From the dawn of civilisation to the modern era, history stands testament to the fact that if there is one entity that has faced the most suffering, one that has been callously ground in a mill of oppression, one whose honour has been most dishonoured, one that had gone through the brutality and venality of injustice, is none other than femina sapiens.
Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world, occurring on a daily basis not only in India but in every corner of the world. This violence not only has devastating effects on the physical, mental, and economic health of women, but also becomes a major obstacle to their full and equal participation in social life. Although we have various laws to protect and safeguard the women, in practical reality they still continue to face harassment, rape, domestic violence, and other types of sexual crimes.
Sexual violence against women is seen in different forms in India. Almost every newspaper has headlines on the front page of every day about brutal violence against women. Thousands of women are subjected to sexual brutality, acid attacks, cruelty for not bringing dowry, sexual exploitation, and the worst violence for being in a lower caste. Hearing and reading such stories goose pimples, and tongues fall silent, eyes become moist, and the pen becomes astonished, as if a storm rises in the ocean of darkness, causing rivers to tremble.
Caste and Sexual Violence- The caste system in India plays a significant role, reflecting class conflict. It reinforces the rights of members of the so-called upper castes, while justifying the treatment of lower castes and reserving menial and insignificant occupations for them. Sexual violence is disproportionately experienced by Dalit women, and upper-caste perpetrators often use this form of violence to assert themselves. The 2012 Nirbhaya case brought national attention to sexual abuse, and cases like the 2019 Hathras gang rape show how caste makes it more difficult for marginalised women to seek justice. As per National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB’s) report, 405,861 incidents of assaulting women were registered in 2019. Of these 3,486 occurrence of rape, were directed against Dalit women. Furthermore, the NCRB’s data reveal that the reported rape case of women from Dalit communities escalated to 45% between 2015 to 2019. Moreover, the 2015-2016 National Family Health survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare demonstrates the highest sexual violence ratio among women belonging to Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe. Though legal protections exist, such as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, their enforcement is lax, and victims generally suffer social humiliation and institutional indifference.
Socio–Cultural Discrimination- Sexual violence in India is tangled with societal norms and values, which intrinsically give precedence to male dominance over female. Unfortunately, in our society, every man wants to dominate women. People who are obsessed with outdated traditions and have a backward mentality still look down on women.
Reports indicate that most of the sexually assaulted victim women are afraid of complaining against the accused owing to societal stigma, and pressure, which underscores the honour of a woman in safeguarding her sexual purity. Although cruelty against women is a very painful tragedy of our society, what is even more concerning is that it begins at home and is not only confined to physical but also the mental aspect too. Society in itself has become a question mark, whether there is a wave of sexual derangement or the society is suffering from cultural decline.
The failure of today’s legal system in addressing the issues of sexual violence is also interconnected to the issue of intersectionality. The beasts are roaming free because their captors are sleeping in a dream of obliviousness. Sexual wolves are increasingly attacking women and children free from all kinds of restrictions. It seems that our social and societal structure is collapsing. The feeling of insecurity is increasing, while the fear of law is disappearing from the hearts of criminals who take advantage of the weak investigation and the shortcomings of the judicial system. The concept of punishment is disappearing from the hearts and minds of people. Apparently, it seems that the law of the jungle is applicable here, where the men with lustful desires are in control, where horrors are dancing. The earth is shaking with their black deeds. The atmosphere is shocked by the echo of their terrible voices and humanity is sighing. The hands and feet of the government and law enforcement agencies are tied. The biasness in the bureaucracy and legal system often leads to dereliction of handling these cases in a proper way, especially with those who belong to the marginalised section of the society.
A woman belongs to that vulnerable part of society that faces struggle from the moment of her birth to the moment of her death. If she tries to be born as a daughter, she is aborted in the womb. If she grows up a little, she is caught on the roadside and raped. If she gets a good job after achieving some success, she is subjected to harassment. If she gets married and goes to someone else's house, she faces various kinds of torture from her in-laws. If she goes to the police station with her painful complaint and requests, the police inspector tortures her there. If she seeks justice for herself on social media, a huge crowd rises up against her. The undeniable fact is that this society has not given a place to the woman that she deserves.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is celebrated every year on November 25. The aim of this day is to create awareness among the public about the elimination of violence against women and the negative effects of this violence on the family and society. Furthermore, from November 25 to December 10 (International Human Rights Day), a sixteen-day campaign is launched to eliminate violence against women and girls. This violence is not limited to our society, even in highly educated and developed countries, there is a continuation of incidents of sexual violence, which is not stopping. Violence against women is not only an injustice or a crime but also a flagrant violation of human rights.
It is a need of the hour to change the indiscriminate rule of law and the negative mindset. If some get disciplinary punishment and others with influence are spared, then it does not amount to the “Rule of Law”. The implementation of the law should be so strong and consistent that every person with a negative mindset is convinced that after committing atrocities, they will not be able to escape the clutches of the law and no power in the world will be able to save them from disciplinary punishment. The real need is to teach humanity to humans. With humanity comes not only civilisation and refinement but also a deep awareness of human dignity and respect.
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