Human Rights Violations and the Possibility for Change Introduction: Sexual Abuse in India - Term Paper Example

Human Rights Violations and the Possibility for Change Introduction For many years now sexual violation of women in India has been a serious problem. Many women in the country have to undergo the humiliation and suffering associated with rape in a country where rape victims are stigmatized and shunned by society (Russel 78). Many steps are being taken at different fronts to deal with the problem of sexual violation in the country, however, the various systems and mechanisms that have been legally established to deal with the problem face a number of weaknesses. The greatest weakness that has been observed all over the country is lack of sufficient capacity to investigate rape and gather the necessary evidence to sustain prosecution of the perpetrators and deliver justice to the victims. The laws in India provide justice for the victims of sexual violation through punishment of the perpetrators. However, the threshold of evidence is so high so that the weak system of collecting evidence and sustaining cases against violators makes it possible for many of them to escape punishment. Even in cases where the victims give credible evidence before courts of law, proving their case beyond reasonable doubt is difficult when standards are so high and the system is given to corruption and poor attitude against women. Ironically, for over five decades the Indian Supreme Court has held that a rape victim’s testimony is enough to secure a conviction without corroboration with other evidence (Swami 1). However, in practice this is not the case as many courts, the high court included, insist that in view of the severe punishment that rape attracts requires that cases be proved to very high standards. Since witness evidence is mostly difficult to get in rape cases, the only credible way of securing convictions is through collection of forensic evidence. The current situation where securing forensic evidence by the police and other authorities is difficult must be addressed and changed. It is very imperative that at this point in time when India is experiencing great developments in science and technology, sufficient medical and forensic capacity should be availed to the police specifically for the purposes of investigating sexual violence. Only thorough investigation with modern forensic equipment and medical facilities is going to eliminate all the gray areas that characterize prosecution of rape cases and ensure that the testimonies of the victims are corroborated by solid evidence to ensure their violators get punished for their crimes. Apart from increased capacity to collect forensic evidence, there needs to be a complete change in police attitude towards rape and such cases should be accorded the urgency they deserve when it comes to evidence collection. This is because convictions in rape cases are heavily hinged on strong evidence. Sexual violence is the greatest crime against a woman’s person both physically and psychologically. The act debases a woman and leaves permanent scars in their mind that are made worse by a society that considers sexual violence victims as a curse and an abomination. Raping a woman in India reduces their life to nothing and the crime should be placed on the same level as murder. As such, evidence for rape should be given the same weight as evidence for any other assault leading to bodily harm. The collection of sexual crime violence in India has to change for the best. Sexual Abuse in India Just like in all societies around the world, rape in India has been common since time immemorial. It is difficult to accurately indicate the rate of rape in the country and the situation going back over a half a century ago. Rape statistics started to become available in the 1950s and even then the great deficiencies in collecting such data meant that many more rape cases went unreported. The shame and stigma faced by victims of sexual violence, even in their own families, have also forced many affected women to suffer in silence or worse still commit suicide (Sudhanshu and Iti 83). In addition to this, the traditional perceptions towards rape and the victims of rape are a good indication of the situation in the country. In most parts of India, even today, victims of rape are treated as the violators and shunned by society. They are considered a curse and shame to their families and in extreme cases they face more violent abuse beyond their ordeal of sexual violation. The traditional systems put in place to solve rape crimes are not designed to give justice to the victim, rather they emphasize on reconciliation and preserving relations between affected families. Even when compensation is paid in terms of fines, it rarely goes towards treatment or rehabilitation of the victim. The worst problem however is that such traditional community justice for victims of sexual violence just stand in their way of seeking justice through the legal justice system in the country. Statistics of sexual violation in India shows that with time the problem has become increasingly bigger, particularly in the most rural areas and slum areas in cities. A government survey in 2012 indicated that over 53% of children polled had experienced one form or another of sexual violence (IANS 2). Sexual violence statistics remain notoriously difficult to collect in India with hospitals remaining the only reliable sources that can provide statistics of rape injuries. However, these statistics are hardly reliable because it is estimated that over a half of rape victims in the country do not report their ordeal to people outside their families or go to hospital for fear of victimization. One important reason that the government report showed contributed the widespread quiet of rape victims was the nature of the perpetrators. Most of the sexual offenders are well known to their victims, many are mainly friends and even kin. The only cases that are widely reported in the media are the dramatic and relatively public cases which involve attack by strangers. The government report in 2012 reveals that in all of the Indian states except four, 90% of the alleged perpetrators of sexual violence against women and children were known to their victims. In the state of Delhi, the figure stood at 96.6% (IANS 2). The greatest concern about the acquaintance between victims and their assailants is that it brings about pressure on the victims and witnesses to withdraw their evidence because of family or safety reasons. With the problem of sexual violence increasingly becoming highlighted in the media, and serious concerns being raised in the county and throughout the world, there is greater pressure to address the issue of sexual violence against women and children in India. The case of the girl who was repeatedly raped by a gang in a bus with the aid of the bus driver after being deliberately driven past her alighting point increased global focus on rape in India. Although many human rights and women organizations have been working in the country to address the issue of sexual violence for long, the incident in 2013 has drawn attention towards sexual rights of women and children in India. The government and society are forced to act on the situation. Efforts by government and non-governmental organizations including Human Rights Watch and UNICEF have increased in trying to find lasting solutions for reduction of sexual violence, provision of justice to victims, their support and rehabilitation (Shroff and Menzes 133) Society’s response to sexual violation of women in India There are various major players that are charged with providing a response to the serious issues of crime affecting the Indian society. These include the government, community leaders, religious leaders, medical practitioners dealing with rape victims, and non-governmental organizations which help rape victims. It is important to examine each of these institutions and what they have to say about rape in India. The government of India bears the greatest responsibility in protecting the human rights of its citizens; this includes protecting Indian women and children against sexual violence. It is assumed by the Indian public that the government has sufficient capacity through public institutions to protect victims against rape through legislation and security, provision of justice to victims of rape through the penal system, and rehabilitation of victims (Law Commission of India 13). However, over the past few decades it has become evident that the structural capacity of the government to do this is sufficiently is not there. First, the police point out, quite rightly, that they lack the capacity to investigate and prosecute rape cases successfully because of many factors. They blame this situation on lack of sufficient officers trained in handling sexual violence cases, lack of sufficient and effective forensic equipment to investigate rape, poor societal attitude, and negative cultural traditions that make it difficult for rape victims to come out. Consequently the police ask for more support from the government and society to help them cope with the problems of sexual violence. The judiciary is another arm of the government that deals with provision of justice to victims of rape through the courts. Over the decades the institution has shown considerable weakness in its duty to provide justice to victims through punishment of perpetrators. However, the judiciary claims that with the current laws as they are, it is difficult to avail justice when the threshold of evidence required for convicting violators in sexual offence cases being very high (Law Commission of India 15). According to the judiciary, rape is a serious criminal offence in law, almost as serious as murder. For that reason it draws serious punishment ranging from many years in prison to life sentence. It is therefore imperative for the courts to be convinced without any reasonable doubt that the offenders are guilty; as a result the victims’ testimony is not enough to secure convictions in many cases. The judiciary has repeatedly pointed the finger to legislators to make relevant laws against sexual violence and for the police and other investigative authorities to be given enough capacity to deliver water-tight evidence to courts. Otherwise offenders will keep on walking away free as justice is denied to the victims for factors beyond the control of the courts. The political arm of the government which consists of the legislature and the executive continue indicating their knowledge and respect for women’s right as human rights and having the will to deal with the issue of sexual violence conclusively. However, while the executive through various public officers claim that sexual violence has been overhyped in India and that the situation is not as bad as it is made out to be in the media and by non-governmental bodies. The government insists that in recent years it has passed key legislation aimed at ensuring justice to sexual violence victims. The government is of the view that it is doing enough to ensure that the issue of sexual violence is addressed sufficiently in the coming years by expanding the capacity of all public institutions dealing with the issue. Medical practitioners must be mentioned as part of the most critical players in sexual violence cases as they play a very prominent role in the whole situation. First, medical practitioners are charged with providing care for rape victims, both medical and psychological. On this front, most doctors and psychologists dealing with rape victims indicate that the numbers of rape victims has increased in hospitals and that most of them suffer trauma and other psychological problems. A number of studies by psychologists report that a number of suicides can be blamed on rape. On the other hand, medical practitioners find that they have to carry out examinations of rape victims and provide evidence in courts of law or provide reports that should help secure justice for victims. Many doctors indicate that lack of capacity in hospitals, particularly in rural areas, affect the quality of evidence. Modern facilities are needed to ensure accurate tests including DNA examinations. It has been reported that in many hospitals in India the finger test is still used to determine the condition of the hymen so as to determine cases of rape. Most doctors indicate that such methods are outdated, inaccurate, and worse still degrade and traumatize victims who have already undergone traumatizing experiences. They point out that such factors make many victims of rape to shy away from seeking medical help (Swami 2). Community and religious leaders play an important role in society. This is because they help influence community perceptions and opinion on matters of great importance in society. In recent times, these people have started responding to accusations that they have remained quiet in the face of great suffering of women in many issues, particularly sexual violence. Many temple leaders and community leaders accept this charge and have started getting proactively involved in spreading the message against gender-based violence and calling for more severe measures to be taken against sexual violence on children and women. It is also evident that many community leaders are getting vocal about rape and advising victims to seek medical and legal help and in many cases actually assisting them get access to these services. In many provinces of India, community leaders particularly in villages are speaking out against rape and urging communities to abandon outdated traditions, accept the victims of rape and assist them to heal and get a chance to live normal lives in society. Although many do not accept liability to the inhuman treatment rape victims have received in the past, at least they are coming up to condemn sexual violence and do something about it. Change of cultural perspectives and access to justice for victims of sexual abuse Most people in the Indian society agree that there needs to be change in the way sexual violence in the country is perceived and treated. With regard to the proposal in this paper, the first change required is in the investigations of rape and gathering of evidence essential for supporting prosecution. The main parties here include the government, police, and medical practitioners. The government is supposed to and expected to channel money towards equipping both police stations and hospital across the country with better forensic and medical equipment to gather required evidence. Many rape convictions are lost because police cannot sustain cases on the basis of victim and witness testimony. Forensic equipment will go a long way towards helping police gather strong evidence within a short time. On the other hand it is important that the government funds hospitals to have special wings dealing with rape cases, such wings can be equipped with facilities to give proper care to victims while obtaining strong evidence to assist police successfully convict perpetrators in court. The police in India have a role to play in changing the current situation by changing their attitude and perception towards sexual violence crimes. The forces need to start taking these cases seriously and moving in to collect evidence urgently and bring in perpetrators. Without change in will and culture in the police force, many perpetrators of rape will continue to find various loopholes through which to escape justice systems. One of the actions that can be taken by the police service is to establish within each station a section to deal with sexual violence. Such a section would dedicate time and resources to combating the problem within the jurisdiction of the station. It must be pointed out however that the greatest responsibility in changing the situation lies with the people of India. Society plays a great role in shaping the norms and traditions of its people. It is evident that for a long time victims of sexual violence have been treated worse than their assailants, shunned by their communities, stigmatized, and even physically violated. In the twenty first century, traditions and cultural beliefs that led to this situation must be condemned as outdated and abandoned. The rights of rape victims as human beings must be respected and protected and these people require care and love instead of further trauma from their families and communities. Leaders in communities must work together with government and non-governmental organizations such as Human Rights Watch to ensure that their communities are educated about sexual violence and how to deal with it. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch India and Navsarjan Trust in Gujarat are already working to support women and girls victims of rape through care and counselling, more important they are doing their bit in highlighting the problem and educating communities about sexual violence and how to deal with it. Centres need to be set up in the villages and cities to offer services to victims of rape and help them access justice. The most important change however is that communities need to stop practices of protecting sexual offenders and shielding them from the law because their crimes are serious. Expert view on sexual violence in India I conducted an interview with an expert in human right working with Navsarjan Trust in Gujarat. The organization advocates for Dalit community human rights in more than three thousand villages and works extensively with women and children. From the interview, I was informed by the lady that sexual violence against women and children in the area was quite severe. The caste status of the Dalit community (The untouchables) makes it very difficult for a Dalit woman to get justice for rape. Most of them are traumatizes, and face further abuse from their communities as a result of their being victims of sexual abuse. According to the interviewee, the most severe cases involved inhuman treatment of rape victims from family members which includes being thrown out of the family. According to her there is a case where a woman was chased away from the family after the rape of her daughter and she had to be taken care of by the organization. From the interview I also learnt that in most cases the police do not respond positively or with required urgency when rape cases were reported to them. Some situations required follow up from the organization for the police to respond and take statements; this could take days or even weeks by which time most of the evidence would be lost. However, from the interview I also gathered that there have been improvements in attitude among communities in many villages. Most people were beginning to see the severity of rape and its impact on not only women but also families and therefore supporting efforts to deal with it. People were embracing education and support of rape victims. Conclusion The major problem with sexual violence in India today, just like it has been for many years is the fact that most perpetrators in rape and sexual harassment cases are routinely acquitted in courts of law for lack of sufficient evidence. Because of the difficulty involved in proving victim confessions in court and availing witnesses, the prosecutors increasingly rely on forensic and medical evidence. The capacity to collect such evidence and present it in court should be increased urgently. This change is required for the victims of rape to get justice through the legal system because no amount of legislation will change the situation without improvements in evidence collection. Works Cited IANS. “Courts should carefully scrutinize rape victims’ evidence, Supreme Court says.” The Times of India 5 Jan 2014. Web Law Commission of India. “172nd report on Review of Rape Laws”. March 2000, para 3.1.2.1 Russell, Diana. Rape in Marriage. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. Print Shroff, Aditya and Menzes Nicole. “Marital Rape as a Socio-Economic Offence: A Concept or a Misnomer.” Student Advocate 6.1 (2009): 127-53. Print Sudhanshu, Roy and Jain Iti. “Criminalizing Marital Rape in India: A Constitutional Perspective.” Criminal Law Journal, 1 (2008): 81-92. Swami, Praveen. “Why rape victims aren’t getting justice.” The Hindu 11 March 2012. Web Read More