Issue

Rape in India is a prominent issue that to this day has not been handled properly. If it were, the number of rape incidents wouldn’t be increasing dramatically. After the gang rape of a student in Delhi who lost her life, the number of reported rape incidents has doubled. Four out of the six men involved were sentenced to death but this has made no difference to the rapists, as they continue to ruin the lives of more women. From 727 sexual assaults in Delhi last year, the number has risen to approximately 2,844 this year.

The problem of rape strikes the people of India again as yet another story is reported by the Times of India. A thirty-three year old doctor was recently put into jail for having raped his younger sister for the past 8 years. The doctor, Rajesh Kumar, is the only brother of four other sisters and is also a married man. In her complaint file, the young woman states she was traumatized and remained silent for 8 years being too afraid to ruin the reputation of her well-respected family in the community. She continues to state that her painful experience continued every time she visited her mother in a city in Delhi, Gurgaon, who was living with the accused. Delhi has one of the highest rates of rape in India. In 2012, Delhi had 585 cases of rape and the cities of Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Bangalore had significantly lower. The rape incidents summed up from these cities still had 99 fewer cases of rape.

Solution

Campaigns similar to The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict promote major social changes especially for areas in the world that face sexual violence as a major issue such as India. The campaign will, “…demand urgent and bold political leadership to prevent rape in conflict, to protect civilians and rape survivors, and call for justice for all—including effective prosecution of those responsible. These three pillars of the Campaign—PREVENT, PROTECT, PROSECUTE—signal a comprehensive effort to stop rape in conflict.”

Stories like these should touch the hearts of Indians and encourage a move to promote change in society. How many more women in India have to be stripped of their dignity and innocence until someone finally speaks up and realizes something needs to be done?

[Image Attribute: Nydegger René]