Mathura to Manipur: The Journey for Gender Justice

Why in News?

• As India is nearing the 100 years of its independence, the predictions of gender justice are dismal as incidents of violence against women continue to escalate.
• Yet, there is only hope that in the coming quarter of a century, India will become better at curbing and addressing this violence.

 

Evolution of Laws Pertaining to Violence Against Women

• Custodial Rape and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act1983
  • The Mathura rape case was an incident of custodial rape in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra in 1972, wherein a tribal girl named Mathura was allegedly raped by two policemen in the Police Station.
  • After the Supreme Court acquitted the accused, there was public outcry and protests, which eventually led to amendments in the Indian rape law [Section 375 of IPC1860] via The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1983.
  • The Act added section 376(2) which provided punishment for rape by a person in authority.
  • A minimum mandatory punishment of 7 years was stipulated for general rapes and 10 years for aggravated rapes such as gang rapes, custodial rapes, rape of children under 12 years, pregnant women, etc.
  • The Act prescribes punishment for any person who prints or publishes the name or information of the victim without her consent.
• Amendments to the Indian Evidence Act 1872 in 2002: After this Amendment, the cross-examination of the victim was prohibited.
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012
  • To protect children (under 18) from sexual abuse, for the first-time parliament came up with separate, less ambiguous and more stringent legislation.
  • It exclusively deals with legal provisions effectively addressing sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.
  • It incorporated child-friendly procedures for reporting, investigation, recording of evidence, and trial.
  • Failure to report the crime and even consensual sex with minors became an offence.
• Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 (after Nirbhaya Case)
  • Following the protests, the Verma Committee was constituted to come up with recommendations for the amendment to the law relating to sexual offences.
  • 90% of its recommendations were accepted and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 was enacted.
  • The 2013 Amendment Act amended Section 375 of IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act, to make the laws against rape and sexual assaults against women more stringent. 
  • Certain amendments included broadening the definition of rape, capital punishment for rape cases that have led to death or rendered the victim in a ‘persistent vegetative state’ and a minimum of 20 years imprisonment for gang rape.
  • New offences such as stalking, acid attacks, and voyeurism were added into the definition of rape.
  • The minimum sentence was changed from seven years to 10 years. This was the first time the vegetative state was included since the landmark ‘Aruna Shanbaug case’.
• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 after Kathua Case
  • While the death penalty for rape has long been demanded, this is the first time, where it was introduced.
  • It made the rape of a child below 16 years of age punishable by a minimum of 20 years imprisonment but provided for the death penalty for the rape of anyone below 12 years of age.

 

Reality of Reforms and Amendments

• These reformed statutes have not been a deterrent to further violence.
• According to the 2021 annual report of the NCRB, 31,677 rape cases were registered (10% were minors), a rise from 28,046 cases in 2020.
• There are also other categories of rapes that are not yet acknowledged by the Indian legal system such as 'marital rape’ and ‘rape of sex workers’.
• One of the recent incidents that took place in UP and that had provoked the public outrage is Hathras Rape Case (2020).
  • The family of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in a Delhi hospital after she was brutally gang-raped alleged that the police were forcibly trying to get her body cremated in the midnight. 
• The most recent example is the rape and sexual assault that continues to occur during the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. Women of both ethnic groups have become soft targets for sexual assault. 

 

Way Forward

• The Judiciary and the legislature must make many amendments to make rape laws a real deterrent.
• Severe and appropriate punishment should be inflicted to the offenders in a time-bound manner as delay in the procedure will tamper with justice.
• From above it is clear that only stringent laws will not suffice.
  • The need of the hour is the behavioural changes, education to make citizens value gender equality.
  • At the same time authorities must be sensitised.

 

Conclusion

• The nation has moved far from the Mathura case and is now tackling far more complex, systemic issues, including caste-based atrocities where raping women becomes a weapon to shame communities during communal and ethnic violence.
• As India approach a century of nationhood, policymakers, judiciary, and the civil society must assume a greater responsibility to secure the fate of women and work towards creating a safe environment.

 

---

Q1) What is the problem with rape-laws in India?

The public outrage over specific rape cases causes the government to mete out stricter laws to pacify the public. This is a pattern that is visible in the changes in our rape laws that have taken place. The fact is that rape is a very common crime in India and the cases that we hear about are hardly the tip of the iceberg. Data shows that 99 percent of sexual violence in India goes unreported. The perpetrators in a majority of rape cases are known by the victims. This makes reporting the already unreported crime even harder for the victims especially because of the possibility of the death penalty. 

 

Q2) What is Gender-Based Violence?

Gender-based violence (GBV) refers to harmful acts directed at an individual or a group of individuals based on their gender. It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms. The term is primarily used to underscore the fact that structural, gender-based power differentials place women and girls at risk for multiple forms of violence.

 

---

Source: The Indian Express