Gang Rape

in India

 

      By Sidikha Ashraf

 

BACKGROUND INFO

 

        Coming out as rape victims is becoming more prevalent and is faced with greater acceptance than before in India, as shown by a recent case where 5 men in Mumbai have been acquitted guilty for rape.

             Two of the rape victims include a photojournalist and a call center operator, who despite threats from the men, immediately opened up about the assault to hospital officials. The five unemployed men, had on a basis spent time in the abandoned mill and had a code message, “the prey has arrived” in the case a woman has entered. Unfortunately This hasn’t been their first gang rape, but the first to be reported of them. Two of the brave women came out, immediately telling officials in a hospital despite threats that the men would publicize pictures of them during the rape. As a result, the men were arrested and they admitted to five assaults. Since the 2012 death of a female New Delhi physiotherapy student, victim to gang rape, mumbai officials are more responsive to confirmed cases. Due to a recent dramatic change in the law, the accused have been sentenced to death. Recent law changes has been established that repeat offenders will be given the death penalty. Though it may seem harsh at first, holding such a strong ground allows one of the largest countries in the world to curb such offenses when not enough is being done otherwise till recently.

            Usually Indian women who come out as victims are socially punished and thought of as those who “were asking for it”. There is a devastating need in many countries across the world to educate young boys from an early onset that abusing and hurting our other equal, women, is wrong. The regressive and backward mentality of current society in india and all over the world has to change NOW. Changing how we as a society view assault on women is a key step to finding solutions to ending the problem. It is and should be kept up in all nations. Harassment ignored is the equivalent of ignoring the weight of lives.

 

WAYS TO HELP

 

Although such rape incidents have gradually surfaced to the public and becoming more prevalent in news, everyday girls in India as well as all over the world are being raped. In order to rid of these atrocities, we need to speak up and make such issues aware to the masses! The link below is a petition to stop rape in India by ensuring that those guilty will be punished. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-rape-in-india.html

 

Support:

 

Instead of focusing only on the punishments that the criminals receive, we should focus on helping the victims have a safe place to fall back on, if this happens. They need to have a place where they won’t be looked down upon by society, a place where they can let out everything that they’ve been through. There should programs and funds for these programs that help these victims get through the traumatizing situation. We should support the various NGOs either through time, funds or even just awareness and encouragement. http://www.stoprapenow.org/ngo-links/