 years. Interestingly, women are most unsafe in the company of friends, neighbors and relatives, according to the report.

A spate of crimes against women tourists too appear to being reported from various parts of the country. That is truly disturbing, especially when India is poised to double the present figure of tourist arrivals from 4.4 million.

Amnesty International reveals that one billion women i.e. one in every three had been beaten, forced to have sex or otherwise abused, often by a friend or family member. A woman is raped every 24 hours in Delhi. Regretably, this is only the tip of the iceberg because rarely do rape cases get reported

What is frightening is that you, your friends or relatives can be victims of rape. Party-hopping young ladies should particularly be cautious. A new form of sexual assault is said to be raging in our metros. It is drug-facilitated rape by a man who may be a date, a friend, a friend of a friend or a mere acquaintance, whose demand for sex is spurned. As of now it is difficult to know the extent of this crime, as victims rarely report this vile trickery.   

The World Health Organisation says that unwanted teenage pregnancies following bouts of binge-drinking is “the greatest threat to mankind” contributing to the world’s unsustainable population growth. In the US, an estimated 70,000 college students are victims of this drug-facilitated sexual assault. So there is more reason to a Big No to Drugs.

Apparently, the modus operandi of the ‘rapist’ is to trick the victim into going out to a bar, a rave party or simply his home. He could well be a good looking friend with impeccable manners, always eager to listen. Though his mannerism and behavior may be flawless, flawed would be his intention, which you may not see because he camouflages it cleverly. You say `yes’ to his invitation and he is happy. That’s the moment he was looking forward to as he realizes that he could be just hours away from fulfilling his desire to have sex with you.     

However, you innocently and happily go out to a bar or a party with your ‘perfect gentleman’. Half-an-hour before the intended departure from wherever you are partying, he slips a colorless, tasteless, odorless tablet which dissolves easily into your drink. Visually it looks like a normal drink, not tampered with. You sip the drink and prepare to leave. But the dissolved tablet begins to have an affect on you. You feel ill and impaired. You cannot drive. He offers to take you to his home and you agree. You slip into sleep and in your semi-conscious state. He rapes you.

You wake up the next morning to find yourself in a strange place with clothes strewn around. You can’t remember what happened. You were “date raped”. The drug used is called `date rape drug’ and is `rapist-friendly’, as the victim doesn’t remember anything.

A few tips from victims could do you well: Do not let your drink go out of sight at any time; don’t accept an open drink. Women should be extremely careful as to how much they should drink, because the man will try to offer one too many, but it is her call to take it or leave it. Do not accept eatables or beverage from a stranger or take a lift in a car with darkened window panes. Don't go home with someone you both (husband and wife) don’t know and trust. Don't accept drinks when you are amongst strangers in a house and don’t drop your guard else you may pay a price for the rest of your life.

Selling safety measures to revelry-loving youngsters is hard, but if taken can help save one from trauma. The 15-year-old Scarlet Keeling, who was raped and murdered on a beach in Goa in February last could well be a glaring example of what a mix of drugs and revelry could do. The alleged rapists had possibly drugged her heavily first and then took turns to rape her. The teenager collapsed and she was left to die. Her death is India’s shame and the culprits must be severely punished.  

The Keeling murder seems to have jolted the Union Tourism Ministry and it is  heartening to hear that the Ministry has advised the States to set up a Tourist Security Force comprising of retired men from the armed forces.

However, as per statistics, only one in 69 rape cases in India are reported to the police and a mere five per cent get convicted. It is the fear of an unfriendly, intimidating police and the agony of pursuing a long-drawn out, and accused-friendly, victim-mocking legal proceedings that prevent many from reporting rapes to the police.

It is, however, an encouraging sign to note that some victims of rape muster the courage to report abusers to the police. Is this not reason enough for the society to protect them instead of stigmatizing them? The police particularly should change its attitude in handling rape-related crimes and should not place the burden on the victim to describe how it happened. The legal system unfortunately in India offers more scope to the accused to wear out the victim in a rape case.

It’s pertinent to mention here how a Cuban court dealt with two local men who killed two Italian tourists a decade ago. The guilty men were sentenced to death by a firing squad. In another case in Thailand, two fishermen who raped and murdered a British tourist in January 2006 were awarded death sentence after a fast-track trial. In this case the victim was attacked while she was talking to her mother on the mobile phone. The victim’s screams were heard by the hapless mother before the line went dead. What the mother later heard was that her daughter’s body was found floating in Lamai Bay.

The modern criminal justice system is unfair to rape victims. It’s often invoked Sir Mathew Hale’s quotation: “rape is an accusation easily to be made and hard to be proved and harder to be defended by the party accused, though never so innocent” is the main reason for that.

A review of the law punishing a rapist is long over due. Harsher sentence alone will serve as deterrents. From ancient times of Greece and Rome into the colonial period, rape was a capital offence. In England, in the early 14^th century, a victim of rape was expected to gouge out the eyes or cut the offender’s testicles herself. As long as laws are rapist friendly, such cases will continue to register astronomical increase. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)