Sexual Violence: A Global Pandemic/ June 24th-30th

Sexual Violence: A Global Pandemic

Written by Soyra Gune

Edited 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 24th  to 30th June, 2017.

Mangalore Girl Calls Out Sexual Harasser in Facebook Post

Rashmi Shetty, a PhD student, recently used social media for sharing her experience of being sexually harassed in Mangalore, on Facebook. Shetty was followed by a man in broad daylight on a scooter. She took to Facebook and shared a picture of the man’s scooter. She said the incident happened despite police being nearby. However, she refused to back down and told the man that she would not be intimidated by him and his lot.

Man Accused of Rape of a 70 year old French Woman, Arrested

The police have arrested the accused, a security guard at the hotel where the seventy year old French woman was staying, in connection with the case of rape perpetrated against her. The woman works with an NGO in Varanasi, she is now in a stable condition and is receiving legal assistance.

Man Accused of Sexual Harassment goes Missing

Police in Chanddanagar, Pune have said that an IT engineer accused of sexually harassing a woman at his workplace has gone missing. The sexual harassment had been going on for two years, the woman was afraid to report the case of sexual harassment as the accused is her immediate boss and team leader.

Don’t Come to India to Study if you’re a Foreigner, says Iranian Scholar

An Iranian scholar has warned foreign students not to come to India for studies. The scholar has accused her mentor, Bilal Mustafa Khan at Aligarh Muslim University of sexual harassment. She had filed a FIR with the Aligarh police in March 2014 but her case is still pending in the Aligarh lower courts. The scholar had accused her mentor of sending her indecent messages on WhatsApp and making unwanted sexual advances.

Twitter Launches Campaign to make the Internet a Safer Space in India

Twitter in partnership with the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research has launched the #TweetSurfing campaign to engage Indians and create dialogue on how to treat the Internet as a safe space. The campaign includes both online videos featuring the likes of comedienne, Aditi Mittal and TV presenter, Gaurav Kapoor as well as offline workshops. The campaign wants to enrich the experience of women using Twitter and wants women to come forward with incidents where they have faced abuse on Twitter.

Connect with us?

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!