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Delhi men take to the streets in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:31:00 +0000

The brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old medical student on a moving Delhi bus last December sparked a wave of protests across India, and inspired a newly-strengthened set of laws on rape, street harassment and other forms of violence against women. But ongoing reports of sexual violence, and news of yet another gang rape in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, is proof that -- in India and everywhere else -- there is no silver bullet for sexual violence.

Indian feminists have long argued that in addition to stronger laws, cultural attitudes towards women, sex and consent -- and views about the role of men in stopping violence against women -- need to change. And while the country reels from another brutal rape case, a group of men in Delhi are trying to start the shift.

As Joanna Sugden at The Wall Street Journal reports:

Anoushka Shankar reveals she was abused as a child

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:26:00 +0000

Anoushka Shankar, the sitar player and composer daughter of late virtuoso Ravi Shankar, has come out with her own story of sexual abuse. In a campaign for One Billion Rising, a global initiative aimed at increasing awareness of violence against women, Shankar said:
"As a child I suffered sexual and emotional abuse for several years at the hands of a man my parents trusted implicitly. Growing up, like most women I know, I suffered various forms of groping, touching, verbal abuse and other things I didn't know how to deal with, I didn't know I could change."

Shankar was motivated to tell her story for Jyoti Singh Pandey, the Indian woman who died as a result of a gang rape she suffered in New Delhi late last year. "Enough is enough," Shankar contined. "I am rising, for Jyoti and women like her. I am rising with the amazing women of my country ... I am rising for the child in me, who I don't think will ever forgive and recover from what happened to her."

India toughens sex crime laws, but problems remain

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:47:00 +0000

India introduced a new package of laws against sexual assault and human trafficking on Sunday, marking one of the most significant actions the government has taken to combat violence and sexual abuse against women. Prompted by the brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman on a moving bus in Delhi, the new measure was signed into law on Sunday by President Pranab Mukherjee.

The law make crimes such as voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and the trafficking of women punishable under criminal law. But many women's groups have rejected the measure, arguing that it only selectively accepted the recommendations of the Justice JK Verma commission. The commission, named after its chair and former Supreme Court judge JS Verma, sought to make marital rape a criminal offense, and for members of India's police and armed forces to be tried in criminal courts for for sex crimes, rather than being prosecuted in army courts.

The new laws reject both recommendations.

Suspect in Delhi gang rape to be tried as juvenile

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:02:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (AP) — A juvenile court ruled Monday that a suspect in the fatal gang rape of a young woman in New Delhi last month was a juvenile at the time of the attack.

A lawyer present in the court said a magistrate of the Juvenile Justice Board announced the decision after going over documents presented to the court by officials of the suspect's elementary school that indicated that he was under 18 years of age at the time of the Dec. 16 attack.

The lawyer could not be named because he was not authorized to brief media. The lawyer said that the suspect's school documents showed him to be about six months short of his 18th birthday at the time of the attack.

The suspect did not possess a birth certificate — a common occurrence in India where many babies are born at home and not in a hospital. In such cases, school records are often used as proof of age or identity.

The suspect, who is not being identified by The Associated Press because of his age, could face three years in a reform facility if he is convicted as a juvenile. A conviction as an adult could have led to his execution.

Police often part of the problem for rape victims in India

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:47:00 +0000

The brutality of the gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey on a Delhi bus last month has thrown into stark relief the problem the violence against women in India. But even as the country struggles to bring the men responsible to justice, many Indian women say a powerful force stands in the way of bringing about real change.

The police.

Often corrupt and overwhelmingly male, the presence of local police does not make women feel any safer on the streets, many say. “If you’re a woman in distress, the last thing you want to do is go to the police,” Vrinda Grover, a human rights lawyer based in New Delhi, told the New York Times.

A woman who spoke anonymously to the Times said that not long after telling the police that she had been raped, she looked out her apartment window to see the man who had attacked her joking with an officer who had given him a ride home from the police station.

Documents say India fatal gang rape suspect is a juvenile

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:24:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (AP) — Documents presented in a hearing Tuesday indicate that a suspect in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus in December was a juvenile at the time of the attack, a court official present at the hearing said.

Two principals from the suspect's elementary school showed paperwork indicating that the suspect was a juvenile at the time of the Dec. 23 attack, which would make him ineligible for the death penalty, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a gag order on the case.

A judge is expected to rule on the suspect's age in a Jan. 28 hearing, the official said, adding that the suspect did not appear in court Tuesday.

The suspect, who is not being identified by The Associated Press because he says he is 17, would face three years in a reform facility if convicted as a juvenile. A conviction as an adult could lead to his execution.

Five other men also have been charged in the case, which has put an international spotlight on sexual abuse against women in India. One of the five now says he is also a minor.

Lawyer: Police beat New Delhi gang rape suspects

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:03:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police badly beat the five suspects arrested in the brutal gang rape and killing of a young woman on a New Delhi bus, the lawyer for one of the men said Thursday, accusing authorities of tampering with evidence in the case that has transfixed India.

"They are innocent," Manohar Lal Sharma said of the five suspects ahead of a court hearing, which ended quickly after it turned out some of the official court paperwork listing the charges was illegible. He said police have beaten the men and placed other prisoners into the suspects' cells to threaten them with knives, adding, "You can't believe the reality of Indian prisons."

Five men have been charged with attacking the 23-year-old woman and a male friend on a bus as it was driven through the streets of India's capital. The woman was raped and assaulted with a metal bar on Dec. 16 and eventually died of her injuries. Rape victims are not identified in India, even if they die, and rape trials are closed to the media.

Sharma, who has made a series of inflammatory and often-contradictory statements over the past two days, at one point Thursday said the dead woman's male companion, who boarded the bus with her after the pair saw a movie together, was "responsible for the whole thing." He gave no details, though, and a few hours later said the man's responsibility "was only my opinion."

Indian politician accused of rape is stripped and publicly beaten

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:44:00 +0000

As the five men charged in the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman on New Delhi bus face murder charges, a politician in northeast India accused of rape was stripped and beaten by a crowd of women.

Bikram Singh Brahma is a member of the Congress Party in Assam and president of a district Congress committee in the state. He was arrested Thursday in the rape of a woman in Chirang, a district in Assam. As the New York Times reports:

“A case has been registered against him under I.P.C. 376 by the lady’s husband,” G. P. Singh, the zonal inspector general of police, said in a telephone interview, referring to the section of the Indian penal code that applies to rape.

Mr. Brahma attacked the woman Wednesday night while he was staying at her family’s house, Mr. Singh said on Thursday. “He was staying at their house, and under what circumstances will be the subject matter of the investigation,” he added.

Local television stations released a video of a group of women tearing off Mr. Brahma’s shirt and hitting him on the face and stomach.

India’s top cop calls for rape crackdown

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:33:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's top law enforcement official said Friday that the country needs to crack down on crimes against women with "an iron hand" to prevent attacks such as the fatal gang rape of a student on a New Delhi bus last month.

That attack has sparked outrage across India and led to calls for tougher rape legislation and reforms of a police culture that often blames rape victims and refuses to file charges against accused attackers.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said crimes against women and marginalized sections of society are increasing, and it is the government's responsibility to stop them.

"This needs to be curbed by an iron hand," he told a conference of state officials from across India that was called to discuss how to protect women.

He called for changes in the law and the way police investigate cases so justice can be swiftly delivered. Many rape cases are bogged down in India's overburdened and sluggish court system for years.

"We need a reappraisal of the entire system," he said.

Five men were charged Thursday with murder, kidnapping and rape in the attack on a 23-year-old student who died over the weekend in a Singapore hospital from massive internal injuries. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Saturday at a new fast-track court inaugurated this week to deal with rape cases in the capital.

Indian police charge 5 in New Delhi gang rape

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:43:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police have filed rape and murder charges against five men accused in the gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus last month.

Police say they plan to push for the death penalty in the case.

A sixth suspect is believed to be a juvenile and is expected to be tried in juvenile court.

The five were charged Thursday with raping the 23-year-old woman for hours and beating her companion as the bus drove through the capital. The woman died Saturday in a hospital in Singapore from massive internal injuries.

The case has sparked outrage and protests across the country demanding greater protection for women.

Gun applications on the rise for Indian women

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:42:00 +0000

The brutal rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman by six men on a Delhi city bus last month has sparked an unprecedented debate about sexual violence in India. The attack has also inspired a record number of women to apply for gun licenses.

According to the Delhi police department, 274 Delhi women have applied for gun licenses and some 1,200 more have called the licensing department to inquire. "These include not only the average working woman, but even students who travel long distances to colleges and even their concerned parents. They were eager to find out more on the procedure to acquire arms," a Delhi police officer told the Times of India.

India's restrictive gun laws require a "grave and imminent threat" to the applicant's life in order to be approved, making gun ownership rare. The 274 applications received in the last three weeks amount to more than half of the applications submitted in 2011.