Jump to content

Rape in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Undertrialryryr (talk | contribs) at 14:16, 28 May 2013 (Undid revision 557173625 by Technopat (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Part of a series on
Violence against women
murder
Sexual assault and rape
Disfigurement
Other issues
International legal framework
Related topics

Rape in India has been described by Radha Kumar as one of India's most common crimes against women[1] and by the UN’s human-rights chief as a “national problem”.[2] In the 1980s, women's rights groups lobbied for marital rape to be declared unlawful, as until 1983, the criminal law (amendment) act stated that "sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age is not rape". Marital rape is now illegal in India but is still widespread.[3]

While per-capita reported incidents are quite low compared to other countries, even developed countries,[4][5] a new case is reported every 20 minutes.[6][7] New Delhi has the highest rate of rape-reports among Indian cities.[8] Sources show that rape cases in India have doubled between 1990 and 2008.[9] According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 24,206 rape cases were registered in India in 2011, although experts agree that the number of unreported cases is much higher.[10]Penal provisions for rape are often being misused by women as "weapon for vengeance and vendetta" to harass and blackmail their male friends by filing false cases to extort money and to force them get married, the Delhi High Court has said.[11]

Rapist Auto Drivers

[12] Even though in real life auto drivers rape women passengers on the pretext of taking a short cut and taking them to a lonely lane; in order to commit sexual assault.[13].Auto Drivers are shown as good guys in movies which is far from reality.[14].Auto Drivers are cheats,rapists and arrogant..[15].[16].[17].......[18]..........[19]....[20].......[21]....[22]...[23]....[24]....[25]....[26]

School bus driver

[27]. School bus driver and helpers find school girls easy target for sex.As these girls are vulnerable the drivers make full use of the opportunity.[28]....[29]....[30]....[31]....[32]....

Notable incidents

People in Bangalore protesting outside Bangalore Town Hall on 30 December 2012 demanding justice for the 23-year-old student who was gang-raped in Delhi on 16 December 2012.

The rape and murder of English teenager Scarlett Keeling, on 18 February 2008, brought international attention to cases of rape in India.[33][34][35]

A Russian national working in India claimed that she was raped by a Goan politician on 1 December 2009 after having dinner with him that evening.[36] Shantaram Naik, an MP of the Indian National Congress, occasioned widespread disapproval, when he said, "...an alleged rape of a lady who moves with strangers for days together even beyond middle of the night is to be treated on a different footing."[36][37] Mamata Banerji stated[38] that free interaction between men and women today has led to these crimes.

The gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a public bus, on 16 December 2012, sparked large protests across the capital Delhi.[39] She was with a male friend who was severely beaten with an iron rod during the incident.[40] This same rod was used to penetrate her so severely that the victim's intestines had to be surgically removed, before her death thirteen days after the attack.[41] In the 24-hour period after the gang rape of the victim, at least two girls under the age of 18 were gang raped and one of them was murdered.[42]

The following day, there was an uproar in the Indian parliament over the incident. MPs in both houses had set aside their regular business to discuss the gruesome rape case and demanded strict punishment for those who carried out the attack. Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, demanded that "the rapists should be hanged".[43] Thousands of people, mostly young, participated in a massive demonstration in 22 December in protest. Police announced that six men suspected of rape had been arrested.[44] As a result of this incident, the government has promised speedy trials in cases of violations. It will improve the lighting of roads and public transport and there will be more police patrols to ensure the safety of women.[44]

In 2012 Bikram Singh Brahma was accused of raping a woman in the Chirang district of Assam. He was caught by villagers who heard the woman's screams. He was stripped of his shirt and beaten by locals and was suspended from the ruling Congress party.[45]

Other notable cases
State Case Name Year
Kashmir Kunan Poshpora incident 1991
Shopian rape and murder case 2009
Delhi Delhi gang-rape case 2012
Kerala Suryanelli rape case 1996
Kiliroor Sex Scandal 2003
Soumya rape and murder case 2012
Maharashtra Aruna Shanbaug case 1973
Jalgaon rape case 1982 - 1994
Mathura rape case 1974 - 1981
Tulasa Thapa 1982
Manipur Thangjam Manorama 2004
Orissa Anjana Mishra rape case 1999
Rajasthan Ajmer rape case ? - 1992
Bhanwari Devi 1992
Uttar Pradesh Imrana rape case 2005
Tamil Nadu Vachathi case 1992

During partition

Main article: Rape during the partition of India

During the partition of India, rape was an extensive issue.[46] It is estimated that during the partition, up to 100,000 women were kidnapped and raped.[47]

Jammu and Kashmir

Main article: Rape in Jammu and Kashmir

There have been allegations of rape and mass rape in Jammu and Kashmir being carried out by both Indian armed forces and militant groups.[48][49] In 1991, the 4 Rajputana Rifles unit are alleged to have entered the village of Kunan Poshpora and raped between 30 and 100 women aged between 13 and 70.[50][51] The Indian government carried out three inquiries into the allegations and concluded that it had been a hoax.[52]

The International Commission of Jurists have stated that though the attacks had not been proven beyond a doubt, there was credible evidence that it had happened.[53] In 2011, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) asked for the reopening of the case.[54]

Islamist groups

Groups such has Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat ul-Ansar have all been accused of carrying out rapes.[48] The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front have been accused of ethnic cleansing by using murder, arson and rape as a weapon of war to drive out hundreds of thousands of Hindu pandits from the region.[55][56]

Madhya Pradesh

In March 2013 a Swiss couple who were cycling from Orchha to Agra, were physically assailed by 8 locals, the man was overpowered and tied up while the 39-year-old woman was gang-raped in front of her husband at a village in Datia District where they decided to camp for a night.[57][58][59]

Northeast India

Human rights groups allege that the Indian armed forces under the protection of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 have carried out a large amount of rapes in the Nagaland, Assam and Manipur provinces.[60]

Uttar Pradesh

In 2011 number of brutal assaults on women were reported in Uttar Pradesh and according to the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), the majority of those assaulted were poor women from remote areas and Dalits. SR Darapuri vice president of the PUCL stated, "I analysed the rape figures for 2007 and I found that 90% of victims were Dalits and 85% of Dalit rape victims were underage girls."[61]

Crime Against Children

According to a BBC report in February 2013, more than 7,200 children are raped each year in India. Underage victims who do report the assaults are often subjected to mistreatment and humiliation from the police.[62] A landmark government survey in 2007 revealed that the vast majority of children in India are physically abused and that such occurrences are ″disturbingly common″.[62][63] In January 2013, a 7 year old girl was raped in the school toilet while studying at school in Goa.[64][65]

Minor girls are trafficked into prostitution in India, often by those women who have been trafficked themselves. As adults they use personal relationships and trust in their villages of origin to recruit additional girls.[66] India is categorized as one of the ‘extreme risk' countries for trafficking children.[66]

The legal principle of reliance on the sole testimony of the victim had become "an easy weapon" for women to implicate any man in a case of rape. [67]Indian Parliament introduced amendments to the Indian Penal Code making various changes to the anti-rape laws in India.[68] The offence of rape under Section 375, have made both penile and non-penile insertion into bodily orifices of a woman by a man an offence. The definition is broadly defined in some aspect, with acts like penetration of penis, or any object or any part of body to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a woman or making her to do so with another person or applying of mouth to sexual organs without the consent or will of the woman constitutes the offence of rape.[69]

The section has also clarified that penetration means "penetration to any extent", and lack of physical resistance is immaterial for constituting an offence. Except in certain aggravated situation the punishment will be imprisonment not less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine. In aggravated situations, punishment will be rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.[69]

A new section, 376A has been added which states that if a person committing the offence of sexual assault, "inflicts an injury which causes the death of the person or causes the person to be in a persistent vegetative state, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean the remainder of that person’s natural life, or with death."[69] In case of "gang rape", persons involved regardless of their gender shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to life and shall pay compensation to the victim which shall be reasonable to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of the victim.

Certain changes has been introduced in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and Indian Evidence Act, like the recording of statement of the victim has been made more friendly and easy, character of the victim is irrelevant for consideration, presumption of no consent where sexual intercourse is proved and the victim states in the court that there has been no consent, etc.

The age of consent in India has been increased to 18 years, which means any sexual activity irrespective of presence of consent with a woman below the age of 18 will constitute statutory rape. Although, the decision of death penalty for the most extreme rape cases was approved by the Indian parliament, marital rape is still not accepted as a criminal offense within Indian legal framework,[70] except during the period of judicial separation of the partners. The government officials argued that the contract of marriage presumes consent to sex and that criminalising marital rape in turn would weaken family values in India.[70]

The marital rape victims easily use Section 498-A of the IPC ("perverse sexual conduct by the husband") to jail men for 3 years, or the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) to evict husband from his own home.Around 75% of such cases are false[71] The PWDVA, which came into force in 2006, effectively provides protection against marital rape or other forms of sexual perversions and domestic violence.[72] However, it offers only a civil remedy for the offence.[73]

See also

General:

Regional:

Notes

References

  1. ^ Kumar, Radha (1993). The History of Doing: An Account of Women's Rights and Feminism in India. Zubaan. p. 128. ISBN 978-8185107769.
  2. ^ "India's women: Rape and murder in Delhi". Economist.com. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  3. ^ Kinnear, Karen L. (2011). Women in Developing Countries: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 26–27. ISBN 1598844261.
  4. ^ « The Irrationality of Rationing (2013-01-25). "Lies, Damned Lies, Rape, and Statistics". Messy Matters. Retrieved 2013-03-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Schmalleger, John Humphrey, Frank. Deviant behavior (2nd ed. ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 252. ISBN 0763797731. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Mohanty, Suchitra. "Indian rape victim's father says he wants her named | Reuters". In.reuters.com. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  7. ^ "Rape statistics around the world". Indiatribune.com. 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  8. ^ "Rape statistics around the world". Indiatribune.com. 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  9. ^ "http://www.arabnews.com/indian-student-gang-raped-thrown-bus-new-delhi". AFP. 17 December 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  10. ^ Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director (2012-12-29). "India: Rape Victim's Death Demands Action | Human Rights Watch". Hrw.org. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  11. ^ http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Women-sometime-file-rape-cases-as-weapon-for-vengeance-HC/2013/05/25/article1605616.ece
  12. ^ "Put a stop to this auto menace, say women". The Times of India. Jan 7 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Auto driver arrested for woman's rape". The Times of India. May 11 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Auto driver arrested for molesting five year old". The Times of India. May 3 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Stop the auto-rickshaw menace". facebook. 16 October 2003.
  16. ^ "'Other' auto drivers a menace at city airport". DNA. Apr 5 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Finally, Bengal govt acts against auto menace: ID scan for all drivers". The TELEGRAPH. August 21 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "19-year-old gang-raped by four auto drivers". The NewIndianExpress. 24th March 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Auto driver gets life term for raping girl in 2008". The Hindustantimes. March 29, 2013.
  20. ^ "Impaired girl alleges rape by auto driver". The Telegraph. June 27 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Kerala rape-murder: Auto driver gets death". indian express. Jan 04 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Auto driver who raped 4-year-old tried to lure another minor". indian express. Dec 13 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "Two auto drivers rape 14-year-old MP girl". dna. May 24 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ http://article.wn.com/view/2013/04/07/Auto_driver_held_for_raping_minor/#/video. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ^ "Dutch teenager raped in auto". midday. 2011-12-29.
  26. ^ "Foreign rape victims seldom return to India for court trial". sunday guardian. 10th Nov 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "School bus driver, helper held for molesting girls, showing them porn". timesofindia. May 10, 2013.
  28. ^ "15-year-old raped in school bus, driver arrested". ndtv. April 29, 2013.
  29. ^ "Delhi: School van driver rapes minor girl, held". zeenews. October 14, 2012.
  30. ^ "Alarming rise in cases of sexual assault on minors in state". timesofindia. May 6, 2013.
  31. ^ "Three Indians arrested for raping 4-year-old Indian girl - See more at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/three-indians-arrested-for-raping-4yearold/739642/#sthash.Z8z0A7S5.dpuf". indian express. an 19 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |title= (help)
  32. ^ "Goa for kids: Touchy subject". timesofindia. May 22, 2013.
  33. ^ Buncombe, Andrew (17. December 2009). "Goa MP says rape after midnight 'not a crime'". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Morris, Chris (19. March 2010). "Can the Goa Trial Untangle the Scarlett Keeling Case". The BBC. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Manjesh, Sindhu (17. Feb 2013). "Scarlett Keeling case: Five years on, mother awaits justice". NDTV. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ a b "Goa MP Shantaram Naik says some women invite rape - India - DNA". Dnaindia.com. 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  37. ^ Buncombe, Andrew (December 17, 2009). "Goa MP says rape after midnight 'not a crime'". The Independent.
  38. ^ "Mamata's bizarre reason for rise of rapes". Sify.com. 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  39. ^ 4:54PM GMT 19 Dec 2012. "Video: Protests grow over gang rape of Indian woman". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-12-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ "Delhi gang-rape: victim's friend, also on bus, gives statement in court". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  41. ^ "No option, victim's intestines removed". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  42. ^ December 19, 2012, 12:33 PM (2012-03-15). "Brutal India gang rape triggers outrage". CBS News. Retrieved 2012-12-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  43. ^ "Delhi bus gang rape: Uproar in Indian parliament". BBC News. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  44. ^ a b "Un muerto en la India durante las protestas contra una violación". Lavanguardia.com. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  45. ^ "Bikram Singh Brahma suspended by Congress over Assam 'sex attack'". BBC. 4, January 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ Žarkov, Dubravka (2007). The Body of War: Media, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Break-Up of Yugoslavia. Duke University Press. p. 172. ISBN 978-0822339663.
  47. ^ Butalia, Urvashi. Harsh Dobhal (ed.). Writings on Human Rights, Law and Society in India: A Combat Law Anthology. Human Rights Law Network. p. 598. ISBN 81-89479-78-4.
  48. ^ a b Warikoo, Kulbhushan (2010). Kulbhushan Warikoo (ed.). Religion and security in South and Central Asia (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 978-0415575904.
  49. ^ Margolis, Eric S. (2001). War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 978-0415930628.
  50. ^ Abdication of responsibility: the Commonwealth and human rights. Human Rights Watch. 1991. p. 14. ISBN 978-1564320476.
  51. ^ Chatterji, Angana P. (2012). Ania Loomba, Ritty A. Lukose (ed.). South Asian Feminisms. Duke University Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0822351795.
  52. ^ Crisis and credibility : report of the Press Council of India, January and July 1991. New Delhi: Lancer International. 1991. pp. 10–13. ISBN 8170621526.
  53. ^ Schofield, Victoria (2002). Kashmir in conflict: India, Pakistan and the unending war (2nd revised ed.). I.B.Tauris. p. 157. ISBN 978-1860648984.
  54. ^ Ganai, Naseer (October 21, 2011). "Human rights panel asks Jammu and Kashmir govt to reopen army mass rape case". India Today.[dead link]
  55. ^ Forsythe, David P. (2009). Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Oxford University Press. p. 306. ISBN 978-0195334029.
  56. ^ Flint, Colin (2011). Introduction to Geopolitics (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 192. ISBN 978-0415667739.
  57. ^ "BBC News - Swiss woman 'gang-raped' in central India". Bbc.co.uk. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  58. ^ "India: Tourist Gang-Raped And Husband Beaten". News.sky.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  59. ^ "Police: Swiss tourist gang-raped in India - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
  60. ^ Karlsson, B. G. (2011). Unruly Hills: A Political Ecology of India's Northeast. Berghahn. p. 51. ISBN 978-0857451040.
  61. ^ "Rape and murder in Uttar Pradesh". BBC. 18 July 2011.
  62. ^ a b Geeta Pandey (2013-02-07). "BBC News - India child sex victims 'humiliated' - Human Rights Watch". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  63. ^ Pandey, Geeta (2007-04-09). "South Asia | Abuse of Indian children 'common'". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  64. ^ "BBC News - India protests in Goa after rape of schoolgirl". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  65. ^ "Goa rape case: Headmistress knows who the school girl's rapist is? - India - DNA". Dnaindia.com. 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  66. ^ a b Alyson Warhurst (2011). "Trafficking A global phenomenon with an exploration of India through maps" (PDF). Maplecroft. p. 51. Retrieved December 25, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  67. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-men-falsely-accused-of-rape-should-be-rehabilitated-/1100590/#sthash.XS37YArh.dpufIn 2013
  68. ^ "Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013" (PDF). Government of India. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  69. ^ a b c Section 376A, Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013
  70. ^ a b "Marital rape not criminal offence: MPs committee backs govt". NDTV.com. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  71. ^ "An offence, of course". Indian Express. 2011-01-15. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  72. ^ Peter Foster (2006-10-27). "India outlaws wife-beating and marital rape". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  73. ^ Kalpana Sharma (2010-11-10). "Contradictions and confusion cloud rape laws. The result is miscarriage of justice". Tehelka. Retrieved 2012-12-28.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rape_in_India&oldid=557174101"