A police chief alone can’t stop rapes

Rajbir Deswal 

Advocate and retired IPS officer 

“I just want to sleep. A coma would be nice. Or amnesia. Anything, just to get rid of this, these thoughts, whispers in my mind. Did he rape my head, too?” — a rape victim.

IT was quite reassuring to see the first citizen of Haryana feeling concerned and summoning the police chief to the Raj Bhavan the other day.  But the fact remains: can only a police chief check the horrendous and abhorrent crime of rape? The gubernatorial call should sound welcome, yet, given the circumstances, when an atmosphere of insecurity is looming large on the mind of the community at large, it was expedient that a demarche could have been addressed by the Chief Minister, who is the executive head and in a position to deliver, even if the initiative taken sounded defeatist and a kind of acceptance of failure.

In the advanced western world, if the incidence of such a crime obtains frequently and there is a sudden spurt, they have their relevant heads put together, including the police top brass and bureaucracy, social scientists, psychologists, judicial minds, academicians, thinkers, writers, besides fora of human rights, women rights and child rights. A churning of this sort has more efficacious instrumentalities being put in place. 

The Tribune, on January 18, rightly editorialised: “Rapes largely fall in two categories: those perpetrated by unknown people on random victims, and those known to victims within their families or neighbourhood. The government has to be held responsible for the kind of rape seen in Faridabad, where a woman returning home was abducted and assaulted in a vehicle.” To be able to tackle these two categories of crime of rape, a four-pronged strategy is the need of the hour, where we need to involve the police, judiciary, society and media.

Having been an insider, I know that there are in place some regulatory advisories issued to the police in Haryana regarding completing the investigation into rape cases as expeditiously as within 30 days. But sadly, this is an arrangement when the crime has already taken place. What are we doing to prevent such crimes is the moot question. What are we doing to instill security in the minds of women and girls? Do we safeguard our highways, subways, bus stands, railway stations, educational institutions, cinemas etc?  Given that rape is a crime of passion, and in a majority of cases, the rapist is known to the victim, any law enforcement agency shall find itself at sea to contain it. Yet, not only a semblance of, but real obtainment of a scenario, that the police is around and shall put up presence, if the need arises, can be a deterrent, in at least random kidnappings and abductions for rape, where the unsuspecting and hapless victim is just pounced upon.

Though there are in-camera trial provisions these days and fast-track courts exist, yet, a lot needs to be done when even the courts need to sensitise not to go into too many technicalities, when the case of prosecution fails in rape cases, only for the reason of consent to be proved, especially in the case of minor victims. For brutal rapes, the 'rarest of the rare' case concept needs to be addressed as frequently as it can be possible. The Criminal Law (Amendment Act) 2013 (brought in after the Nirbhaya episode of 2012), making certain crimes against women more stringent, with increased punishment, and provisions as in Section 376-D of the Indian Penal Code, where the life sentence of the rapist would extend up to his natural death (in jail), are welcome steps. Yet, their enforcement leaves much to be desired.  

Now comes the most important issue to be addressed: that whether our homes and neighbourhoods are safe for women and girls, and that if our inter-personal relations, acquaintances, social relations, friendship etc has us all be categorised as 'moral lepers', or, above board and conscientious? It's not surprising to see minor girls being exploited by near relatives. Even boys of tender age fall victims in such an atmosphere. A movie of 2016, Pink, says it all, in a victim's saying "No!", being enough for the perpetrator to understand and be aware of a woman or a girl not consenting. Another movie of the same year, Kanahi 2, deals with the subject of a minor girl being exploited by her uncle. 

And for the media: Please exercise restraint in reporting incidents of rape, for blowing up cases out of proportion creates insecurity in the minds of the masses, and facilitates negative stimulation in the minds of those inclined towards the crime against women. Uncensored and irresponsible projection of details of rape, molestation and eve-teasing may, to some extent, sound sensuous to the sick mind of a criminal; hence, the self-regulated restraint. The last word for men, says 'Nirvana' fame Kurt Cobain, “The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.” 

Yes, a police chief alone cannot stop rapes! 

Tell girls about ‘bad touch’ & to shout out

• We need to educate our tender-aged girls of what is a 'good touch' and what is a 'bad touch'; how to scream, shout and invite the attention of others, if even there is an indication of a friendly sexual assault or aberration or initiative.