Mangalore: Behaviour of man responsible for rape, not woman's dress - Venkatesh Prasanna
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (VM)
Mangalore, Jan 22: "Crimes against women cannot be tackled completely by law alone. Cooperation of individuals, police and other officials concerned is necessary," said Venkatesh Prasanna, CCIB inspector.
He was addressing a workshop on 'Reflection on Prevention of Atrocities on Women' at School of Social work, Roshni Nilaya here on Tuesday January 22.
He further said, "We do not think of ground reality when it comes to solving issues. Sometimes we blame the dress and behaviour of women if they get raped. It is false - cruel behaviour of man is the reason for atrocities on women but the sad part is, in none of the cases human behavior is recorded.
"Firstly, we should inculcate positive thinking as even women need freedom in society. They have equal rights to enjoy their freedom on par with men," he said.
"Sometimes rape victims are scared to give complaints. In our country around 50 percent of rape incidents go unreported. In some cases, a girl faces more problem if she files complaints, for example, she has to face ugly questions put by the police."
"Another problem after filing complaint is medical examination, a punishment which no woman should get. As majority of the staff in hospitals are male, sometimes the victim has to strip clothes in front of them which is shameful," he said.
"Even in court, there are so many cases where the culprit escapes with ease while victim remains a victim," he added.
Inspector Prasanna also shared his personal experience in one of the rape case hearings where baseless allegations were levelled against the victim and she was finally proved a prostitute.
"We feel the pain of the incident only if takes place with us or our loved ones. This attitude has to stop and we should also feel for others. Unless and untill people are not scared of law, these kinds of instances will go on," he said.
As an example, he said in Saudi Arabia, the punishment for sexual abusers is physical castration. "But in our country, even to file a chargesheet, we take 90 days. The best example is Rajiv Gandhi assassination case in which there has been no development even after 23 years," he said.
As a solution to the problem, the inspector said the victims should file complaints first and then insist on medical examination by female doctors only. "Some changes in law should also be made, like punishment based on maturity of the accused instead of age if he is a juvenile. There is also an act called 'Probationary Offenders Act in our law where a person who has committed crime for the first time can come out easily. Changes should be made even here," he added.
The workshop was organized by School of Social work, Roshni Nilaya in collaboration with NSS unit, Mangalore University and Youth for Nation, Mangalore chapter.
Dr Sophia Fernandes, principal, Dr Laxmi Narayan Bhat, Prof Vinitha K, Dr Ramila Shekar among others were present.
A street play was also staged by students to create awareness on atrocities against women.