Yes, India has managed to retain
its 2nd position as a country with highest number of rapes reported
and MAY VERY SOON BECOME NUMBER ONE!!
We should thank all the
abominable a**holes and oblivious onlookers.
Violence against women is a
global pandemic but India may be leading the pack.
Crimes against women have
increased by 7.1% since 2010.
According to latest estimates, in
India, a new case of rape is reported
every 22 minutes.
In India, rape is very rarely reported, due to the extreme social
stigma cast on women who have been raped. Despite this, India stands 2nd
in the list of countries with highest reported rape incidents.
Nearly one in three rape victims
in India is under the age of 18.
One in 10 is under 14.
A report from National Crime
Records Bureau states that, 25,000 and 24,206 cases of rape were reported
across India in 2012 and 2011 respectively.
A point worth noting is, out of
these, around 24,470(2012) were committed by a relative or a neighbour.
Statistics show that, among
Indian cities, New Delhi has the highest number of rape-reports.
OF THE MORE THAN 600 RAPE CASES REPORTED IN DELHI IN 2012, ONLY ONE
LED TO A CONVICTION.
There are more statistics available
for public consumption, but let’s try to see the real picture here.
India has been the rape capital
of the world since its inception as a Republic.
It is estimated that during the
partition of India, around 100,000 women were kidnapped and raped.
Sexual violence has become a
common phenomenon during riots, as seen recently in the 2013 Muzzaffarnagar
riots.
But, in the past few decades,
there has been a tremendous increase in cases of rape, acid throwing and
domestic violence against women. This may be due to the perpetrators’ lack of
fear for the consequences of their actions and a reprehensible silence of the
society.
What’s more shameful than this is
that most of these callous criminals have gone scot free due to the lax laws
and considerably mild penalties.
It should be noticed that there
is a competition going on between the public figures of the nation to see who
makes the most idiotic remarks on these unfortunate happenings!
In the aftermath of the 16th December 2012 tragedy, Botsa
Satyanarayana, a Congress Party leader was quoted as saying, “Just because
India achieved freedom at midnight does not mean that women can venture out
after dark.”
Even the CBI Director Mr Ranjit Sinha, although in a totally different
context made a remark, “if you can’t prevent rape, enjoy it”.
This kind of mistake may be expected from a semi-literate
politician but not from a senior IPS officer!
Even the society isn’t far behind in their treatment of the
victims.
It is a known fact that rape victims in India, especially in rural
areas, are often subject to shaming and considered unfit for marriage.
A lot of people protested in December 2012, some
participated in demonstrations, bravely faced water cannons, some denounced with
putting Black Dots as their profile pictures on Social Media Sites.
These widespread
protests led to a relatively speedy conviction of the perpetrators and amends
in the Indian Penal Code.
But, rapes are still happening in every part of the country,
some even more barbarous than the past ones.
It’s as if the rapists are leaving no stone unturned to show
their monstrosity.
We all know that our near & dear ones might become the
targets someday (God Forbid), but while every sensible citizen denounces these
crimes against women vocally, intentionally or not, people do sometimes turn a
blind eye to these instances.
Even if half of the post December 16th protesters
had roamed the city streets as look outs, several rapes (or even other crimes)
may have been prevented.( Not criticizing the protesters!! At least you people
did what most could not!)
A cure may not emerge all of a sudden but let’s be hopeful.
And while we are doing that, let’s all pledge to open our
eyes, be alert; ready to raise our voices & if push comes to shove, even
becoming sentinels of all those in need of help.
©Copyright 2014 GarrulousGautam 