Norey Anne Arenas

Leah Kaminski

Writing 39C

May 22, 2014

Women’s Venture for Breakthrough

When a 23-year-old woman became the victim of a fatal gang rape on December

16, 2012, in India, the nation was shaken and has since been actively reminded of the

frequent violence that occurs against women (Bagchi). The acknowledgement of the

mistreatment and disrespect towards women of India by men has been increasing,

especially with the great numbers that have been reported regarding such abuse. Even in

the past, the numbers regarding mistreatment against women has been large, and has only

been increasing throughout the years. Since the year 1952 through 2011, the crime rate of

rape rose 873% in India and was the fastest crime that increased compared to other

crimes (Bagchi). Women in India have consistently been treated badly by the men in

various and horrendous ways; one of which can be considered the most prevalent – sex

trafficking. According to some sex trafficking victims in Mumbai, India, approximately

half of the victims reported that their vulnerability to trafficking was due to familial

disruption as well as physical or sexual violence between the families. 15 percent of the

perpetrators were their husbands and 27.8 percent were other family members; 13.6

percent of the married victims were also victimized by their own spouses (Silverman).

Through these numbers, it is clear that the majority of the perpetrators are men; the lack

of respect that these men have towards women only intensify the crime rates and the

numbers of violence against women.

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Men have actually not always mistreated Indian women; in fact, some of them

were given the status of goddess and were worshipped. This was the case in the ancient

times, when Aryans were the main inhabitant of India – the women of ancient times held

great power, even compared to the men. They actually had a say in every aspect that

related to their lives and were not confined to domestic work. Inequality eventually

developed, though, with the Vedic era; these women were stripped of their basic rights

and freedom that they once had. There was a similar predicament to the women in the

medieval era as the status of women declined; the foreign conquerors that they frequently

confronted would invade their country and brought along their own culture. The

treatment of women as property of men was practiced by these foreign conquerors and

ultimately carried on to the minds of the Indian people (Tewari). New and evil practices

were produced as women were cumulatively devalued and stripped of their status. Since

then, men have been raised to respect higher authorities such as elders and worship

goddesses, but not to females they encounter in real

life (Bagchi). This leniency that they are raised with

may remain, and this gives them the belief that they

could do anything they wish that will please them,

even if it requires violence or force.

With such great numbers of crime rates reported

against women starting from the beginning, it’s

questionable as to why it has been increasing rather

than decreasing as time progressed. There have been

some various attempts to seek restore and decrease the

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numbers of violent crime rates by the Indian government; the Indian Penal Code lists

some cases and punishments that a persecutor is liable to be charged for – some of which

that can help protect women and seek justice from some instances of violence from men

(Indian Penal Code). The majority of the violent crimes practiced against women were

not included in this document such as offenses that relate to trafficking, thus many

women were still liable to mistreatment and abuse. India’s legislation did not recognize

many of the various crimes that are committed against women; “…antiquated Indian laws

only currently acknowledge three crimes against women: rape, using force to ‘outrage her

modesty’, and making rude sounds or gestures aimed at ‘insulting the modesty of any

woman’” (Baker). The little and ineffective actions taken by the Indian government

called for some type of drastic reform, especially considering the crime rates that are

continuously high numbers.

In 1986, the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act was

amended and changed to the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act. This act “…only discusses

trafficking in relation to prostitution and not in relation to other purposes of trafficking

such as domestic work, child labour, organ harvesting…” (Child Line India). This

attempt to prevent trafficking amongst India does not even recognize trafficking as a

specific or separate crime; rather, it is addressed as a prostitution-related activity. Thus, it

is hardly an anti-trafficking law, since it does not even truly define trafficking as it really

is. As a prevention act, it is questionable whether or not it accurately adopts a preventive

approach to trafficking; the act focuses more on criminalization and punishment instead

of preventive measures to warn about the dangers of prostitution and trafficking.

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After another horrific incident regarding gang rape in India occurred and stirred

up great controversy, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the

Empowerment of Women “…[urged] that political will must translate into concrete

action and stronger implementation of already existing laws and regulations”

(Stenhammer). The suggestion of amendments to the Indian Penal Code was brought up

because of this as well as public protests. A new law was then created by India’s

Parliament in response and “…provides for the death penalty for repeat offenders or for

rape attacks that lead to the victim’s death” as well as “…[making] it a crime for police

officers to refuse to open cases when they receive complaints of sexual attacks” (Gates).

This new reform also targeted trafficking, for part of the amendment includes “…

[criminalizing] anyone who recruits, transports, harbors, transfers, or receives a person

using certain means for purposes of exploitation” (Kotiswaran). Unlike the previous

section that barely covers the definition of trafficking, the new definition is much more

specific and criminalizes perpetrators who practice such exploitation. These new sexual

assault laws sound very hopeful, but there are actually many who have criticized the new

legislation. A special three-member committee known as the J.S. Verma Committee

recommended changed to the legislation, yet the new measures failed to include some of

them, especially of the issues regarding marital rape and sexual assaults committed by

parliamentarians (Khalsa & Khambatta). Nonetheless, the new reforms of sexual assault

laws are an improvement for the country, but the most critical issue is making sure they

are implemented.

As a poor, developing country, the efforts that India’s government has been

making is a good start, though the impact would not be as successful as they intended.

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These laws are only methods of combating violence and punishing perpetrators that have

already committed the crime; they do not address the root cause of the violence and

trafficking. Although it may prevent some criminals from performing large-scale crimes,

it does not do so for forms of abuse that can be easily hidden from the public eye. It is

possible that some men may even find it exciting to be able to go against the law without

getting caught; the feeling of possibly being able to do so might only increase the will for

the crimes to continue. It is difficult for laws, such as ones aforementioned, to be

implemented especially if the offenders are able to conceal their forms of abuse and

crime. Men will merely continue to act in their usual violent ways against women as long

as they don’t believe that what they commit is truly a crime. A simple reform in

legislation will not be capable of creating a huge impact on the crime rates against

women, especially if it’s a crucial problem that unsurprisingly occurs frequently.

Legislation is undoubtedly an important aspect when it comes to regulating and

enforcing certain rules, but it is unable to be effectively preventive as some classify it to

be. Lakshmi Chaudhry blames “[the] ugly and entirely abnormal state of affairs” as “the

most visible symptom of a society without the rule of law” when referring to how India’s

culture finds sexual harassment so routine yet rape as crime, though it is quite

irresponsible to blame cultural issues on the absence of laws (Chaudhry). Laws certainly

can act to implement punishments and discourage some criminals from committing

certain crimes, and this can be found helpful in decreasing crime rates of a country.

Cultural ideas and methods aren’t derived from legislation, though; there is only a small

correlation between the two, thus it is difficult to mold and reform such traditional ideas

by laws. Most of these acts of legislation would not have a significant effect on the

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committed crimes – like the legislative actions aforementioned, there is hardly a

difference and the intent of the actions is not usually met. A large-scale problem such as

violence against women will not be solved solely on legislative methods; the solution

would involve deeper and more socially involved methods that would develop cultural

ideas to more acceptable concepts.

The perception of women should be changed – rather than being seen as property

or someone of the lowest status, they should be recognized and treated with respect.

Doing so is difficult, as this would require having to refine the understanding of the

whole society regarding something that has been socially acceptable for countless years.

A nationwide campaign may be able to impact most of the country’s society, especially if

its family and community leaders would guide it. The parents of families as well as

teachers and mentors may be crucial in guiding and educating society against any forms

of violence towards women. According to advocate Mihira Sood, “[we] must educate

people, starting at the school level, about respect for women, for personal spaces and for

the rule of law” as well as reflect on how each of us “…contribute to the objectification

of women, from the popular culture we consume to the way we bring up our children…”

(Bureau). Legislation can only do so much to prevent or decrease criminal activity in the

country, but “[we] cannot legislate good behavior, as the saying goes, we have to build its

DNA – in schools, in homes, in public spaces, in our media – that must begin by refusing,

unlearning and denying this entitlement and the violence it takes to live it as the only way

to be ‘men’” (Bureau).

In order to focus on the root problem of India’s culture that discriminates against

women, there needs to be grand campaigns in order to reach a solution. The Equal

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Community Foundation is not necessarily a large-scale organization, however it provides

a great starting example for similar measures that larger organizations or communities

can take. They have a clear objective that focuses on the culture and society of India: “…

to ensure that every man in India has the opportunity to study and practice gender

equitable behavior to end violence and discrimination against women.” They plan to do

this by “…inspiring and informing a new generation of social programming that raises

men to end violence and discrimination against women” by “…developing behavior

change programs that empower men, researching and reporting on the approach in India,

and developing a popular movement supporting the approach” (Equal Community

Foundation). By reaching these various goals, there will surely be a change in how men

perceive women since this program focuses on the problem and is able to prevent the root

cause that accumulates to the horrid violence that occurs against women. Having the

mindset that “…all men need to be a part of the solution” allows for the most opportunity

of help and support to be available – the class and social standing is not of importance in

this case, but, rather, it calls for all to be active and supportive (Equal Community

Foundation). If this program expands and is noticed by a sufficient amount of people, the

awareness will allow for it to continue and grow whilst also influencing culture in the

country. This will create a domino effect where men will begin to “…reduce their own

violent and discriminating behavior, advocate an end to end violence… and take personal

and collective action to empower women in their lives and communities” (Equal

Community Foundation). As long as the men in the smaller communities promote this

kind of campaign, there will eventually be a great impact even in the large communities.

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Works Cited

"About Indian Penal Code." Indian Penal Code. Indian Penal Code, n.d. Web. 13 May

2014.

Anagol, Padma. "Agency, Periodisation And Change In The Gender And Women's

History Of Colonial India." Gender & History 20.3 (2008): 603-627. Academic

Search Complete. Web. 13 May 2014.

Bagchi, Indrani. "The Struggle For Women's Empowerment In India." Current

Bureau, Tehelka. "How Do We Stop Rapes? India Looks for Answers | Debashree

Majumdar | Tehelka.com." Tehelka. Tehelka, 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 22 May 2014.

Chaudhry, Lakshmi. "The Dumb White Chick vs Creepy Indian Lecher

Debate."Firstpost. Firstpost, 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 May 2014.

"CHILD Protection & Child Rights » IV. National Mechanisms » Child Related

Legislations » Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1986." Immoral Traffic

Prevention Act, 1986. Childline India Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

"Working with Men to End Violence and Discrimination against Women." Equal

Community Foundation. Equal Community Foundation, 2014. Web. 22 May

2014.

Gates, Sara. "India Rape Law: Parliament Passes Strict Sexual Violence Legislation." The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 May 2014.

Khalsa, Guruamrit, and Persis Khambatta. "New Sexual Assault Laws in India: Only the

Beginning." In Asia. The Asia Foundation, 6 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 May 2014.

Kotiswaran, Prabha. "A Battle Half-Won: India’s New Anti-Trafficking

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Law." Interdisciplinary Project on Human Trafficking RSS. Washington College

of Law, 26 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 May 2014.

Silverman, J.G., et al. "Experiences Of Sex Trafficking Victims In Mumbai,

India." International Journal Of Gynecology & Obstetrics 97.3 (2007): 221-

226. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Stenhammer, Anne F. "UN Women Condemns Gang Rape of Delhi Student."UN Women.

UN Women, 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 13 May 2014.

Tewari, Babita, and Sanjay Tewari. "THE HISTORY OF INDIAN WOMEN:

HINDUISM AT CROSSROADS WITH GENDER."Politics and Religion

Journal (n.d.): 25-47. Web. 13 May 2014.

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