Six steps India can take to help rape victims
Jan 18, 2013, Reuters:
The outcry over the brutal gang rape of
a young woman in New Delhi last month has not only brought into focus
the issue of violence against women in India but has also shone a light
on the way the country's criminal justice system frequently fails rape
victims.
There were 24,206 rapes reported in 2011 by the National Crime Records Bureau, equivalent to one rape every 20 minutes.
While
many Indians are calling for changes in the law such as capital
punishment for rapists and new legislation to protect women, many civil
rights' lawyers disagree. They say India has good gender laws already,
but they need to be strengthened and enforced.
The following is a
list of six steps India can take to ensure rape victims receive
adequate care and support and that swift justice is delivered, compiled
from interviews with police, lawyers and human rights activists.
1. GENDER SENSITISATION & MORE FEMALE POLICE
Like
most large organisations in the country, India's police force is
male-dominated - only 6.5 percent of officers are women. Deep-rooted
patriarchal beliefs mean the police force, like many other institutions
such as government bodies or parliament, is often seen as insensitive
to the issues faced by women.
Gender sensitisation training as
well as increasing the number of female police officers in India will
help change attitudes within the police force, activists and lawyers
say. This would also help ensure victims' complaints are treated
seriously and sympathetically.
2. MORE POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY
There
have been numerous cases of girls and women being turned away by the
police when they try to report a rape - officers do not take the crime
seriously or they blame the victim.
In many instances, the
largely underpaid, overworked police officers have little interest in
registering or investigating a gender crime that can take years to
reach judgment. Sometimes, if the accused is powerful or wealthy,
police can be influenced into taking no action.
Activists say
current methods of filing complaints against the police are cumbersome
and difficult for the average Indian. A simple mechanism should be set
up to channel and address public complaints and police should be
penalised or suspended if found guilty of dereliction of duty, they
add.
3. GUIDELINES FOR SUPPORT OF RAPE VICTIMS
India has no
formal protocol in place for medical or psychological support of
victims. They are often not given adequate treatment for injuries or
infections, let alone counselling.
Cases have been reported of
traumatised victims who are made to go from one government hospital to
another for medical examinations or who are forced to sit for hours in
bloodied clothes after the assault.
Activists say there needs to
be a standard protocol across the country to examine and treat rape
victims, such as the World Health Organisation's guidelines for
medico-legal care for sexual assault victims.
4. STRENGTHENING RAPE INVESTIGATIONS
A
failure to invest in the police force has left many officers lacking
the expertise and resources required to conduct adequate investigations,
resulting in weak evidence and low convictions.
Lawyers say the
handling of forensic evidence such as fingerprints, hair or nail
samples - a key component in rape cases where the onus lies with the
prosecution to prove the rape - is often collected, transported and
stored in a careless manner.
The core competencies of the police
need to be strengthened and officers must be given training and
resources to carry out their work, lawyers say. Standard operating
procedures for conducting investigations need to be applied across the
country, they add.
5. FAST-TRACK RAPE COURTS
One of the biggest impediments to gaining justice for rape victims is the lengthy duration of the trials, awyers say.
A
lack of prosecutors, judges and courts mean that an average rape case
can take five to 10 years to get to the judgment stage, leaving victims
or other witnesses vulnerable to intimidation or unwilling to pursue
such drawn-out court trials.
The Delhi gang rape has fuelled
demands for special fast-track courts to deal with crimes against
women, but some lawyers say not only are such courts costly but that
swift justice does not always mean just justice.
Some legal
experts add that India needs to invest more in the legal and judicial
system and concentrate on hiring of thousands more judges and
prosecutors.
6. WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM
Victims and
witnesses can be intimidated by the accused, who in some cases is
granted bail by the court, even though rape is a non-bailable offence.
As
a result, victims can feel pressured into accepting illegal
"out-of-court" settlements such as a small cash payment. In more extreme
instances, the victim's family is pressurised into marrying their
daughter to the accused.
Lawyers and activists say India needs an
official witness protection program in place for victims of sexual
assault and other serious offences.
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