Sexual Violence: A Global Pandemic/ July 1st-7th

Sexual Violence: A Global Pandemic

Written by Vandita Morarka

Policy and Legal Team

Sexual violence is a global pandemic. One in three women experience sexual or physical violence – most likely from their intimate partner, according to a report from the World Health Organization. There is an urgent need to increase sensitisation regarding sexual violence and the awareness of consent and sexual violence amongst persons at large. In this series, we examine sexual violence and related issues that have come up in the news, on a weekly basis, published every Saturday. This is an attempt to improve awareness regarding incidents of sexual violence and related matters, so that we, as a society can take steps towards collective action to reduce its incidence. It is an effort to ensure that we acknowledge the rampant sexual violence that exists, lest we forget.

This issue looks at 1st to 7th July, 2017.

Neighbour arrested for the rape and murder of a 7 year old

After 10 days of the body of the girl being found, the neighbour was arrested as the main accused. It is claimed by the police that the girl was raped before she was strangled. The neighbour has confessed to killing the minor girl.

3 year old girl raped by her school teacher

This case is alleged to have occurred in Aashiyana locality, UP. It came to light once the girl complained of feeling uneasy, the doctor suspected an act of rape which later medical examination established. The accused has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. There is an immediate need for more stringent processes in ensuring the safety of children at schools, several such heinous incidents have been reported in recent months and there are several more that go unreported. Preventive measures and strict checks on teachers and institutions are necessary.

Policewomen report having faced sexual harassment at work in a new book

The book, “Indian Policewomen in New Millennium” by Dr. Pavithran Nambiar and Dr. Suhas Nambiar looks at gender based violence faced by policewomen. 5% reported having faced sexual harassment at their workplace and that they were harassed further if they did not give in to sexual demands, 17% had undergone sex determination tests, 3% were victims of domestic abuse and 20% stated that they knew other policewomen who were victims of domestic abuse.

Is there a problem with how crime related data is recorded in India?

This article seems to think so. It states how the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) classifies data in terms of ‘principal offence’, so in case an act of rape results in death, it would be recorded as a case of murder. This leads to skewed data on actual cases and crime rates. On the other hand, counting a crime that falls under various sections of the law as different crimes would lead to a multiple counting of individual cases. The NCRB believes that once crime statistics are moved to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) this dilemma can be resolved.

Kailash Satyarthi launches campaign against CSA with support of faith leaders

Nobel laureate, Kailash Satyarthi has launched a campaign against Child Sex Abuse (CSA) and trafficking with the support of faith leaders of different communities. This is a year long campaign that will be holding events across the country August onwards and is relying on the support that faith leaders have in communities to tackle CSA.

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In case you like this new series, hate it, or think there are stories that we should be covering but have missed out on, please email us at [email protected]. We look forward to your inputs and feedback!