Harsher anti-rape laws alone do not deter crimes against women, SC had warned govt. in Nirbhaya verdict
The Crime in India report published by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2023 showed a total of 4,45,256 cases of crime against women were registered across India in 2022, almost 51 FIRs every hour, up from 4,28,278 in 2021 and 3,71,503 in 2020
The members of IMA Dakshina Kannada Unit staged a silent march to demand justice and protest against the recent murder of a doctor on duty in Kolkata. In Mangaluru on Saturday 17, August 2024.
| Photo Credit: MANJUNATH H S
Stringent laws and punishments against rape may not be enough to fight rising crimes against women, the Supreme Court had warned the government in 2017.
The court was at the time confirming the death penalty of four men, accused of the gruesome gangrape of a 23-year-old paramedic in a moving bus in the national capital in 2012. The woman, simply identified as ‘Nirbhaya’, succumbed to her injuries a few days later.
The brutality of the incident had shocked the entire nation, generating public outrage.
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The government of the day had reacted by constituting the Justice J.S. Verma Committee to make the law more stern and effective in future. The suggestions of the panel led to the enactment of Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 which brought in substantive as well as procedural reforms in the core areas of rape law. One of the reforms included the introduction of harsher penalty commensurating with the gravity of the offence.
However, the harshness of the law has not reformed the situation on the ground. The Crime in India report published by the National Crime Records Bureau last year showed a total of 4,45,256 cases of crime against women were registered across India in 2022, almost 51 First Information Reports (FIRs) every hour, up from 4,28,278 in 2021 and 3,71,503 in 2020. The majority of crimes against women under the Indian Penal Code were of cruelty by husband or his relatives (31.4%) followed by kidnapping and abduction of women (19.2%), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (18.7%), and rape (7.1%), report said.
Twelve years after the Nirbhaya gangrape, the brutal rape and murder of a young postgraduate doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata raises the question of whether stricter laws alone could deter crime against women.
In her separate opinion in the 2017 judgment, Justice R. Banumathi (now retired), said governments, employers and institutions “must take steps” to create awareness with regard to gender sensitisation and to respect women.
“Apart from effective implementation of the various legislation protecting women, change in the mindset of the society at large and creating awareness in the public on gender justice, would go a long way to combat violence against women,” Justice Banumathi wrote.
Explained: The laws on rape and sexual crimes
Attitudinal change and change in the mindset is needed to respect women and to ensure gender justice, the judge pointed out.
“On the practical side, few of the suggestions are worthwhile to be considered. Banners and placards in the public transport vehicles like autos, taxis and buses etc. must be ensured. Use of streetlights, illuminated bus stops and extra police patrol during odd hours must be ensured. Police/security guards must be posted at dark and lonely places like parks, streets etc. Mobile apps for immediate assistance of women should be introduced and effectively maintained,” Justice Banumathi had flagged.
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sexual assault & rape