Solutions to Making India a Safer Place

[harbans]

Theo, Baikul, Prasad Ji, your points are perfectly valid. Irrespective of what men may want say to women, it is imperative that Women are safe in India if they want to walk at 3am or high noon. After drinks or strictly sober, in shorts, a bikini or in a complete Burkha. The core aim here is to see that sexual assault against women ceases irrespective of the hour the woman ventures or what she wears. It is the responsibility of the State and men to ensure this. Not argue about it.

Reason: 'Men' because it is MEN who rape and assault women. Rape in the context we are trying to mitigate here is done by MEN. Sounds 'Sexist'? By not taking advantage of say a mentally challenged drunk woman running nude in a NCR street, it is the duty of men alone to think beyond an erection and not take advantage.

Edited for clarity. Not content modification.

[harbans]

(A) High profile cave men type drag girl into car/ bus and rape or rape/murder type cases.
(B) Scheming lure/ kidnap and rape for months/ put into prostitution against will type.
(C) Brother/ Uncle friendly near and dear type cases that take advantage of near ones.
(D) Cases people taking advantage and hiding behind religious mores kind of cases.
(E) Endemic mass lewdness, stalking, harassment, groping culture prevalent.
(F) Powerful Politician/ Boss type raping to establish dominance/ profile enhancement etc.
(G) Male members of one community/group rape women of other community as an extension
(H) Political parties to dethrone their ruling opponents encourage mass rapes.
(I) Date rape: Cases where girl is friendly, but men take advantage and assault.

From what i gather the above would account for more than 99% sexual assault/ rape cases in India.
From available data we can/ can we conclude these:

Max Volume to min volume incidents: E, C, B, D, A, F, G, H. With E endemic, C 90 Plus percent, F,G,H around 5%.

From the list we can see that each requires different ways of tackling. Some fundamentals may be common, respect for women etc.

Please try and see, any solutions that you offer fit to mitigate any of these categories.

[Sanku]

. It is the responsibility of men to ensure this.

Isnt that inherently sexist Harbans-ji? I would say that it is the job of both men and women working together to ensure the safety of women. Neither one nor other, and women are pretty powerful in India too, all that needs to be done is that power tapped and realized.

However I would be a little careful;

it is imperative that Women are safe in India if they want to walk at 3am or high noon. After drinks or strictly sober, in shorts, a bikini or in a complete Burkha.

We are long way away from doing that even for men.

It is fine to set up a concept, but one must be careful that the good is not scarified at the altar of perfect. I would like every citizen to be perfectly safe at all times, including women, however there is no harm in being practical.

[Sanku]

Reason: 'Men' because it is MEN who rape and assault women. .

Of course, that is true, mostly. Though I can give you enough women on women violence if not rape. I can also provide many examples of men on men rape. MAN is not a monolithic simple minded ape class, a avg MAN bear as much responsibility for a rapist as I for a woman running a pros racket and profiteering from the same.

However what you said was that it was the duty of men to ensure the safety of women. I dont understand why, even if assuming men do all the anti women crimes, the responsibility of stopping such men is also on women as equal partners in society. You seem to suggest a "abala naari" type of scenario. Women needing to be protected from men. May be you did not mean that, but that is how it comes across as.

I am very uncomfortable with this men vs women type of scenario setup by both you and Theo-ji. Men do not exist in society in vacuum, there exists wifes, mothers, sisters, friends etc etc. They exert a continuous influence at the very least. Men behave both out of love and fear of women as well as other men.

Both sides need to be tapped -- in tandem. I do not think these us vs them is going to get us anywhere.

[deepan gill]

While this thread deals with safety of women, I would like to include men as well. Imagine a brother, or father, or uncle etc. accompany a woman and this happens. So regardless of whether man or woman, Delhi is not safe period. You can be in Mercedes or a Maruti, you are not immuned from it.
The only question or "what if" I have for this entire incident is, why didn't the male companion think tactically and decided to take a taxi or other form on personal transportation? I any case below are my 2 cents on how situation can be improved.
1] Kiran Bedi is right. First thing is to contain and discourage this behaviour. Home Gaurds, cadets in CRPF, Delhi Police and other units need to be deployed all over the city. 3 shifts, 8 hours long. Strong usage of walkie talkies. Minimum side arm to each personnel.
2] Majority under cover, to be riding in Metros, buses, and other locations such as Palika Baazar etc.
3] Discourage assembly of more than 3 people at any spot, anytime in the city.
4] Frisk and ask, simply police officer approaches random individuals, asks for ID, asks questions.
5] Beat cop on each Metro rail, where the cop literally walks between each car. Minimum 2, if one from Delhi Police, the other should be from another service.
6] Stop protesting in the streets. Your movement will be hijacked by commies who are somehow trying to make a Indian-Spring. If you are protesting the law, and enforcers of law, then what exactly is the protest demanding?? Anarchy and revolution? Instead, use your vote and use it wisely, don't vote for a party but an individual.
The objective is to use Powell Doctrine, massive mobilization of forces to overwhelm the enemy, period. Enforcement of law, and more emphasis on beat cops. It helps building community relations.
Now accountability. How do you make law enforcers accountable.

[Sanku]

During Mrs Prathiba Patil's tenure as President a large number of rapists(>15) were granted commutation or pardons from death sentences confrimed by the Supreme Court.

This should be a pause to those who set up issues of safety as gender battle of men vs women.

[deepan gill]

Theo_Fidel

Wait I protest this quote below.

Witness one Joe Arapaio of Arizona, who harasses poor illegal immigrant essentially because he is a vicious bully and the population wants them to self deport. Not wise to follow USA in this department.

Since I don't want this thread to become a thread debating illegal immigrants, I would like to point your attention to the word "illegal".
Arizona is only enforcing the law. If you are undocumented alien in US, that means you broke the law. Do not blame the enforcer of the law, rather ask elected officials to change the law. Can you please show me one law that has been violated by Arizona?
Why is it that removal of illegal Bangladeshi aliens from India, [especially New Delhi] is advocated, but you won't let US enforce its law.

[Theo_Fidel]

Why is it that removal of illegal Bangladeshi aliens from India, [especially New Delhi] is advocated, but you won't let US enforce its law.

Umm! because it is not a state subject? but it is OT.

[ramana]

A collection of articles from newsinsight.net


Gautam Sen:

Crisis of India

....The questions over policing and law enforcement, following the brutal rape and death of a young woman, are a comment on deeper troubles in the Republic. It is indeed a metaphor that tragically captures much that is wrong with Indian society and the threat of worse to come. The surge of commentary on the incompetence and callousness of law enforcement is apt but the diagnosis flawed. The performance of the guardians of the law, if they may be ironically deemed as such, cannot be ipso facto judged on how they have functioned in this particular grim episode. It is essentially erroneous to impute to them primary responsibility for protecting the public. Their primary task is to ensure the safety of India’s political and bureaucratic elites and, to a lesser degree, the very wealthy, if the latter do not employ private security firms to do so already. An RTI application would reveal how many security personnel are engaged in looking after VVIPs, though it is known that the Z-plus level entails an unprecedented 30 personnel for each fortunate individual. The performance of official security agencies, assessed in terms of their actual operational mission, must be deemed tremendously successful. Very few VVIPs have succumbed to violence and many security personnel have given their lives in extraordinary displays of bravery in performing their duty.

The pre-existing fissures and divisions of Indian society, combined with the dire threat of terrorism sponsored by the government of Pakistan, have exposed the deepest dilemmas of Indian society. It is nakedly a social order in which the prosperity and personal safety of politicians and their bureaucratic underlings are ensured because votebanks acquiesce. Cultivating these becomes the dominant fixation rather than virtuous governance and the pursuit of the public good. An ignored public occasionally takes to the street, with modest expressions of violent militancy, quite mellow by international standards. And the state is perfectly willing to unleash the police against them for their audacity in breaching barricades outside the palatial homes of arrogant rulers. Apparently, those who do not matter should know their place. In a final example of cynicism, the dying victim of rape was dispatched abroad by disdainful rulers, just in case her funeral procession became a cause of additional irritants to their serenity. But the gods must be watching, since she has beckoned her fellow citizens to action with a remarkable display of moral integrity and courage, values worth living and dying for.

NV Subramanian:

Justice Sonia Style

Justice, Sonia-style

The system failed a young woman of Delhi and caused great tragedy.
By N.V. Subramanian (28 December 2012)

New Delhi: With a faux choked voice, Sonia Gandhi has said, “The rape victim should get justice” Thank you. How wonderful. How kind of the empress. Sonia is doing a favour by getting the victim justice. This country is reduced to getting justice only if Sonia Gandhi decrees. What a fall (or is it rise?) for a nation barely sixty-five years after independence.

Rather than being the dispenser of a uniquely personalized and privileged justice, Sonia Gandhi should take full blame for the rape tragedy. A young woman at the anti-rape protests got that straightaway right. Sonia is the moving force behind both the Manmohan Singh and Shiela Dixit governments, and both these administrations by their criminal negligence of women’s and general citizen security enabled a horrific crime to occur.

Manmohan Singh is as ineffective as prime minister as Sushil Kumar Shinde is as home minister. Neither is a politician. Neither is connected to the ground. The prime minister went mum for seven days after the rape incident and opened his mouth for such memorable closing words, “Theek hai.” The home minister of course referred to the anti-rape protestors as Maoists. Personally and politically insecure, their public discourse reveals them.

But who has made them so? Who has chosen them precisely for their ineffectiveness and incompetence? Why does India have a prime minister who does not deserve to be one? Why do we have a patently unqualified boor as home minister? Because Sonia Gandhi wants them. And then Sonia Gandhi fakes emotions on the tragedy, and the fawning media plays it up.

Why does Sonia Gandhi want politically insecure people around her? Because she is herself politically unsure, and does not want the succession plan for her son to be jeopardized. As people in her party say, she wants yes-men around her; she wants forever to be in a position of indispensability for the Congress. Carefully, every politician in the party has been destroyed or sidelined. There is not a single politician of the first rank in the Union cabinet today. The Congress’s last half-decent politician plotted his escape to Rashtrapati Bhawan, and must now hang his head in shame for the unspeakable utterances of his son.

A system does not collapse easily, but if you have a non-prime minister and a zero cabinet for eight years, if corruption and scams are the norm, if IAS and IPS officers become partners in the loot of the country, then the steel frame will give way. It has. When an autorickshaw refused to take the young woman all the way to the safety of her home in Palam, and left her vulnerable to tragedy, the system had collapsed. What’s the use of Sonia Gandhi shedding tears now, when she has willfully destroyed the system to perpetuate Nehru-Gandhi rule?

And why does Sheila Dixit continue to be chief minister when she cannot safeguard women? How can she remain chief minister in all conscience knowing she couldn’t prevent a great tragedy? It is entirely in the nature of her absent guilt and remorse that she initiates the rape victim’s hush-hush dispatch to Singapore in the dead of night so any repercussions from her case do not affect her government. Worse, her flacks work the hacks to get her credit for Singapore. Outsource and be damned. That is the name of the game.

And what of the abomination called Neeraj Kumar? Congress insiders say he is close to 10 Janpath, which is why he continues to remain commissioner of police when he should have been sacked hours post the tragedy. Neeraj Kumar is responsible for the tragedy. If police systems had been in place, the tragedy could have been avoided. He was responsible for the violence against anti-rape protestors, especially women, and the maniacal tear-gassing and water-cannoning. No one believes him that protestor violence killed a police constable. He and his subordinate officers have been lying to save their skins, and the most minimum to get the police system on rails in Delhi is to throw out the police commissioner.

That is the most token justice Sonia Gandhi can deliver for the rape victim. Then she must get rid of Sheila Dixit, the home minister, and the clueless prime minister. If she cannot or won’t take these decisions, then her talk of justice is meaningless. The system betrayed a young woman of Delhi. It threw her to the wolves. Those that operate the system, from top to bottom, must pay. They must pay a price so high that their successors do not dare to subvert the system. Nothing less will satisfy citizens. Enough is enough.

I hear the INC dreaded the urban commons coming after them and hence used massive force and twisted the willing media's arms to stave it off.

Another

Heroes and Villans

Heroes & villains

This has been a terrible year for India, ending with a horrific rape and death.
By N.V. Subramanian (31 December 2012)

New Delhi: More than the routine and tiresome aggregation of the victors and losers of the receded year, it is imperative to identify the public heroes and out the villains of 2012. In every such list, there would be Damini in number 1 position, the heroic rape victim of Delhi, this writer’s 16th December princess, but she has gone beyond us to become immortal, although not before showing up her compatriots, as individuals, sections, classes, interest groups, in true light.

The young: In age terms, they would be peers of Damini, but soul-wise too, they are closest to her, especially the young women. On the morning after Damini’s state-enforced swift and secret cremation, sadness shrouded Jantar Mantar, with little islands of silent women bounded in grief, eyes wet, holding heart-rending placards. The men and the boys have been equal participants in the grief, but it is the women who have been the moving force behind the unending anti-rape agitation. They are angry, they aren’t going to give up without a fight, and they have the entire country behind them. The more cynical expected the young to return to life-as-usual faced with an obdurate, insensitive and venal state, right in the midst of a harsh winter. But they are there, shunning the New Year parties, they have made Jantar Mantar their home, and they are demanding justice for Damini.

The young are the heroes of 2012. They have made the country proud.

The media: In the past, the rulers could divide the media, but not on the Damini issue. Early on, it seemed the government had arm-twisted some news channels to block the protests, but not for long. Conditioned not to become part of the story, journalists have been unable to make that distinction this time, crossing the thin line, becoming pro-protesters, joining in candlelight vigils and marches, venting equal anger at the apathy of the political class as the common citizens, and generally disabling the government from creating schisms and mischief. It has been a humbling experience for the media that the protesters, young and without guile for the most part, have not been courting the channels and the newspapers, who have been compelled to the coverage because of the courage and integrity of the Damini movement.

Aam Admi Party (AAP): It has become a force to reckon with in the Jantar Mantar protests, and Arvind Kejriwal was the only member of the political class to have the mettle to join the anti-rape stir. AAP’s advisor, Yogendra Yadav, the psephologist, was a picture of poise, dignity and humility engaging with the protestors to chart the way forward. Whilst Left front organizations were in the lead in the protests, their volunteers admitted to AAP’s quite considerable mobilization powers, which should be bad news to Shiela Dixit’s Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. AAP’s presence in Jantar Mantar perhaps did not provoke the anger and disdain felt for the ruling party since it has never been in power, but it does seem that Arvind Kejriwal is aligning his group closely with public opinion, which is more than can be said for the other political parties. On the whole, commendable.

The political class: Downright villainous in the case of the ruling party, whilst the opposition has been either incompetent or confused or clueless. From the ruling party, only Sheila Dixit dared to come to Jantar Mantar, but she was booed away in part because she had the police evict students when they gheraoed her residence earlier. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Manmohan Singh were missing in the action, the usually voluble and argumentative Congress spokespersons confessed their helplessness in tackling a peaceful students’ agitation, and to make matters worse, no executive decisions, such as the sacking of the police commissioner at a minimum, were taken. On the other hand, the police were allowed to create mayhem in the early stages of the Damini movement, lathi-charging, tear-gassing and water-cannoning the students, calling to mind a dictatorship, and Central Delhi was controversially sealed.

The opposition, surprisingly, showed the same disconnect with the agitation as the ruling Congress. It began with petty political rivalries at Jantar Mantar, with the CPI-M activists protesting separately from other Left groups to preserve their “ideological purity”. Brinda Karat addressed the CPI-M group without venturing to meet the unaffiliated young who could have gained much from her presence, support and advice. Meanwhile, the BJP’s Sushma Swaraj made no visit to Jantar Mantar and no attempts to engage the agitators, although belatedly, the party-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad did try to force open the barricaded streets of Central Delhi. In sum, a poor show from the political class, and hatred for the ruling party is at its peak, which the Congress leadership is unwilling and unable to address.

Delhi Police: It has become the hated symbol of the state, and the biggest institutional loser and villain of 2012. Miraculously, Neeraj Kumar remains police commissioner, but he has no equity left. If the Manmohan Singh government had been serious about reclaiming the lost ground, he should have been forced out long ago. He is unlikely to continue very long as commissioner, but his ouster would not enhance the image of the Delhi Police. By employing violence against protesters, the police have alienated them. Then police were exposed faking a constable’s death as a result of protestors’ violence. Finally, Damini’s hush-hush cremation under police pressure has robbed Delhi Police of any residual goodwill it had. It is only a matter of time before Delhi Police is brought under Delhi’s chief minister, when it will be severely curtailed from its licentiousness, and become robustly accountable for the city’s law-and-order situation. In the past fortnight, the worst side of Delhi Police has been on exhibit, and as the coercive instrument of state, it has come for villainous highlighting. Without reforms, Delhi Police constitutes the biggest threat to citizens of Delhi, as bad as the rapists that fearlessly roam the streets.

[ramana]

OK now some suggestions from DP officers on IPC reforms:

Vital changes needed in IPC to help women

Vital changes needed in IPC to help women, say police .
Wednesday, 02 January 2013 17:04 IANS | New Delhi

Calling the Delhi gang-rape "the worst in the world", police officers are calling for urgent amendments in the archaic Indian Penal Code (IPC) to provide justice to women in distress.

Even police officers who have over the decades seen countless bodies and battered humans are unable to control their emotions as they talk about the savagery committed Dec 16 on the victim who finally died Dec 29.

"We have never seen a beastly crime like this," one officer told IANS. "Forget the details… I can tell you with authority that there has never been a rape like this anywhere in the world."

This is a rare case when most police officers surprisingly are in agreement with what protesters are demanding on the streets: death for all six rapists.

"What happened on Dec 16 was shocking," another officer added. "We too are human, we too have daughters, wives and mothers. It is impossible to tell anyone what this woman underwent in the (moving) bus."

All the accused have been charged with murder since the 23-year-old woman who was brutally raped and tortured succumbed to multiple organ failure in a Singapore hospital after struggling for 13 days to live.

The woman and her male friend boarded the bus in south Delhi's Munirka area Dec 16 night. The bus was plying illegally, and within moments the six males began assaulting her. Her friend was badly beaten.

After 40 minutes of savagery, in which the attackers also used an iron rod, both victims were thrown out - naked, shivering and bleeding. Police say the crew tried to crush the gang-rape victim but failed.

Police officers and legal experts say there are some fundamental problems related to the IPC that need urgent correction if the law has to become women-friendly.

One IPC provision needing early change is section 354 which deals with "outraging the modesty of women".

The punishment under this - two years in jail or fine or both - is the same irrespective of whether merely someone passes lewd remarks or tugs a woman's dress or actually makes a physical advance.

The nature of punishment gives vast discretion to judicial officers. This is also an easily bailable offence.

Experts and officers say there should be three gradations in this section, with "simple harassment" inviting lesser punishment and the more serious assaults deserving harsher punishment.

If punishment goes up, the cases will go to a sessions judge, and bail won't be easy.

"Section 354 is what is used most extensively," one officer said. "Most complaints of women relate to this section. But as the accused get bail, women feel cheated and betrayed."

Police officers say there should also be death penalty even for rapes in the "rarest of rare cases" - as defined by the Supreme Court for murder.

"There may be rapes where the victims may be badly traumatized and barely be living," said the officer. "Such cases should call for death penalty."

The current punishment for rape under Section 376 provides for punishment from seven years to life.

Women's groups have been repeatedly calling for amendments in law, pointing out that some IPC sections, framed during a bygone era, do not correspond to present realities.

The six Delhi rapists have been charged with, among other things, gang-rape as defined by IPC section 376(2)(G).

Under this sub-section, each accused present during a gang-rape would be deemed to have assaulted the victim irrespective of whether he took part in the rape or not.

"Even if one or two among the six accused in Delhi did not rape her, that makes no difference," he said. "As far as the law is concerned, they are all equally culpable."

Chaankya does this make sense?

[Theo_Fidel]

There should be an option for life without parole. Esp. for the other participants.

[ramana]

In India, 20 years RI is life for one wont survive that.

[Theo_Fidel]

I dunno. No one is dying in prison.
No, we need life without parole, the victims should never have to see these louts outside.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-new ... 24930.aspx

Two murder convicts sentenced to rigorous imprisonment were recently found loitering in Tihar jail by an inspecting Judge who passed critical comments on lax rules in prisons. This has triggered a debate whether rigorous imprisonment (RI) really means the rigours of prison like hard
labour.

A look at different jail manuals in the country shows that 99% of the convicts being awarded RI may actually be undergoing simple imprisonment in reality.

Sentenced to undergo RI in Delhi's Tihar jail, an ex-IPS officer looks after the library while another convict, also undergoing RI, dishes out legal aid.

Many of those convicted to undergo rigorous imprisonment in various other prisons may actually be serving just simple imprisonment as the jails do not have enough work for the convicts.

"Only 10% of our rigorous imprisonment prisoners get work and rest sit idle as there is no work. Prison officials decide the type of work to be given. Work is allocated to a prisoner keeping in mind the best that can be got out of the prisoner," K V Reddy, president All India Prison Officers Association and deputy superintendent of Jails, Andhra Pradesh said.

[devesh]

about the illegal immigrant thing:

sometimes the spirit of the law is of greater importance than the word of the law.
in this case, whether it is the state or center, the spirit of the law is a justified reason to enforce the law.

just a clarification. let's not bring that debate into this thread. onlee.

[SriKumar]

Some random thoughts:

1. The goal of 'a woman walking alone at 3:00 a.m. in a bikini with no fear' is a worthwhile goal, but we have to walk before we can run. Before this can happen, a woman should be able to fearlessly walk alone in a salwaar at 10:00 p.m. One cannot reach the 3:00 a.m. goal without first reaching the 10:00 p.m. goal. Let's first get to the 10:00 p.m. goal. We are not there today. Shooting for perfection feels good, but can we deliver the 10:00 p.m basics today? I doubt it. We need the 10:00 p.m. goal first.

2. Changing attitudes among boys (12 through 17) and men (18 through 35? 65?) is indeed a fundamental way to reduce roadside/bus/train harassment, and by extension, rape. It will reduce the amount of people committing harassment and rape. But (i) this will take time, and (ii) the rape count will not be 0 (it is not zero in any country). One needs an effective system to handle rapes (and rape+murder) in the interim, and at the end, when we reach Rama rajya with a low rate of rape. The immediate focus must be (IHMO) on the police and court system, as in (i) more policing as advocated by Kiran Bedi that deepan gill posted, (ii) changing laws, and(iii) changing procedure so that all rape cases are recorded, (iv) rape cases are fast-tracked i.e. a time-limit is placed. If no time limits are placed, we'll be back to square one- where we are today. Another issue is the lack of willingness of police to record rapes. Some sort of a parallel system must be set up that will record rapes, with jail time provided for filing of false reporst- this again speaks to a quick investigation that is needed as soon as a case is filed.

1] Kiran Bedi is right. First thing is to contain and discourage this behaviour. Home Gaurds, cadets in CRPF, Delhi Police and other units need to be deployed all over the city. 3 shifts, 8 hours long. Strong usage of walkie talkies. Minimum side arm to each personnel.
2] Majority under cover, to be riding in Metros, buses, and other locations such as Palika Baazar etc.

Stop protesting in the streets. Your movement will be hijacked by commies who are somehow trying to make a Indian-Spring. If you are protesting the law, and enforcers of law, then what exactly is the protest demanding?? Anarchy and revolution? Instead, use your vote and use it wisely, don't vote for a party but an individual.

In my opinion, the only reason people are talking about this case and outraged about it is because of the protests. If the students had not come out into the streets, it would have been a newspaper story for a couple of days and then gone. There have been numerous rape+murders over the past years/decades. How many do we remember? How many of them forced a change of any sort? If protests are being infiltrated, then this is not a new tactic by any means. The right reason to stop a protest is if the cause is not worth protesting. I am wiling to wager that if the protests stop and the outrage subsides, it will be business as usual for all parties involved.

[Advait]

This thread has been spectacularly derailed.

It should have been titled "Practical steps to making India a safer place"

[SaiK]

solutions ≠ practical steps?

[Advait]

Suggesting social engineering and waiting for system to change does not fall in the "practical" category.

Nothing wrong with trying to create a more efficient system, but moi thought this was about what we and esp women, can do right NOW.

[Bade]

Dunno if this was posted before, stats of 2011.

Chapter-5


Crime Against Women

5.1 Incidence & Rate of Crime Committed Against Women (State, UT & City-wise)

5.2 Incidence, Rate and Percentage Contribution to All India of Crimes Committed Against Women (State, UT & City-wise)

5.3 Victims of Rape (also incest Rape cases) under Different Age-Groups (State, UT & City-wise)

5.4 Offenders Relation & Nearness to Rape Victims (State, UT & City-wise)

http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/cii-2011/Table%205.1.pdf
http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/cii-2011/Table%205.2.pdf
http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/cii-2011/Table%205.3.pdf
http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/cii-2011/Table%205.4.pdf

[Bade]

This captures the country totals over many years. Looks like reported cases of rape has been steadily increasing over the years and so do murders. No clear cut markers to show any correlation to ruling cliques or policy matters on a first look.

http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/cii-2011/1953-2011.pdf

[Bade]

Readable summary. Fig 5.1 shows majority of crimes against women are family related, and rape is 10% only, molestation close to 20% and Fig 5.2 shows some discrimination in the rise with timeline.

http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/cii-2011/Chapter%205.pdf

[rkirankr]

solutions ≠ practical steps?

Stopping Arranged marriages and going only for "love marrriages" is a solution by some on this forum. But it is not practical

[SriKumar]

This thread has been spectacularly derailed.

Allow me to elaborate. I dont think the thread is spectacularly derailed. There was some danger of that earlier but I think it is still under control.

I think discussing 'solutions' is the right way to go. harbans has made a good attempt at categorizing the various forms of attack. It is a good start. My opinion is that we do need to mention and discuss solutions of any sort that are reasonable, but those with a prescription for a solution also must (IMHO) make a small attempt in taking the next step in the thought process and give a suggestion on what would be the *first* step in implementing it. The lack of it would only give us a lot of sermonizing along the lines of 'Nothing will change unless each man respects the dignity of woman'...or 'Nothing will change unless each Indian truly considers a woman the embodiment of Lakshmi/Durga mata' (as seen in the article posted by harbans).

So, IMHO, let the solutions flow freely here, but some attempt must be made to say as to what the very first step might be in getting it implemented. Even cultural solutions are fine (for the record, I am for cultural solutions too), but how would one implement them, and when that happens, one begins to get an idea of the timeframe. What we dont want is extended commentary on culture and dharma in the olden times......we know can fill up threads and threads on that (its been done in other threads over the years).

[Anantha]

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/must- ... 130103.htm

An ex-minister writes to Dhridhirastra

"Their cases should be tried by fast-track courts so that either they are acquitted if proven not guilty, or convicted, as there is no place for a single legislator with a criminal record to be either in assembly or Parliament," he said.

Referring to the recent gangrape and brutal assault of a 23-year-old girl, who died in December, he said such incidents appear to be just the tip of the iceberg, as there must be innumerable unreported incidences of sexual harassment at the workplace, home and religious organisations.

"Crime is on the rise and I can say with a lot of concern that if this continues without immediate check, then we could lose the very essence of democracy. To my mind, these incidences are just the symptoms of a cancer which is taking deep root in India [ Images ]," he said.

"We should come together and seriously introspect to find solutions rather than apportion blame," he said.

Trivedi said it is of utmost importance that Parliament should function the way it is supposed to, without acrimony.

Unfortunately, he said, Parliament is getting reduced to a "mockery and hooliganism" and the Speaker is "virtually terrorised".

"The politicians today appear to be serving their political parties first rather than the nation; their priority must be country first. I strongly feel a legislator must take an oath of allegiance first to the country along with the Constitution before entering Parliament or legislative assembly," the former railway minister said.

[chaanakya]

OK now some suggestions from DP officers on IPC reforms:

Vital changes needed in IPC to help women

Vital changes needed in IPC to help women, say police .
Wednesday, 02 January 2013 17:04 IANS | New Delhi

Calling the Delhi gang-rape "the worst in the world", police officers are calling for urgent amendments in the archaic Indian Penal Code (IPC) to provide justice to women in distress.

Even police officers who have over the decades seen countless bodies and battered humans are unable to control their emotions as they talk about the savagery committed Dec 16 on the victim who finally died Dec 29.

"We have never seen a beastly crime like this," one officer told IANS. "Forget the details… I can tell you with authority that there has never been a rape like this anywhere in the world."

This is a rare case when most police officers surprisingly are in agreement with what protesters are demanding on the streets: death for all six rapists.

"What happened on Dec 16 was shocking," another officer added. "We too are human, we too have daughters, wives and mothers. It is impossible to tell anyone what this woman underwent in the (moving) bus."

All the accused have been charged with murder since the 23-year-old woman who was brutally raped and tortured succumbed to multiple organ failure in a Singapore hospital after struggling for 13 days to live.

The woman and her male friend boarded the bus in south Delhi's Munirka area Dec 16 night. The bus was plying illegally, and within moments the six males began assaulting her. Her friend was badly beaten.

After 40 minutes of savagery, in which the attackers also used an iron rod, both victims were thrown out - naked, shivering and bleeding. Police say the crew tried to crush the gang-rape victim but failed.

Police officers and legal experts say there are some fundamental problems related to the IPC that need urgent correction if the law has to become women-friendly.

One IPC provision needing early change is section 354 which deals with "outraging the modesty of women".

The punishment under this - two years in jail or fine or both - is the same irrespective of whether merely someone passes lewd remarks or tugs a woman's dress or actually makes a physical advance.

The nature of punishment gives vast discretion to judicial officers. This is also an easily bailable offence.

Experts and officers say there should be three gradations in this section, with "simple harassment" inviting lesser punishment and the more serious assaults deserving harsher punishment.

If punishment goes up, the cases will go to a sessions judge, and bail won't be easy.

"Section 354 is what is used most extensively," one officer said. "Most complaints of women relate to this section. But as the accused get bail, women feel cheated and betrayed."

Police officers say there should also be death penalty even for rapes in the "rarest of rare cases" - as defined by the Supreme Court for murder.

"There may be rapes where the victims may be badly traumatized and barely be living," said the officer. "Such cases should call for death penalty."

The current punishment for rape under Section 376 provides for punishment from seven years to life.

Women's groups have been repeatedly calling for amendments in law, pointing out that some IPC sections, framed during a bygone era, do not correspond to present realities.

The six Delhi rapists have been charged with, among other things, gang-rape as defined by IPC section 376(2)(G).

Under this sub-section, each accused present during a gang-rape would be deemed to have assaulted the victim irrespective of whether he took part in the rape or not.

"Even if one or two among the six accused in Delhi did not rape her, that makes no difference," he said. "As far as the law is concerned, they are all equally culpable."

Chaankya does this make sense?

My suggestion would be to instead of trying to do things in bits and pieces in IPC let us have a comprehensive Law for Crime against Women.

There should be scientific classification of all such offenses depending on nature and severity of the offense.
Right from Eve teasing to Molestation, Sexual Harassment, sexual assault to Kidnapping , immoral trafficking, indecent depiction to Rape of varying degree with and without consent , with and without injuries, grievous injury, brutality, unnatural acts during rape, permanent incapacitation/debilitation to death etc.

Punishment must be more stringent. Crime against women has increased 860% since 1953. This calls for a separate law besides other remedial measures. Other things/solutions which are long term should follow later or in parallel .

Death should be also included as a deterrant measure without provision to get pardon. The worst disservice that could have been done to the Women as a class has been done by a Woman President , the first one , only. This is a similar mentality shown by some of the women in power when one group of girls were taken to Police station in recent demonstration and the girl described that they were physically mishandled by women constable in the station. The automatic sensitization does not occur. Power and ego gets to them and even women police constable behave worse tha male counterpart. In the same vein Pratibha Patil acted in most harmful manner to the society in giving pardon to rapists.

There should be no remission and premature release for convicts sentenced to crim against women of more than 3 years.
Accused and convicts must attend psychological counseling periodically.

There should be separate and fast Track courts to try these offenses. And they should not adjourn cases at a drop of hat.

The conviction rate is 26%. Pending trial is 28% and remaining under investigation. The disposal rate is hardly 15% per annum. More than 80000 cases are held up with Judiciary and 1.5 lakhs cases with Police and both are equally contributory factor.



354 gives much leeway to the Police Officer to dilute the offense while judges become tolerant when there is a gap in time of commission of offense and commencement of trial.

Even 376 does not provide adequate sentencing. The Police most likely to concentrate on whether there was consent or not and they may ask questions to somehow prove that there was consent by default as the character of the girl could not be relied upon for truthful revelation. You can understand the reluctance of the victim and her family to approach the Police.


As far as gangrape is concerned he is right. It does not matter who actually penetrated. All will be equally guilty.

IPC is based on Victorian Notion of Morality which is alien concept in india. IPC does not take into account the socio cultural values of the society.

Sorry for the rambling post.

[RajeshA]

There are many streams for looking for solutions. One stream is "street justice". I'd like to look at that.

Those who do rape or just less serious "sexual harassment" need to feel fear, the fear of society. This fear of society is gone. That is because those who do so are often part of gangs and "street muscle", who enjoy political protection and hardly need to fear the dragnet of law. Now one can of course make changes - through better laws, through police accountability, through sending better politicians into office, etc. but the change should come more quickly.

What this involves is "the courage of citizens to intervene" in favor of a harassed woman. Any miscreant taking liberties with women need to first be beaten up by the crowd around and then delivered to the police. What one needs is for youth groups to "patrol" the streets and buses and public places, and when they see something untoward happening, they should intervene. Somebody needs to act as the catalyst for the rest of the crowd. Somebody needs to act first. This does not always come easy. One needs to mentally prepare for such situations. One needs to physically prepare for such confrontations.

So all those young people, who have shown an interest in protesting as well as others should organize themselves in "workshops" where training for such intervention is given.

[chaanakya]

In India, 20 years RI is life for one wont survive that.

No , RI for life means RI for life ( til death)
There is a provision that after undergoing 14 years of Imprisonment one can be released prematurely and state generally releases the. There is no mechanism to consult the family of victims. That is called power of the State Govt to commute the sentence

Power to commute sentence.
433. Power to commute sentence. The appropriate Government may, without the consent of the person sentenced, commute-
(a) a sentence of death, for any other punishment provided by the Indian Penal Code;
(b) a sentence of imprisonment for life, for imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years or for fine ;
(c) a sentence of rigorous imprisonment, for simple imprisonment for any term to which that person might have
been sentenced, or for fine ;
(d) a sentence of simple imprisonment, for fine.

Bolded part is where Life Imprisonment becomes 14 years sentence

It needs to be changed to 30 years or more given that life expectancy has gone up. Also it should depend on age of the person committing the crime. Some one who murders at the age of 18 would be out as hardened criminal at 34 years of age in full shape.

433A
Restriction on powers of remission or Commutation in certain cases.
1*[433A. Restriction on powers of remission or Commutation in certain cases. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 432, where a sentence of imprisonment for life is imposed on conviction of a person for an offence for which death is one of the punishments provided by law, or where a sentence of death imposed on a person has been commuted under section 433 into one of imprisonment for life, such person shall not be released from prison unless he had served at least fourteen years of imprisonment.]

This the provision for Remission

Power to suspend or remit sentences.
432. Power to suspend or remit sentences. (1) When any person has been sentenced to punishment for an offence, the appropriate Government may, at any time, without Conditions or upon any conditions which the person sentenced accepts, suspend the execution of his sentence or remit the whole or any part of the punishment to which he has been sentenced.
(2)Whenever an application is made to the appropriate Government for the suspension or remission of a sentence, the appropriate Government may require the. presiding Judge of the Court before or by which the conviction was had or confirmed, to state his opinion as to whether the application should be granted or refused, together with his reasons
for such opinion and also to forward with the statement of such opinion a certified copy of the record of the trial or of such record thereof as exists.
...................

All these provisions need to be revisited suitably.

[RamaY]

RajeshA garu,

A Telugu song writer wrote this more than a decade ago...in a movie (Sindhuram?) song

"Tanalo dhairyam adaviki pampi, that dharmanni kakhi kichi... Eee samaajam is choostondi aA renti madhya Yuddham" something like that

Meaning Hindu society sent its valor to forests (naxalism) and gave the responsibility of dharma (law and order) to police and became a mere spectator in the war between those two...

A careful social engineering applied on India where pluralism, ahimsa, and role of Police/courts are twisted to suite an occupying force, no wonder the current political dispensations and state structures behave like occupying forces and the society doesn't think it has a proactive role to play in its own affairs.

[member_22872]

What this involves is "the courage of citizens to intervene" in favor of a harassed woman.

Rajesh garu, My friend used to live in DRDO colony in Hyd. He used to tell me about how some goons used to harass a teenage girl everyday when she used to board a bus, and when her father interfered, he was beaten by the teasers and the onlookers never came to his rescue. The callous "mere kya jatha" attitude needs to die and an attitude of "sangatan me sakthi hain", one for all, all for one has to transcend petty selfish outlooks, then and only then can there be a real change in countering street thugs.

Not sure why we have this callous attitude, where in the others pain is not considered as our own.That worries me, very selfish and not good for the society.

[RajeshA]

RamaY ji,

we need to recreate valor among those who are left in society. Those in the forests may someday come back, but waiting for that day, may take some time.

venug ji,

I don't think, the attitude of "mera kya jaata hai" is the core fault! I think this attitude gains ground when one sees others not intervening, and one thinks that their lack of intervention is because of that attitude.

I just think, that the main culprit is that we as (urban) citizens are simply not trained in how to deal with these situations. Also in urban life, where many of the intra-community bonds break down, one is not sure whether one would get help and support from others should one decide to intervene. As such those who do believe in citizen's intervention need to actively look for those who would come to one's support in such a situation. This needs to be discussed beforehand. Scenarios need to played out beforehand. And each one needs to train mentally for such situations beforehand. Last but not least, physical strength also gives one a certain level of self-confidence.

[Lalmohan]

the key is to enforce the law - properly
easier said than done due to a myriad reasons

[svinayak]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... ape-damini

There is something uncomfortably neocolonial about the way the Delhi gang-rape and subsequent death of the woman now known as Damini is being handled in the UK and US media. While India's civil and political spheres are alight with protest and demands for changes to the country's culture of sexual violence, commentators here are using the event to simultaneously demonise Indian society, lionise our own, and minimise the enormity of western rape culture.

A particularly blatant example of this is Libby Purves's piece for the Times. She says the Delhi bus rape should "shatter our Bollywood fantasies". For Purves, westerners enjoy a romanticised view of India, all heady spirituality and Marigold Hotels; and especially romantic in their views, for reasons Purves neglects to address, are the British. Thus, upright Europeans have sentimentally ignored the "murderous, hyena-like male contempt" that Purves says is an Indian cultural norm. Neatly excised from her account however is the relationship between poverty, lack of education and repressive attitudes towards women, and, by extension, the role of Europe in creating and sustaining poverty in its former colonies. Attitudes towards women in the east were once used by colonialists to, first, prop up the logic of cultural superiority that justified unequal power relations (the "white man's burden") and second, silence feminists working back in the west by telling them that, comparatively, they had nothing to complain about.

When it finishes calling Indian men hyenas, Purves's article states that westerners "have the luxury of fretting about frillier feminist issues such as magazine images, rude remarks and men not doing housework". Does anyone else see an unattractive historical pattern here?
.....

The coverage of Damini's death strikes a particularly ironic note following recent media controversy over a rape, in Steubenville, Ohio, of a 16-year-old girl – allegedly by members of the high-school football team. The case is that the young woman was dragged, drunk and unresponsive, from party to party, where she was sexually abused. The brutal death of Damini has spurred Indian civil society to its feet, causing protest and unrest, bringing women and men into the streets, vocal in their demands for change. Sonia Gandhi has met the woman's parents. The army and the states of Punjab and Haryana have cancelled new year's celebrations. What happened in the US? In Steubenville, football-crazy townsfolk blamed the victim and it took a blogger – Alexandria Goddard, who is now being sued – and a follow-up article from the New York Times four months after the incident to get nationwide attention for the story.

Purves's article claims that we in the west are "looking eastward in disgust". I believe that disgusted parties would do well to turn their judgmental gazes on their own societies. Let's look east in solidarity and support for India's urgently necessary women's rights movement; let's keep talking about the social discrimination Indian women face, which affluent westerners do not. However, it is both prejudiced and completely fantastical to talk as though sexual violence is some kind of Indian preserve. We might have comparatively better women's rights in the UK, but this is due, in large part, to the social services that our wealth allows. Colonial history helped to create and global capital continues to sustain low standards of living in India. We would do well to be cognisant of our historically inscribed privilege before complaining that this horrific event has destroyed our pretty colonial fantasies

[chaanakya]

And this is just one example of failure of judiciary. Common man are fed up with it and dont want to approach either police or judiciary where wait for justice can span generations. Many judges would retire or die in the interim.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/surya ... e/1054090/

the Supreme Court (SC) today decided to hear urgently an appeal against the acquittal of accused in the 17-year-old Suryanelli rape case in which a woman from Kerala was allegedly raped by 42 men for 40 days.

With the appeal pending at apex court itself for eight years, a bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir assured that hearings would begin on it within three weeks.

The bench gave the assurance after it was brought to its notice during mentioning period that the appeal against the acquittal of accused in the case is pending in the apex court for last eight years.



The Suryanelli rape case involves gangrape of a 16-year-old girl continuously for 40 days by 42 men in 1996.

The girl from Suryanelli in Idukki district of Kerala was abducted in January 1996 and was transported from place to place across Kerala.

On September 6, 2000, the special court had sentenced 35 persons to rigorous imprisonment for varying terms.

The Kerala High Court, however, acquitted all 35 convicts earlier and found only one of them person guilty of crimes related to the sex trade and sentenced him to five years jail term and a fine of Rs 50,000.

Later her family and the state moved the Supreme Court in 2005 against the high court's verdict.

[ramana]

And this is just one example of failure of judiciary. Common man are fed up with it and dont want to approach either police or judiciary where wait for justice can span generations. Many judges would retire or die in the interim.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/surya ... e/1054090/

the Supreme Court (SC) today decided to hear urgently an appeal against the acquittal of accused in the 17-year-old Suryanelli rape case in which a woman from Kerala was allegedly raped by 42 men for 40 days.

With the appeal pending at apex court itself for eight years, a bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir assured that hearings would begin on it within three weeks.

The bench gave the assurance after it was brought to its notice during mentioning period that the appeal against the acquittal of accused in the case is pending in the apex court for last eight years.

{So the bench headed by the Chief Justice of India had to be informed it was sitting on an appeal for 8 long years!!! And this man has the nerve to talk about hurried justice for rape accused at the fast track court opening !}


The Suryanelli rape case involves gangrape of a 16-year-old girl continuously for 40 days by 42 men in 1996.

The girl from Suryanelli in Idukki district of Kerala was abducted in January 1996 and was transported from place to place across Kerala.

On September 6, 2000, the special court had sentenced 35 persons to rigorous imprisonment for varying terms.

The Kerala High Court, however, acquitted all 35 convicts earlier and found only one of them person guilty of crimes related to the sex trade and sentenced him to five years jail term and a fine of Rs 50,000.

Later her family and the state moved the Supreme Court in 2005 against the high court's verdict.

Are the accused politically connected that Kerala High COurt decided to let them go?

[chaanakya]

Are the accused politically connected that Kerala High COurt decided to let them go?

And Lawyer too.

Its called Bulls Eye.

In a planned move, somewhere during the trip he got off the bus and disappeared. The second accused, Usha, who was travelling in the same bus offered help to the girl and subsequently handed over her to Advocate Dharmarajan, the prime accused in the case. On the pretext of taking the girl to her relative’s house, he took the girl to a lodge and raped her. There after, Usha and Dharmarajan presented her to several men, including influential politicians, businessmen and other prominent persons, at various places in Kerala and Tamilnadu.

There was tremendous pressure on the family not to register a case. The investigation was inordinately delayed and the involvement of the influential persons resulted in scuttling of the entire probe. In the name of identifying the culprits, the police paraded the girl all over the State along with the accused. Where ever they stopped, the public abused the girl. The newspapers celebrated the incident with pulpy stories. There were threats on the minor girl’s life to withdraw from the case. In the 1996 Assembly elections, the Opposition Left Democratic Front made the scandal one of its major campaign issues, especially in view of allegations that one of the men guilty was a prominent ruling party politician (eventually, however, his name did not figure in the charge-sheet for want of evidence), and came into power.

No wonder appeal was lying idle in SC as Congi politicians were also involved.

Lawbreakers are the Lawmakers.

[chaanakya]

And this is what High Court of KL reportedly said

After everything is said and done, it appears that the decision of the Division Bench breeds more injustice than it seeks to dispel. The Court held that the minor child victim was a deviant. It said that she needed money. It also said that she was ready to take any risk to raise money. It concluded that she consented to the act complained of. The cumulative effect is to reduce the girl to the status of a fallen woman, a stigma she is destined to carry with her during the rest of her life. No blame can, therefore, be placed at the door of the Women Rights Organizations and activists if they felt that the ultimate casualty was gender justice, which had apparently been given a short shrift.

[SaiK]

What needs to be done (new setup/idea) is an area I guess we have no dearth of talents. But, what is not done correct, and the correction area is where I don't see any vision at all.

[Theo_Fidel]

Maybe chemical poisoning has something to it.
Which would be ironic considering the bus....

[SaiK]

Theo, you know pretty well that those two graph lines are co-related and has no relationship whatsoever. What is the solution you are trying to show from the graph?

And for heaven's sake that data from DOJ, USA.. and has no implication to the crime status in desh.

[ramana]

Mark Twain said about accusations " Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics!"