Rape: Why we need to break the culture of silence
On the second anniversary of the December 16/12 gang rape case, we can see some progress made in terms of unprecedented public and political consciousness. The landmark Verma Commission Report has been launched, which sets out a comprehensive plan of action and recommendations on addressing violence against women and the underlying gender inequality. In this regard, some relevant laws have been adopted alongside announcing financing services for victims and survivors.
We need effective implementation and enforcement of all these laws and recommendations through dedicated institutions that measure and finance the issue by addressing the four Ps of ending violence against women - prevention, protection, prosecution of perpetrators and access to justice for women, and provision of multi-sectoral critical services to both victims and survivors.
We need advocacy campaigns to operate at different levels - schools, universities, and workplaces. In my view, the best way to prevent and end violence against women is to inculcate the ethos of valuing and respecting women through educational curricula and training.
Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public advocacy on changing the mindset, a patriarchal attitude is still prevalent in major public discourse such as "pitrusatta" and "swamithva". The political and corporate class, traditional and cultural leaders, and editors and media persons need to engage in public discourse that can spread awareness about the issues of gender equality and women's empowerment. It is a joint responsibility to address all forms of violence against women - sex selection and female infanticide, dowry-related violence and femicide, acid attacks, honour killings and khap panchayats - and not just sexual violence, which includes rape.
Reports indicate that more than 90 per cent of cases of violence against women are committed by people known to them - so we also need to pay serious attention to acts of domestic violence and harassment at schools, universities and workplaces. As Farhan Akhtar and Sania Mirza became the Goodwill Ambassadors of UN Women's HeForShe Campaign, we also want to encourage parliamentarians, state assemblies, corporate and even leaders from the media industry to spread the message of gender equality and women empowerment across the country.
More and more women and girls are now coming forward to report incidents of violence. The media, too, is more alert and responsive to such instances of harassment. But, we are yet to break the culture of silence. Police and judiciary are more sensitised than before (clearly not enough, though). They need to be trained to deal with cases of harassment with urgency and sensitivity. Also, we need special courts to expedite the legal proceedings of such cases. Besides, empowering Mahila police stations with resources, we also need women guards in buses and other means of public transportation used by women. As highlighted by UN Women's Safe Cities and public spaces programme which also includes Delhi, there is an urgent need to follow good practices in building gender-sensitive infrastructures such as hotlines for the safety of women. This will also lead to higher conviction and prosecution rates of perpetrators which will not only encourage more women to report crimes, but will also deter perpetrators.
A crucial lesson we should learn is that unless we recognise violence against women in its multiple forms, including sexual violence across private as well as public spaces, we will not be able to end the pandemic. We need to address how harassment also leads to violation of a woman's basic human right - to be born as a female, to lead a life of dignity and equality, to enjoy economic, social, and political rights, and to be empowered through education and equal employment opportunities by embracing "Sammaan, Manavaadhikar, Sashaktikaran". Besides this, women face discrimination on the basis of caste, class, poverty and rural background. To eradicate all these forms of violence against women, we need to change the mindset by addressing issues of gender inequality, patriarchal social norms, and stereotypes which perceive women and girls as children of a lesser God endowed with less rights and control over their bodies - even their lives. We need to change the perception where women are sexually objectified with their reproductive role assumed as their primary responsibility. We have to abandon traditions and customs that are invoked to justify violence against women in our society. All this should be changed if we have decided to move forward and build on the public movement started after the December 16/12 gang rape case.
Investment in ending violence against women and girls is still not significant enough. Following the December 16/12 gang rape case, an announcement of a Rs 1,000 crore fund was made by the previous government. The BJP has also reiterated this allocation, but we need a better pace to institute quality multi-sectoral services for victims and survivors, like as one stop crisis centres.
In terms of public consciousness since December 2012, while the outrage is still palpable, one can ask: where is the civic consciousness and responsibility required to move away from apathy towards empathy and action? Men must stand up in solidarity to wipe off this scourge by leading a movement for gender equality.