In India’s Rape Culture No Woman Is Safe

The outrage over the rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor continues, with the public demanding stringent punishment for the accused.

Since the news of the young doctor whose body was found in a horrific condition at Kolkata’s R. G. Kar Hospital emerged, reports of India’s “rape culture” has once again surfaced with the laws and policies on gender-based violence being question by the people.

While India always had a history of horrific rapes, certain cases, like this one, have created a massive outrage. This attack happened against a doctor inside the hospital she worked at.

However, ever since the news came out, a series of more brutal cases, whose victims have been mostly young children, have been reported.

In Bihar’s Muzzafarnagar, there have been widespread protests against the alleged rape and murder of a Mahadalit minor girl.

According to reports, the 14-year-old girl was kidnapped from her house on the night of August 11 and her body was recovered the next morning.

As the news spread, protests intensified in different districts of the state with many demanding severe punishments for culprits.

This week, the Supreme Court took up the Kolkata case as one of fundamental rights and safety, questioning how hospital administrators and police officers had handled the case averring new protective measures are needed. “The nation cannot wait for another rape and murder for real changes on the ground,” Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said.

However, the outrage over the lack of accountability, shabby handling of the evidence and misinformation regarding the case has shown a dark reality of the Indian society as a whole.

Speaking to The Citizen Somya Mahajan, who works in Delhi’s corporate sector said that ever since the incident her parents have become overly protective, asking her whereabouts regularly. “They were even tensed when I told them that I will be joining the protests happening in Delhi. They asked me to go with someone and not be alone,” she said.

In 1997, the Supreme Court had issued guidelines intended to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and ensure that people who sexually harass women are given a fair punishment.

The guidelines were created in response to a series of sexual harassment cases and rallies and campaigns by social groups. The guidelines were named after the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Vishakha, that works for women's rights in Rajasthan.

The guidelines state the method that is to be followed while dealing with cases related to the sexual harassment of women. They include complaints committee, where in all organisations should form a complaints committee to look into any allegations of sexual harassment by women employees.

The committee should be headed by a woman employee and at least half of its members should also be women. To prevent pressure from higher-ups, a third party like an NGO should be involved.

Employers with 10 or more employees should conduct training and awareness sessions, according to the guidelines. However, the civil right activists claim nothing of that sort is happening on the ground.

Speaking to The Citizen Jagmati Sangwan, General Secretary of All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) said that there has been no control in tackling gender-based violence.

“It is only increasing day by day. If you see the NCRB data, one can say that the procedures that are to be implemented for the safety and security of women in metro cities are not being followed. There needs to be proper structures wherein these laws can be properly implemented. But there seems to be no will power on the part of the authorities there,” she said.

Sangwan further said that the major example can be seen in the working of sexual harassment committees in colleges where no implementation has taken place to safeguard the female students.

“In colleges where the committees against sexual harassment are to be implemented, we are seeing that people who are already burdened with a lot of work are given the task of handling this as well. If such is the situation then what can we expect,” she added.

In 2007, a Bill to put the guidelines into law was proposed and was approved six years later in 2013, a year after the gang-rape of the young physiotherapy student in Delhi, who came to be known as Nirbhaya, or fearless.

Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was amended to broaden the definition of rape from penile penetration to penetration by other means as well, such as orally or by hands or any other foreign object.

“A man is said to commit ‘rape’ if he inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the body, not being the penis, into the vagina, the urethra or anus of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person; or manipulates any part of the body of a woman so as to cause penetration…[or] applies his mouth to the vagina, anus, urethra of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person,” the amended Section states.

However, there is no proper implementation. According to the World Bank, 35 percent of Indian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partners, higher than the world average of 27 percent.

Nearly 45,000 rape cases were investigated in 2022, according to NCRB. But among the cases that went to trial, there were convictions in just over 5,000 — a rate of 27.4 percent, lower than for cases of murder, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

“There is a need to sensitise people about gender-based issues. It is imperative that education be given where women are not seen as sex objects so that this patriarchal mindset changes. But I am not seeing anything like this happening currently.

“It is only when something massive happens that they get up from their slump and in hurry start implementing the policies to safeguard the women. Otherwise, the files keep transferring,” Sangwan said.

The recent conviction of six people in the brutal Ajmer Gangrape after 35 years of fighting, is one such example of how the law works. On Tuesday, six people accused in the case were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pocso court.

Out of the 18 accused, nine had already been sentenced, four of whom had been acquitted by the high court. The Pocso court also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on each accused.

The accused convicted on Tuesday are Nafees Chishti, Naseem alias Tarzan, Salim Chishti, Iqbal Bhati, Sohail Ghani and Syed Zameer Hussain.

The case involved the exploitation of as many as 100 girls, and was first covered by journalist Santosh Gupta, who published a report in a local newspaper, ‘Dainik Navjyoti’, in April 1992. The photos that were used to sexually exploit the girls were leaked by a photo lab to Gupta.

Some reports discuss the number of women who were exploited, which is around 250. The report was titled, 'Daughters of big leaders are victims of blackmail'.

It discussed in detail a racket that was being run where more than 100 girls from the age of 17 to 20 were being assaulted. All these girls were from different schools in Ajmer. They were being blackmailed by people who had local influence - political and financial.

“In the Rajasthan rape case it took 35 years for these women to get justice. All these incidents boil my blood and of so many women who hear and read about such cases,” Sangwan meanwhile said.

Antara, a Delhi based lawyer said that more work needs to be done on the part of law and society to tackle the situation. “We need proper provisions wherein schools need to implement proper education structure. There also needs to be more awareness regarding the law,” she said.

A search for rape cases on the internet reveals endless cases from different states. Journalist Poonam Massih, who has been covering gender from primarily Chhattisgarh, said that many of the cases go unreported.

“Six gangraped a tribal woman in Chhattisgarh Raigarh recently, but it is not even getting that level of attention. We have to also understand that violence against women is of many kinds and not everything gets media attention. It is horrible what we are witnessing,” she told The Citizen.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has convened a meeting with medical organisations in the aftermath of the Kolkata rape incident and announced the formation of a task force to ensure the safety of doctors.

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has announced the formation of a task force to provide a report on the safety measures to be taken for doctors in the state.

The minister held a meeting on Tuesday at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru with office bearers of medical organisations and officials from the health department. He emphasised the government's commitment to ensuring the safety of the many women working in the medical sector.

Speaking after the meeting, the minister stated that the task force will be responsible for providing a report within a month on the measures to be taken for the safety of doctors, including the implementation of laws.

Senior officials from medical organisations and the health department will be part of the task force, he said.

More than 50 per cent of those working in the medical field are women, and it is difficult for them to work in an atmosphere of fear, Minister Rao said. He said that 10-12 different organisations participated in the meeting.

"Discussions were held on the safety of doctors and paramedical staff on duty. Suggestions were made to enhance security and take precautionary measures," the minister said.

"There are several laws in place to protect doctors. An amendment has been introduced that provides for a punishment of 3-7 years for those who assault doctors. The existing law has been further strengthened, and a notification regarding this was issued yesterday," he stated.

Doctors have suggested raising public awareness about these laws.They have also recommended installing CCTV cameras in hospitals, providing wristbands, panic buttons, conducting regular inspections in coordination with the police department, and fast-tracking the resolution of cases, Rao said.

Taking all these suggestions into consideration, the decision has been made to form a task force to provide a report on what measures need to be taken for the safety of doctors.

In 2011 a woman was raped every 20 minutes in India, according to government data. The pace quickened to about every 16 minutes by 2021, when more than 31,000 rapes were reported, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. In 2021, 2,200 gang rapes were reported to authorities.

For women in the marginalised section of the society, meanwhile, no undue attention is given. The recent gruesome case of a 14-year-old Dalit girl is a prime example of that.

“This current government is doing nothing to safeguard the women. Their main trend is to blame the victim. Their own people can be seen doing that,” Sangwan added.

On top of that women have to also go through victim shaming at the hands of police authorities and do not come forward to register their cases.

There needs to be proper sensitisation of cops in these matters. A woman should not have to die in order for the police to swing into action.

According to ‘Inside Southern’, the reason for victim blaming is: “People may blame a victim in order to remove themselves from an unpleasant event and therefore confirm their own invulnerability to the risk.

“Others may perceive the victim as different from themselves if they label or accuse the victim. People console themselves by saying, ‘Because I’m not like her, and I don’t do that, this would never happen to me’.”

Many social media posts on the aftermath of the Kolkata rape case showed derogatory remarks against the victim, only showing the society’s mindset towards the rape culture. According to an article published by ‘The Quint’, since the case was reported on August 9, the postgraduate trainee doctor's name featured in top searches on Google.

A lot still needs to be done in terms of gender-based violence.

In the last 10 days, India has witnessed 21 severe rape cases:

August 9: A nurse in Uttarakhand was brutally raped and murdered, with her mutilated body found the same night as the Kolkata incident. The accused was arrested on August 14.

August 8-9: A 13-year-old girl in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, was raped by her father. The report was filed on August 15, delayed because the girl's mother died two days later.

August 11: In Punjab, a man who eloped with his girlfriend had his sister gang-raped by the girlfriend’s family. The incident, captured on video, was reported by the terrified victim.

August 12: A government employee raped a 6-year-old Dalit girl and threatened her to keep quiet. The assault was reported by another child playing with her.

August 12: In Uttarakhand, a teenager was gang-raped by a bus driver, conductor, and others. The 16-year-old girl was assaulted by five individuals.

August 12: A 14-year-old girl in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, was gang-raped and murdered after refusing to marry one of the accused. Her body was found outside the village with visible injuries.

August 14: In Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, a 14-year-old girl was gang-raped by her friends near her home.

August 14: In Mumbai’s Saki Naka area, a 9th-grade student raped a 3-year-old girl.

August 14: An arrest was made in Odisha involving a resident doctor accused of raping two patients at SCB Medical College and Hospital.

August 14: In Sirohi, a 63-year-old widow was gang-raped and her home was also robbed.

August 15: In Siliguri, West Bengal, three minors raped a young girl.

August 16: An 11-year-old girl in Ballia was raped, with the assault captured on video and later shared online. The police have apprehended the suspect.

August 16: In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, a minor girl was raped at her home by someone who had been blackmailing her.

August 17: A 14-year-old rape victim in Sonbhadra died after being assaulted by her teacher in December of the previous year.

August 17: In a village in Beohari, Madhya Pradesh, a 69-year-old man raped a minor girl.

August 18: In Jodhpur, Rajasthan, a 3-year-old girl was abducted and raped by a garbage collector.

August 18: In Bengaluru, a 22-year-old woman was raped by a biker who offered her a lift after a party.

August 18: In Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit nurse was raped by a doctor. Three individuals have been arrested, including another nurse and a ward boy who forced the nurse into the doctor's room.

August 18: In Ludhiana, three minor girls were raped.

August 18: In Delhi, a 22-year-old man raped an 11-year-old girl, luring her with the promise of watching TV.

August 18: In Andhra Pradesh, a minor girl was raped and tortured by someone who deceived her under the pretence of ‘love’.