Why viral rape-consciousness is not enough

Vikash Narain Rai
Former Director, National Police Academy, Hyderabad

The rape gangs at the Hyderabad toll plaza and Ranchi’s VIP zone comprised regular youths, from regular Indian families. So regular that, amidst the resultant outrage, one of the Hyderabad rapists’ mother was quoted as saying that he should be punished by burning him alive in the same way as the victim. What serious risk the patriarchy has in store for the female and male child alike in society is not to be missed from the casualness with which the young offenders indulged in these gang rapes. The depravity let loose set the lowest possible standards for any type of society; the displayed impunity underlined that an average Indian male will always be at the risk of being patriarchally groomed as a potential sex offender.

The national consciousness on rape owes its present virulent profile largely to Nirbhaya episode of December 2012, after which the victims of gruesome sexual assault came to be referred as survivors. Society has since taken to echoing a multidimensional anger against sex crimes by enacting new laws and prescribing ultimate punishments. However, the same society has continued its tolerance towards other serious gender crimes. The two, almost universal ones, being denial of parental assets to daughters and infliction of domestic violence on wives.

With almost nil opportunities of individual rehabilitation from a gendered existence, a remedy lost in the cumulative aftermath of rape-consciousness, the commissions, the speedy trials, the capital punishments, the one-stop centres etc, have proved to be a recipe serving the taste, sentiment and cause of patriarchy, often bowing down to a straightforward equation that the society has too big a stake in patriarchy. The sex crimes are opposed most vociferously in an ideal space because they challenge a vital notion of patriarchy, of being the traditional protector of women. When it comes to those gender crimes which are at the root of this scenario, there reigns a shared silence because this genre strengthens the status of patriarchy in the real world.

What women experience in even supposedly friendly or neutral surroundings — family, community, police, women’s commission, government, judiciary, legislature, political party, religious organisation, media house — who all seem only too willing to overtime facilitating women’s safety, however, essentially retaining their patriarchal character, is a male mindset again and again. Various gender budgeting exercises, even when flow of cash is guaranteed, are a dead giveaway. Madhya Pradesh's Ladli Scheme, which is now touching an annual expenditure of Rs 700-800 crore, has been reduced into a dowry for marriage exercise and GOI's enormous Nirbhaya fund-linked one-stop crisis centres are serving more as a PR exercise than an empowering protocol for women in distress. The Delhi Government's latest free bus travel facilities to women, coupled with the presence of dedicated marshals, aimed to increase women’s footfall in public transport, will add to their sense of security but are no substitute to a shared sense of gender equality.

Let me share excerpts from my reflections, 'Why will sexual violence not stop', immediately on acceptance of the Verma Commission's report in2013: There are inbuilt factors why sexual assaults on women will continue. Notwithstanding prompt arrests and convictions of the culprits; notwithstanding outbursts of massive social energy against such crimes; notwithstanding high-voltage media coverage and parliamentary outrage; and in spite of the Justice Verma Committee legislation, the ever-lurking fear of such assaults will not dissipate.    

The first factor is the near exclusion of gender crimes, which are at the root of sexual crimes, from the penal resolve. The application of gender justice is alien to Indian jurisprudence. 

The second is the huge gap  between sex explosion and sex education.

The third and fourth factors present the two sides of the age-old patriarchy prescription — a masculine remedy regime abutting the violence domain, and a gender-insensitive workforce in the criminal justice system. 

The fifth is the typically dominant gender conditioning of the Indian male.

The masculine upgrade of the Criminal Justice System (CJS), enhancing penal authority, personnel accountability and police presence skill sets, has only complemented the traditional notion of sexual purity. There is a parallel stream of cosmetic remedies as well, the likes of women police stations and PCRs, kanyadan schemes, women banks and post-offices, all women schools and transports etc which encourage a sense of isolation and dependence among women. They do not address the issues of informed awareness.

It is no aberration, in view of the deeprooted gender inequality, that a majority of the sexual assaults are committed by people enjoying a trust relationship with their victims — the Asarams, guardians, relatives, caretakers, benefactors, boyfriends, teachers, coaches, doctors, guides, neighbours, politicians, policemen, custodians, confidants. What enables them is the gender vulnerability of the victim, which conditions her to remain 'silent' in matters pertaining to sexual activities. Her muted nurture hardly leaves the victim with escape routes, making it even harder for the state to stitch any preventive protocol. It is also no aberration that a sex offender carries no distinct profile. Empirically speaking, a female could be as much unsafe in the company of a familiar face as with a stranger.

The VAW (Violence Against Women) domain is already witnessing a tussle. There are so many gangrapes these days because a lone stranger dare not attack a relatively aware female. How come the acquaintances, relatives, spiritual gurus are being frequently reported against and even the treacheries in relationship are being called rapes? Clearly, the society is tilting unflinchingly as the legal protocols come under intense scrutiny. The horrific sexual attacks are also a measure of the victim's determined resistance, which ridicules the male ego no end. The acid attacks and 'honour' killings are indicative of the female's resolve not to be cowed down into imposed marital alliance. Yet another female assertion reflects in the trickling claims made by daughters on parental assets. 

The community is trapped as it craves for a fitting retribution in rape cases. Nevertheless, it is also in dire need of a participative release from fear psychosis. The polity is trapped too. The crux is that the security standards based on patriarchy and the legal initiatives drawing from state power have proved inadequate. The point to remember is that where legal and moral protocols have made little difference, empowering protocols will. A shift of this magnitude, however, is bound to generate inescapable emotional pain and physical hardships for both genders. So be it!