Delhi girl critical after gangrape, four held
Delhi police have recovered CCTV footage of the bus from the Gurgaon toll plaza and are likely to release it.
Mon 17 Dec, 2012
NEW DELHI: A day after the news of a gang-rape of a girl in her 20s shamed India, law enforcers inDelhi have arrested four suspects and recovered CCTV footage of the bus.
Delhi Police said they have detained four men suspected to be involved in the alleged rape. Two buses have also been impounded.
"We cannot divulge names of the detained people and the place from where they were picked up as the investigation is underway," said a police official at Vasant Vihar police station.
The official added that police have recovered CCTV footage of the bus from the Gurgaon toll plaza and are likely to release it.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, appalled at the girl's condition, said: "Strict action will be taken against her attackers. The transport department has told me that the licence of the bus has been cancelled and strict action would be taken not only against the White Line bus but also to prevent any such incidents."
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old who was raped by a bunch of men in a moving bus is battling for life atSafdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
Reports said the girl's condition has deteriorated and she is on ventilator with grave injuries to her stomach and intestines. She bore signs of being beaten with a blunt object.
SN Makwana, public relations officer at Safdarjung Hospital, told IANS that the girl condition was critical.
Delhi police official said the horrific incident took place when the young couple reached Munirka insouth Delhi around 9.15 pm Sunday after watching a movie and boarded a stationary bus to go to Dwarka.
Around five to seven men in the bus, including the driver and conductor, allegedly misbehaved with the woman. When the boyfriend intervened, he was brutally beaten up with iron rods. She was then sexually assaulted in the moving bus.
The girl and her boyfriend were then thrown out of the bus under Mahipalpur flyover in south Delhi. The assailants also snatched their mobiles.
A toll plaza patrol vehicle spotted the girl and her friend and called the police, who took them to Safdarjung Hospital around 12.15 a.m. Monday.
The woman's ordeal, a police officer said, lasted for 45 long minutes.
Deepak Tripathi, the anguished uncle of the young man, said five to six men attacked the two.
"When my nephew tried to save the girl, he was beaten with iron rods," he said. "The girl was then gang-raped."
The young woman, who belongs to Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, was interning at a hospital here for some months. She lives in Mahavir Enclave in west Delhi.
Doctors said she had grave injuries on the stomach and intestine, and she bore signs of having been beaten with a blunt object.
The girl, who is from Ballia in Bihar and presently lives in Mahavir Enclave in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar, has completed her para-medical course from Dehradun and is doing an internship at a city hospital.
The girl's male friend is from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and lives in South Delhi's Ber Sarai area. He is a B.Tech from Meerut and is preparing for the civil services.
Delhi Police said they have detained four men suspected to be involved in the alleged rape. Two buses have also been impounded.
"We cannot divulge names of the detained people and the place from where they were picked up as the investigation is underway," said a police official at Vasant Vihar police station.
The official added that police have recovered CCTV footage of the bus from the Gurgaon toll plaza and are likely to release it.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, appalled at the girl's condition, said: "Strict action will be taken against her attackers. The transport department has told me that the licence of the bus has been cancelled and strict action would be taken not only against the White Line bus but also to prevent any such incidents."
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old who was raped by a bunch of men in a moving bus is battling for life atSafdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
Reports said the girl's condition has deteriorated and she is on ventilator with grave injuries to her stomach and intestines. She bore signs of being beaten with a blunt object.
SN Makwana, public relations officer at Safdarjung Hospital, told IANS that the girl condition was critical.
Delhi police official said the horrific incident took place when the young couple reached Munirka insouth Delhi around 9.15 pm Sunday after watching a movie and boarded a stationary bus to go to Dwarka.
Around five to seven men in the bus, including the driver and conductor, allegedly misbehaved with the woman. When the boyfriend intervened, he was brutally beaten up with iron rods. She was then sexually assaulted in the moving bus.
The girl and her boyfriend were then thrown out of the bus under Mahipalpur flyover in south Delhi. The assailants also snatched their mobiles.
A toll plaza patrol vehicle spotted the girl and her friend and called the police, who took them to Safdarjung Hospital around 12.15 a.m. Monday.
The woman's ordeal, a police officer said, lasted for 45 long minutes.
Deepak Tripathi, the anguished uncle of the young man, said five to six men attacked the two.
"When my nephew tried to save the girl, he was beaten with iron rods," he said. "The girl was then gang-raped."
The young woman, who belongs to Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, was interning at a hospital here for some months. She lives in Mahavir Enclave in west Delhi.
Doctors said she had grave injuries on the stomach and intestine, and she bore signs of having been beaten with a blunt object.
The girl, who is from Ballia in Bihar and presently lives in Mahavir Enclave in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar, has completed her para-medical course from Dehradun and is doing an internship at a city hospital.
The girl's male friend is from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and lives in South Delhi's Ber Sarai area. He is a B.Tech from Meerut and is preparing for the civil services.
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Woman gang-raped in Delhi, battles for life
By Indo Asian News Service | IANS India Private Limited – Mon 17 Dec, 2012
New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) A 23-year-old woman was battling for life here Monday after a bunch of men raped her in a moving bus and threw her out on the road along with her badly beaten boyfriend, officials said.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit expressed her disgust over the incident even as police detained four suspects for the overnight crime and said they were looking for other accomplices.
While the 28-year-old boyfriend was discharged from hospital Monday morning, the young woman, whose name is being withheld, was on ventilator at the Safdarjung Hospital with life threatening injuries.
"The patient is critical," hospital spokesman S.N. Makwana told IANS.
Police said the horrific attack took place when the young couple reached Munirka in south Delhi around 9.15 p.m. Sunday after watching a movie and boarded a stationary bus to go to Dwarka.
Around five to seven men in the bus, including the driver and conductor, allegedly misbehaved with the woman. When the boyfriend intervened, he was beaten up. She was then sexually assaulted in the moving bus.
The woman's ordeal, a police officer said, lasted for 45 long minutes.
Both victims were pushed out of the bus at Mahipalpur in south Delhi after their mobile phones were snatched.
A police vehicle rushed them to hospital past midnight after being tipped off by a toll plaza patrol that a young man and a young woman were sprawled by the roadside.
Deepak Tripathi, the anguished uncle of the young man, said five to six men attacked the two.
"When my nephew tried to save the girl, he was beaten with iron rods," he said. "The girl was then gang-raped."
The young woman, who belongs to Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, was interning at a hospital here for some months. She lives in Mahavir Enclave in west Delhi.
Doctors said she had grave injuries on the stomach and intestine, and she bore signs of having been beaten with a blunt object.
Her friend hails from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and lives in Ber Sarai in south Delhi. He had completed his B.Tech from Meerut and was preparing for civil services examination.
Delhi Police said four suspected attackers had been held and CCTV footage of the bus had been seized from a toll plaza in Gurgaon.
"We cannot divulge the name of the detained and where they were picked up," a police officer said.
Chief Minister Dikshit pledged "strict action" against the attackers.
The transport department has cancelled the license of the private bus, she said.
Education and Social Welfare Minister Kiran Walia said: "It is a shocking incident."
Mamta Sharma, chairperson of the National Commission for Women, said she was aghast. "If an incident like this can take place in a thickly populated area like Munirka, it shows the police are not alert."
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Four suspects detained in Delhi gang-rape case
By Indo Asian News Service | IANS India Private Limited – Mon 17 Dec, 2012
New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) Four suspects have been detained by Delhi Police for the gang-rape of a girl in a moving bus, police said Monday. The condition of the girl is critical.
"We have detained four people and have impounded two buses," said a police official.
The incident took place Sunday night, when the victim, a para-medical student and her boyfriend, boarded the bus from Munirka to go to Dwarka, after watching a movie.
Police said that around five to seven bus crew started misbehaving with the girl a few minutes after she boarded the bus, which had no other passengers.
The victim's boyfriend tried to prevent the men from molesting her, but the men beat him up and sexually assaulted the girl.
The accused then threw the girl and her boyfriend out of the bus near Mahipalpur in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar area.
Both victims were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital by a PCR van. While the girl battles for life, her boyfriend was discharged and police have recorded his statement and registered a case.
The boy's uncle said, "Five to seven persons attacked the couple."
"When my nephew tried to save the girl, he was beaten with iron rods... the girl was then gang-raped," he said.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Mamta Sharma, said she would talk to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on the issue.
"We will talk to the chief minister, take cognizance of the matter and inquire into it, as also keep tabs on the police investigations," Sharma said.
"Such incidents are on the rise in the capital and this is due to the ignorance of the government as well the police force. If an incident like this can take place in the thickly populated Munirka area, it just shows that the police is not alert," she said.
Sharma said the girl's "male friend may have been involved with the accused."
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that "neither the home ministry nor Delhi Police are able to check such incidents" which have been on the rise.
"Delhi's law and order is being handled very irresponsibly by the Delhi government," he said.
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TNN
Police impose prohibitions at
NEW DELHI: A month before the Republic turns up at India Gate, with all its pomp and glory, people incensed by its attempt to silence their voice marched all over the place, making a bonfire of the wooden barricades that keep them off Rajpath. The mild ones who advocated peace and didn't wish to stoke the fire were soon running for cover as the heavy hand of the state descended on them with round after round of tear gas and lathicharges.
What began as a peaceful protest on a misty Sunday morning gathered storm as the day progressed, ending with a massive clean-up operation by Delhi Police with tear gas, water cannons and lathicharge. There was chaos, anger and confusion as around 10,000 protesters and several cops clashed repeatedly. Police lathicharged the crowd at least 10 times, injuring 65 people (many more didn't report at hospitals). And finally, around 5.30pm, they just went berserk - the policemen and the Rapid Action Force rained lathi blows on everyone coming in their way, including protesters, mediapersons and even families out for a walk.
At least 250 tear gas shells were lobbed and water cannons used as cops chased the protesters all the way from India Gate to ITO, Mandi House and Pragati Maidan. Delhi Police officers said the protest, which was peaceful on Saturday, had been hijacked by some political elements and hooligans who threw stones at regular intervals. Around 78 policemen were injured, including one constable identified as Subhash Tomar who is reported to be critical. Officials said he was beaten up by the violent protestors and is now on ventilator support.
The drama began early in the morning as the protesters began to assemble around 8am. The cops imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC in all of
The cops had blocked all access routes early in the morning but there was no stopping the people. Unable to deal with a growing crowd that repeatedly made attempts to breach security, the cops fired tear gas and lathicharged the protesters repeatedly even as the agitators vandalised public property. The protesters were also lathicharged at Jantar Mantar, Rail Bhawan and
While a group of JNU students marched into India Gate from Nizamuddin around 11am, other groups made their way in from Ashoka Road. A large group of protesters blocked all traffic on the India Gate C-hexagon near Hyderabad House until cops removed them. Some rowdy elements in this group jumped on top of a police vehicle, breaking the windows and hammering the bonnet with sticks, even as others pleaded with them to stop, horrified. Some protesters gheraoed MP Sandeep Dikshit's car and chased him before he was escorted into the barricaded area of Rajpath.
A few protesters from the youth wing of left parties also tried making their way to Rashtrapati Bhavan through Rafi Marg. Around 200 youngsters, along with Brinda Karat, were forcefully pushed back near Rail Bhavan when the cops used their lathis and sprayed water to disperse the protesters around 12.30pm. But this did not deter the crowds. Women rights group like National Federation of India Women tried yet again to breach security leading to a second lathicharge within an hour.
"They think they will remove us from here but we will not go," said Sheela from Trilokpuri, who along with other women sat on the road causing the traffic to come to a standstill. After this these protesters started to make their way to
The violence sharply escalated around 5.15pm, with the protesters pelting stones at the police and burning barricades and machans. A Delhi Doordarshan SX4 vehicle was turned over and damaged by an angry mob. Around 5.30pm, Delhi Police ordered a lathicharge and evacuation of people from India Gate.
For the next one hour, the police went on the rampage, hitting anyone in sight, lobbing more than 200 tear gas shells and using water cannons. The protesters, who moved to the roads connecting the India Gate circle, damaged more than 50 vehicles, including 12 DTC buses, and set many vehicles, including a dozen PCR vans and some private vehicles, on fire. Even moving buses with passengers inside were pelted with stones.
Minutes before the lathicharge, special commissioner of police (law and order) Dharmendra Kumar blamed 'hooligans' for the violence, claiming that unruly elements had 'hijacked' the peaceful demonstration. Delhi Police in its report to the Union home ministry said that some 'vested interests' had joined the protesters and were instigating them.
Kumar disclosed that a former chief justice of
Kumar also said that if the protesters remained peaceful, the police was willing to take a delegation to the home minister. "What is the purpose of this lawlessness? People should calm down and allow police to work," he added.
Times View
Please, let's give peace a chance
People have the right to protest peacefully in a democracy. This differentiates countries like
Sadly, this flawed way of dealing with the protests has created a deep sense of frustration among those protesting, a frustration that is beginning to be expressed in a disturbing resort to violence. It seems unruly elements are now sensing the possibility of exploiting the situation to foment trouble. Any violence will defeat the very purpose why Nirbhaya (the symbolic name TOI has given the courageous girl) is battling for her life: to ensure that she, and others like her, get justice and such violent crimes are not allowed to happen again.
We must recognize the context in which this protest may be going out of control. The police have been guilty of undue use of force on protesters in a bid to get them out of the area around Vijay Chowk. They are being lathicharged, tear-gassed, hit with water cannons, and section 144 has been imposed - the standard operating procedure for dealing with crowds. Are the police to blame for this? Yes, but only partly. This is because they are mandated to prevent unscheduled protestors from climbing Raisina Hill and reaching Rashtrapati Bhavan to convey their anguish to the President. When MPs march as a body to give the President a memorandum of demand, the police are informed in advance and they let the MPs through. But they are at a loss when things don't go by the book and representatives of a spontaneous movement seek to do the same.
This is where political intervention and wisdom are required. Senior government leaders should tell the police to negotiate with the protestors for a manageable group of representatives to go and meet the President. Better still, the leaders should do it themselves. As public anger grew in the days after the rape, not one of them came to talk to the young girls and boys. So what if they had faced some anger? If a brave leader - say, Rahul Gandhi, who is said to be a youth icon - had reached the spot, megaphone in hand, and told the protestors that he shared the same anguish, the same anger and had the same determination to ensure zero tolerance for any kind of misbehaviour towards women, the situation might have been defused by now. Instead, the situation is now in danger of descending into violence.
But it is not - as some are saying - because political parties have joined the protests (who would channelize popular anger in a democracy if not organised political outfits?). The real reason is that the protestors feel they are banging their heads against a wall. There is no one to listen to them. The government has failed to recognise that these protests are signs of the people's resolve to not remain mute spectators to administrative apathy and poor governance. This is not the first time that the government and the police have been panicked into hasty action on protesters. Baba Ramdev's rally at the Ramlila grounds earlier in the year saw a similarly knee-jerk reaction. Metro stations were also shut down when Arvind Kejriwal and others had called for a dharna at the PM's residence demanding the Jan Lokpal bill. It was the same on Sunday when four Metro stations were sealed and section 144 was imposed in the India Gate area.
In this case, as in the earlier ones, the protests were peaceful till things took an ugly turn on Sunday evening. Nobody was physically attacking anybody, public or private property was not being damaged, and there was no violence. A few young boys and girls throwing bottles or stones don't make a protest dangerous. So why the insistence on breaking it up and clearing the area? Often the police response is that no permission was sought for the protest. When protests are against police inaction, does it not seem strange that we must seek the permission of the police before protesting? Second, the notion of seeking permission might make sense when it is an organized protest, but where in the question of seeking permission when people spontaneously turn up to register their anger? Who is expected to seek permission? Our government and police must get used to the idea that in the era of social media many protests will be spontaneous and without clear leaders who can seek and get permission. The response cannot be to just put them down. As long as protests are peaceful, they must be allowed.
That said, the protestors must keep their protest peaceful and refrain from any violence against the police or damage to public property. They should not give the police any excuse to resort to violent crowd-control measures. They must show their anger constructively and bring to the authorities concrete and reasonable demands. TOI has repeatedly suggested an action plan for curbing crimes against women. On Sunday, we asked for this anger to be channelized constructively into specific demands. We repeat them here again:
* Create fast-track courts to deal with crimes against women;
* Ensure that the police collect evidence properly, and are sensitized to deal with victims of such crimes. Their performance should measured based on conviction rates;
* Create a safe environment for women by having zero tolerance of any kind of violence against them. In this the police as well as society as a whole have a role to play;
* Bring strong deterrence by changing the law to make chemical castration and life-term the punishment for rapes. For violent rapes, such as the one that has triggered these protests, the death penalty should be considered as a "rarest of rare" punishment.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
First Published: 18:12 IST(23/12/2012)
Last Updated: 18:17 IST(23/12/2012)
Last Updated: 18:17 IST(23/12/2012)
"... the Administrative Committee (of HC) has resolved to issue directions to all Additional Sessions Judges in Delhi that cases of sexual assault on women will be tried on day-to-day basis from the date of commencement of the trial," the Registrar General of the High Court said in a statement on Sunday.
The release also said that a bench headed by Chief Justice D Murugesan has already taken "suo motu cognisance" of the incident on the "judicial side".
"The recent brutal gang rape in Delhi has shaken the entire nation. There is widespread outrage in the Capital and the Delhi high court has also taken a very serious view of the matter. The Delhi high court has already taken suo motu cognisance of the matter on the judicial side...," it said.
The administrative committee of the high court, headed by the Chief Justice, has already accepted the Delhi Government's proposal to establish five special fast track courts to deal with the sexual assaults cases against women, it said.
The steps would be taken to operationalise them after the winter vacation.
A 23-year-old paramedical student was gangraped and brutally tortured in a moving bus before being thrown out along with her male friend on last Sunday night in South Delhi, sparking national outrage.
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Scribe killed in police firing, curfew reimposed
23 December 2012
Press Trust of India
IMPHAL, 23 DEC: A journalist of a private TV channel was killed in police firing at Thangmeiband on supporters of the indefinite general strike in Manipur on its second day today and curfew was reimposed for 16 hours in Imphal East and West districts as violence spread to the capital complex here.
Thangjam Nanao Singh, a reporter of 'Prime Time' channel received bullet wounds on his chest when police opened fire to disperse bandh supporters demanding the arrest of a Naga militant for allegedly molesting a film actress.
He succumbed to his injuries at the Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital here. Protesters also torched the vehicle of officer-in-charge of Lamphel police station, official sources said.
Following this curfew, which was withdrawn in the morning, was reimposed in the two districts from 2 p.m. for 16 hours. Announcements on the reimposition of the curfew was made by the administration over the public address system cautioning people from venturing outside as violence was reported from different places.
State Home Minister Gaikhangam visited the hospital and condoled the death of Nanao Singh. He also appealed to the strikers, particularly Manipur Film Forum (MFF) to remain calm and and said efforts were on to trace and arrest the Naga militant who had molested the Manipuri actress.
Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, he said, is meeting Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in Delhi to discuss the militant's arrest as NSCN-IM is engaged in peace talks with the Centre.
The indefinite strike, called by MFF, is on demanding the arrest of NSCN(IM) militant Livingstone Anal for allegedly publicly molesting Manipuri actress Momoko during a musical concert in Chandel district on 18 December.
President of All Manipur Working Journalists Union Mobi Singh has meanwhile demanded that the police return the camera used by Nanao Singh in which the reporter had taken several pictures of the spot happenings.
According to official reports a total four vehicles, including that of the officer-in-charge of Lamphel police station, were set ablaze by strike supporters in East and West Imphal districts. The three other vehicle were torched at Andro parking area, Langol and Khurai, all near here.
Besides, the office of the sub-divisional officer at Laiphamkhunou in Imphal west district was also set ablaze by the agitators. Official sources said police burst tear gas shells to disperse bandh supporters at Thangmeiband, Khurai, Sagolband, Andro Parking ~ all in capital complex but no casualty was reported.
Some people were injured when the agitators threw stones at the general public in Imnphal East and West Districts, the sources said. The police personnel also chased away the agitators, who were blocking roads from various places and asked people to remain indoors during the curfew. Hundreds of people from hills who had come to the capital town were stranded and would be transported back with official escort to enable them participate in Christmas festivities, the sources added.
_________________________Delhi gang rape: Victim undergoes third surgery to remove infected fluid
NEW DELHI: Exactly a week after her brutal gang rape, the 23-year-old victim, named Nirbhaya by TOI, underwent her third surgery on Sunday. With infection spreading in her body, doctors at Safdarjung hospital decided to operate her on Sunday to wash out the infected fluid. She has been put on ventilator support again.
In a one-and-a-half hour long surgery that started at 2pm, doctors washed her abdominal cavity with saline and betadine solution. The procedure was performed under general anesthesia. Doctors said Nirbhaya had complained of pain in the abdomen and difficulty in breathing on Saturday night.
"We carried out a few tests such as CT-scan and ultrasound in which fluid collection was reported in her abdomen. To drain the infected fluid, we performed a peritoneal wash,'' said Dr B D Athani, medical superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital.
The CT-scan had indicated fluid collection in the right side of the abdomen, under the liver. Doctors say she had difficulty breathing due to the spread of infection.
On Sunday, a team of surgeons from the AIIMS Trauma Centre and G B Pant examined the victim. Though the surgery was performed by Safdarjung doctors, AIIMS Trauma Centre chief, Dr M C Misra, and G B Pant's head of surgery, Dr Anil Aggarwal, were present in the operation theatre. During the surgery, the tube attached to the duodenum — a procedure performed on her during the second surgery when the entire intestines were removed — was also removed as it had become loose due to infection.
"The tube had to be removed as it had become loose and chances of infected fluid leaking from it were high. To ensure that there is no further fluid collection in her abdomen, we have put three new tubes. We have to control the sepsis from spreading,'' said Dr Misra.
While her all vital parameters like blood pressure, pulse, urine output and respiratory rate are all well within limits, a further drop in her platelet count was a cause of concern, doctors said. Despite being administered four platelet-rich plasma units, there was no improvement in her platelet count. On Sunday, it had further dropped to 19,000. However, her white blood cell count increased from 2600 on Saturday to 5800 on Sunday.
"The increase in white blood cell is a positive indicator as it reflects that there antibodies to fight infection. But it also indicates a rise in infection and inflammation,'' said Dr Misra.
The doctor also said Nirbhaya's coagulation process had got affected due to multiple transfusions. "Due to this, there are high chances of internal bleeding,'' he added.
Earlier, doctors wanted to make her walk on Sunday. But that plan has now been put on hold. Doctors have started physiotherapy of her lower limbs so that there is no thrombosis.
"Our physiotherapists are making her do routine exercises. She is conscious and alert. The next 7-10 days are going to be critical. We are giving her broad spectrum antibiotics. Post-operation, we have put her on ventilator support again,'' said Dr Athani.
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HC orders daily hearings in all sexual assault cases
NEW DELHI: Amid the public outrage over the gang rape of a 23-year-old student, the Delhi high court on Sunday directed the trial courts to conduct "day-to-day proceedings" in all the cases of sexual assault on women.
The HC, which had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of the incident, for the first time issued a statement informing about the action taken by it to ensure speedy justice.
The court said that the recent "brutal gang rape" incident in the capital has "shaken" the entire nation. "... the administrative committee (of HC) has resolved to issue directions to all additional sessions judges in Delhi that cases of sexual assault on women will be tried on day-to-day basis from the date of commencement of the trial," the registrar general of the high court said in a statement on Sunday.
The release also informed that a bench headed by Chief Justice D Murugesan has already taken "suo motu cognizance" of the incident on the "judicial side".
"The recent brutal gang rape in Delhi has shaken the entire nation. There is widespread outrage in the capital and the Delhi high court has also taken a very serious view of the matter. The Delhi high court has already taken suo motu cognizance of the matter on the judicial side...," it said.
The HC administrative committee, headed by the chief justice, has already accepted the Delhi government's proposal to establish five special fast track courts to deal with sexual assaults cases against women, it said. The steps would be taken to operationalize them after the winter vacation.
Meanwhile, the lawyers' body at Saket district courts here passed a resolution urging advocates not to represent any accused in the case as the offence committed allegedly by them was "inhuman and barbaric". "It is a heinous act done against a woman and no member of the Bar Association will represent the accused," said Rajpal Kasana, president, Saket Court Bar Association.
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Published: December 24, 2012 02:58 IST | Updated: December 24, 2012 10:04 IST
The rage after the rape
Caught as they were between the stony silence of an impassive government and the cynically simplistic demands of Opposition politicians for instant justice, it is hardly surprising that the leaderless crowds which spontaneously gathered at India Gate on Saturday and Sunday to protest the recent incident of rape in the Capital should have ended up in a violent skirmish with the police. Yes, lumpens looking for a scrap jumped in to take advantage and yes, the police did respond with mindless brutality against everyone present. But the primary responsibility for the turmoil surely lies with our national political leaders who simply lack the ability to understand and engage with a democratic upsurge from below, especially one that is not stratified by language, religion or caste. Confronted with the possibility of mass protest, the government on Saturday should have acted politically to assure the women of India that a serious national review of all legal issues surrounding rape, sexual assault and gender rights would be undertaken on a war-footing. Instead, its first and only instinct was to shut down the public transport system in Central Delhi and prepare for battle. When thousands of young women and men arrived at India Gate on Sunday having successfully evaded official attempts to restrict their movement, they found themselves face to face with a state apparatus that was not interested in a conversation.
Although arrests have been made after the gang rape incident and the government has promised a speedy trial, women in New Delhi and the rest of India do not feel any safer when stepping out of their homes. This is because they know that the official mindset has not changed. Instead of pushing the national debate in the direction of serious systemic reform, especially of law enforcement and justice delivery, a number of Opposition politicians have started an irresponsible debate on the need for the death penalty, or castration of rapists. These demands, which have had a populist echo amongst the protesters at India Gate, ignore the fact that shoddy investigation, poor forensics and misogynist attitudes among the police and even lower judiciary are the main reasons why rape victims in India do not get justice. The editorial page article by Anup Surendranath today explains why castration is not a solution. As for the death penalty, making it mandatory for rape will make it more likely that a rapist kills his victim. A committee headed by Justice J.S. Verma has now been tasked with reviewing the legal position on aggravated sexual assault. What the government must do is to commit itself to implementing all its recommendations, including any on police and judicial reform, and not simply cherry pick those that are politically the most convenient.
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Water cannon turned on journalists
Media personnel covering the protests against the gang-rape case at India Gate bore the brunt of police action when water cannon hoses were trained at them, disrupting telecast of the chaotic scenes that followed a full throttle lathi-charge on Sunday evening.
A Rapid Action Force water cannon, earlier stationed at the barricade on Rajpath, which over the day became the first line of conflict between the police and the protesters, was used to disperse the protesters who fled towards the lawns on both sides of the war memorial to evade the onslaught.
The policeman then charged a large group of protesters staging a peaceful sit-in on the eastern side of the war memorial, taking them by complete surprise.
Equipment drenched
The water cannon then turned its nozzle towards the battery of electronic media crews covering the action.
“They deliberately targeted us and our equipment. They damaged the lights. A woman correspondent with a Hindi news channel also sustained injuries in the leg,” alleged a media representative.
Angry journalists confronted the police officers, asking who had ordered them to target the media. What followed was a brief heated exchange between journalists and the police personnel.
Around 6.30 p.m., electronic media crews covering the developments close to Krishi Bhavan were targeted by another police team.
Two scribes chased
“They first targeted the OB vans. Crew members of two news channels running for cover managed to enter the Press Club premises, with four men in khaki hot on their heels. The four personnel assaulted two club employees. They then entered the main hall of the club looking for these two journalists when those already present there confronted them asking who had authorised them to enter the place. They then beat a hasty retreat,” said an eyewitness.
Injured
While five representatives of a leading English news channel sustained injury in the clashes between the police and the protesters, a woman reporter with another English news channel suffered injuries after a tear-gas shell hit her leg. Earlier on Saturday, a reporter with an English Daily had sustained injuries in the leg.
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http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/right-to-selfdefence/article4253257.ece?css=print
December 31, 2012 09:25 IST
Right to self-defence
The HinduIntervention: Phones can be used to send SOS. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu
To ensure safety for women in the coming year, readers write in with solutions using a combination of technology and community participation
The Delhi gang rape incident has shaken the conscience of the country. While government actions like nabbing the criminals and proposing steps like mandatory GPS devices in public transport, round the clock control room for women in distress and a woman IPS officer maintaining direct contact with the victim and her family are welcome, the awareness and anger generated in the public must be channelised to find a permanent solution to women harassment, because many such incidents in our country go unnoticed.
The solution lies in using technology with the participation of the community and the government. The strength of the 120-crore strong population is enough to make up for the shortage of resources to setup surveillance cameras at every nook and corner or police every neighbourhood.
A multifunctional knuckle stun-gun could be an answer to women’s safety in their daily lives. It can be worn on the fingers and so cannot be snatched easily; it is integrated with an alarm system and GPS, which sends the woman in distress’ geo-position to the police control room. A secure website run by National Informatics Centre with the essential details of a person like photograph, name, unique GPS number, address, emergency contact number is the second step.
If a woman travelling in public transport is approached by a person with malicious intent, she can press a button that sets the siren blaring and sends her GPS location to the police, who in turn can collect her details from the NIC website. In the meanwhile, she can temporarily immobilize the attacker with the knuckle stun-gun.
Using mobile phones could be another low-cost solution where the devices will be programmed such that on pressing a specific button, say #, a woman in distress can send her approximate location (the BTS location) to the police control room. If viable, the “woman in distress” message can be broadcasted to all mobile phone users in the BTS location. They can call a toll-free police control room number and give information of any suspicious activity reducing police reaction time further.
The cost of such infrastructure can be substantially reduced with mass procurement and government intervention, thus making it affordable for all sections of the society. This technology-based participative approach can also be used to deal with other crimes against vulnerable sections of the society like the elderly and the children.
The idea is that every criminal should know that women are not vulnerable and his crime would not go unnoticed. In the long term, we must stop female foeticide and infanticide, correct our skewed sex ratio which is leading to practices like molki where women are bought and sold. Such customs further debase the status of women in the society thereby increasing crimes against her.
A BBC had report found that women going for open defecation in rural India were being victimised. Hence, improving the sanitation scenario is another essential task. Last but not the least, there is a need to reinstall the social capital which has lost its way in our daily struggle because such crimes may seem to be isolated incidents but actually are an accumulation of our insensitivity. In a more every day example, do we even care about our fellow citizens – an old person trying to cross the road or a lady whose car is seized on the road? We are always more than ready to blame the government. However, a society gets what it deserves. Let us be more participative in our community life.
____________________________
Rape statistics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Statistics on rape and sexual assault are commonly available in advanced countries and are becoming more common throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading. According to USA Today reporter Kevin Johnson "no other major category of crime – not murder, assault or robbery – has generated a more serious challenge of the credibility of national crime statistics" than rape.[1]
A United Nations statistical report compiled from government sources showed that more than 250,000 cases of male-female rape or attempted rape were recorded by police annually. The reported data covered 65 countries.[2]
In some jurisdictions, male-female rape is the only form of rape counted in the statistics.[3]
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Under- and over-reporting
[edit]Under reporting
According to the American Medical Association (1995), sexual violence, and rape in particular, is considered the most under-reported violent crime.[4][5]
The most common reasons given by victims for not reporting rapes are the belief that it is a personal or private matter, and that they fearreprisal from the assailant. A 2007 government report in England says "Estimates from research suggest that between 75 and 95 percent of rape crimes are never reported to the police."[6]
Traditional (male-female) focused rape-related advocacy groups have suggested several tactics to encourage the reporting of sexual assaults, most of which aim at lessening the psychological trauma, often suffered by female rape victims following their assault by male rapists. Many police departments now assign female police officers to deal with rape cases. Advocacy groups also argue for the preservation of the victim's privacy during the legal process; it is standard practice among mainstream American news media not to divulge the names of alleged rape victims in news reports but this practice is becoming increasingly controversial due to well publicized cases of false rape accusations. Traditional rape-related advocacy groups are also beginning to support male-male rape victims as well as female-male rape victims. Other advocacy groups that support male victims of female rape encourage recognition of female-male rape as rape rather than as a 'love affair', a 'relationship', or as a beneficial form of sex 'education'. However, female-male and female-female rape is rarely recognized as a statistically significant form of rape despite research indicating otherwise. Thus reporting rape by females remains difficult or impossible especially in jurisdictions where rape by a female is not considered a crime or where the false perception persists that rape of a male by a female is impossible.[7]
[edit]False reporting
Main article: False accusation of rape
FBI reports consistently put the number of "unfounded" rape accusations around 8%.[8] However, "unfounded" is not synonymous with "false" allegation.[9] The largest study, published in 2005, was based on 2,643 sexual assault cases and found 3% of false reports.[10][11][12] A much criticized[13][14][15] 1994 study of 109 rape complaints made between 1978 and 1987 found 41% of false allegations.[16]
A 2006 review of studies of false reporting in the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom concluded:
"Two conclusions can be drawn from this review of literature on the prevalence of false rape allegations. First, many of the studies of false allegations have adopted unreliable or untested research methodologies and, so we cannot discern with any degree of certainty the actual rate of false allegations. A key component in judging the reliability of research in this area relates to the criteria used to judge an allegation to be false. Some studies use entirely unreliable criteria, while others provide only limited information on how rates are measured. The second conclusion that can be drawn from the research is that the police continue to misapply the no- crime or unfounding criteria and in so doing it would appear that some officers have fixed views and expectations about how genuine rape victims should react to their victimisation. The qualitative research also suggests that some officers continue to exhibit an unjustified scepticism of rape complainants, while others interpret such things as lack of evidence or complaint withdrawal as ‘‘proof’’ of a false allegation. Such findings suggest that there are inadequacies in police awareness of the dynamics and impact of sexual victimisation and this further reinforces the importance of training and education. However, the exact extent to which police officers incorrectly label allegations as false is difficult to discern."[14]
[edit]UN Rape Statistics
This list[17] indicates the number of, and per capita cases of recorded rape. It does not include cases of rape which go unreported, or which are not recorded.[18] Nor does it specify whether recorded means reported, brought to trial, or convicted. Nor does it take the different definition of rape around the world into account.
| Total count | Rate per 100,000 population | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country/territory | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Kenya | 1440 | 1365 | 1291 | 876 | 735 | 847 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 | ||||
| Mauritius | 53 | 40 | 38 | 64 | 77 | 69 | 57 | 51 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 3.9 |
| Mozambique | 102 | 64 | 46 | 41 | 47 | 44 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | ||||
| Uganda | 0 | 549 | 732 | 750 | 599 | 1536 | 619 | 709 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| Zimbabwe | 3858 | 4997 | 4790 | 4967 | 4762 | 3186 | 30.6 | 39.7 | 38.1 | 39.6 | 38.2 | 25.6 | ||||
| Cameroon | 451 | 555 | 592 | 580 | 447 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.4 | ||||||
| Algeria | 723 | 630 | 376 | 495 | 836 | 812 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.4 | ||||
| Egypt | 20 | 21 | 44 | 48 | 63 | 87 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | ||||
| Morocco | 618 | 453 | 475 | 1063 | 1215 | 1130 | 1507 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.8 | ||
| Sudan | 1189 | 2.9 | ||||||||||||||
| Botswana | 1754 | 1865 | 88.5 | 92.9 | ||||||||||||
| Lesotho | 1797 | 1878 | 1777 | 85.3 | 88.3 | 82.7 | ||||||||||
| Swaziland | 785 | 849 | 72.1 | 77.5 | ||||||||||||
| Guinea | 92 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Senegal | 301 | 159 | 167 | 416 | 710 | 693 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 5.9 | 5.6 | ||||
| Sierra Leone | 135 | 79 | 2.5 | 1.4 | ||||||||||||
| Bahamas | 87 | 72 | 135 | 118 | 109 | 78 | 27.2 | 22.2 | 41.1 | 35.4 | 32.2 | 22.7 | ||||
| Barbados | 68 | 24.9 | ||||||||||||||
| Grenada | 23 | 22 | 30 | 31 | 57 | 32 | 22.4 | 21.4 | 29.0 | 29.9 | 54.8 | 30.6 | ||||
| Jamaica | 695 | 668 | 25.5 | 24.4 | ||||||||||||
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 16 | 15 | 30.9 | 28.6 | ||||||||||||
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 66 | 87 | 50 | 60 | 36 | 54 | 28 | 60.8 | 80.0 | 45.9 | 55.0 | 33.0 | 49.4 | 25.6 | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 305 | 334 | 259 | 317 | 236 | 247 | 23.3 | 25.4 | 19.6 | 23.9 | 17.7 | 18.5 | ||||
| Belize | 48 | 44 | 30 | 21 | 17.1 | 15.3 | 9.8 | 6.7 | ||||||||
| Costa Rica | 576 | 600 | 543 | 485 | 1685 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 12.6 | 11.1 | 36.7 | ||||||
| El Salvador | 1185 | 1140 | 756 | 681 | 19.6 | 18.8 | 12.3 | 11.0 | ||||||||
| Guatemala | 363 | 314 | 289 | 318 | 385 | 401 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.9 | ||||
| Mexico | 13650 | 13550 | 13894 | 14199 | 14078 | 14850 | 14993 | 13.0 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 13.0 | 12.7 | 13.3 | 13.2 | ||
| Nicaragua | 1322 | 1524 | 1829 | 24.4 | 27.7 | 31.6 | ||||||||||
| Panama * | 629 | 771 | 792 | 855 | 713 | 809 | 996 | 19.8 | 23.8 | 24.0 | 25.5 | 20.9 | 23.4 | 28.3 | ||
| Argentina | 3154 | 3264 | 3276 | 3367 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.5 | ||||||||
| Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 1137 | 1137 | 1437 | 1596 | 1989 | 2587 | 12.4 | 12.2 | 15.2 | 16.6 | 20.4 | 26.1 | ||||
| Chile | 1658 | 1845 | 1974 | 2034 | 1980 | 2233 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 12.1 | 12.4 | 11.9 | 13.3 | ||||
| Colombia | 1188 | 2627 | 3347 | 3379 | 3380 | 3540 | 3149 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 6.8 | ||
| Ecuador | 1488 | 1246 | 1499 | 1484 | 11.5 | 9.4 | 11.2 | 10.9 | ||||||||
| Guyana | 62 | 117 | 8.2 | 15.5 | ||||||||||||
| Paraguay | 387 | 359 | 6.6 | 6.0 | ||||||||||||
| Peru | 5991 | 5721 | 6268 | 6569 | 7208 | 7560 | 6751 | 22.3 | 21.0 | 22.7 | 23.6 | 25.6 | 26.6 | 23.5 | ||
| Suriname | 186 | 223 | 38.2 | 45.2 | ||||||||||||
| Uruguay | 297 | 327 | 8.9 | 9.8 | ||||||||||||
| Bermuda | 36 | 43 | 56.6 | 67.3 | ||||||||||||
| Canada | 531 | 587 | 565 | 570 | 528 | 490 | 471 | 576 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| United States of America | 93883 | 95089 | 94347 | 94472 | 92610 | 90750 | 89241 | 84767 | 32.2 | 32.3 | 31.8 | 31.5 | 30.6 | 29.8 | 29.0 | 27.3 |
| Kazakhstan | 141583 | 121584 | 421514 | 921298 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 9.8 | 8.3 | ||||||||
| Kyrgyzstan | 296 | 278 | 298 | 271 | 300 | 303 | 303 | 314 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.9 |
| Tajikistan | 53 | 54 | 56 | 47 | 55 | 36 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | ||||
| Turkmenistan | 37 | 36 | 27 | 27 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | ||||||||
| Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China | 70 | 92 | 99 | 96 | 107 | 105 | 136 | 112 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| Japan | 2472 | 2176 | 2076 | 1948 | 1766 | 1582 | 1402 | 1289 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Mongolia | 386 | 378 | 320 | 314 | 355 | 354 | 332 | 342 | 15.5 | 15.0 | 12.6 | 12.2 | 13.5 | 13.3 | 12.2 | 12.4 |
| Republic of Korea | 5899 | 6321 | 12.7 | 13.5 | ||||||||||||
| Brunei Darussalam | 24 | 26 | 24 | 28 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 6.6 | 7.6 | ||||||||
| Philippines | 3084 | 2918 | 2962 | 2584 | 2409 | 2585 | 5813 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 6.3 | ||
| Singapore | 110 | 103 | 124 | 118 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.7 | ||||||||
| Thailand | 5071 | 5308 | 5152 | 4641 | 4676 | 4636 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.7 | ||||
| Bangladesh | 11291 | 11682 | 8.0 | 8.2 | ||||||||||||
| India | 18,233 | 18,359 | 19,348 | 20,737 | 21,467 | 21,397 | 22,172 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | ||
| Maldives | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | ||||||||
| Nepal | 191 | 210 | 0.7 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||
| Sri Lanka | 1378 | 1432 | 7.1 | 7.3 | ||||||||||||
| Armenia | 3 | 9 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Azerbaijan | 49 | 25 | 44 | 35 | 34 | 25 | 35 | 16 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Bahrain | 19 | 27 | 25 | 17 | 21 | 36 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 3.4 | ||||
| Cyprus | 32 | 41 | 39 | 29 | 19 | 34 | 27 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 2.5 | ||
| Georgia | 52 | 62 | 141 | 167 | 156 | 100 | 84 | 82 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Israel | 1319 | 1223 | 1291 | 1270 | 1243 | 20.4 | 18.5 | 19.1 | 18.4 | 17.5 | ||||||
| Jordan | 78 | 110 | 1.5 | 2.0 | ||||||||||||
| Kuwait | 98 | 108 | 125 | 137 | 120 | 119 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 4.5 | ||||
| Lebanon | 39 | 19 | 1.0 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| Palestinian Territory | 85 | 98 | 105 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.0 | ||||||||||
| Oman | 132 | 183 | 5.2 | 6.9 | ||||||||||||
| Qatar | 11 | 13 | 1.7 | 1.8 | ||||||||||||
| Syrian Arab Republic | 131 | 97 | 135 | 112 | 125 | 156 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | ||||
| Turkey | 1604 | 1638 | 1694 | 1783 | 1148 | 1071 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.5 | ||||
| United Arab Emirates | 44 | 52 | 62 | 72 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | ||||||||
| Yemen | 95 | 95 | 125 | 158 | 176 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | ||||||
| Belarus | 432 | 386 | 483 | 353 | 336 | 240 | 218 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | ||
| Bulgaria | 611 | 529 | 403 | 310 | 225 | 262 | 246 | 211 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.8 |
| Czech Republic | 646 | 687 | 596 | 530 | 637 | 529 | 480 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 5.1 | 4.6 | ||
| Hungary | 535 | 267 | 264 | 206 | 215 | 214 | 228 | 246 | 5.3 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| Poland | 2322 | 2176 | 1987 | 2001 | 1827 | 1611 | 1530 | 1567 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 |
| Republic of Moldova | 272 | 297 | 280 | 268 | 281 | 306 | 264 | 368 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 8.4 | 7.3 | 10.3 |
| Romania | 983 | 953 | 1013 | 1116 | 1047 | 1016 | 1007 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | ||
| Russian Federation | 8185 | 8848 | 9222 | 8871 | 7038 | 6208 | 5398 | 4907 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.4 |
| Slovakia | 233 | 224 | 200 | 174 | 182 | 152 | 142 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.6 | ||
| Ukraine | 1048 | 964 | 924 | 993 | 878 | 880 | 758 | 635 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Denmark | 472 | 562 | 475 | 527 | 492 | 396 | 352 | 8.8 | 10.4 | 8.8 | 9.7 | 9.0 | 7.2 | 6.4 | ||
| Estonia | 107 | 121 | 179 | 153 | 122 | 160 | 124 | 81 | 7.9 | 9.0 | 13.3 | 11.4 | 9.1 | 11.9 | 9.2 | 6.0 |
| Finland | 573 | 595 | 593 | 613 | 739 | 915 | 660 | 818 | 11.0 | 11.4 | 11.3 | 11.6 | 14.0 | 17.2 | 12.4 | 15.2 |
| Iceland | 69 | 51 | 75 | 72 | 87 | 68 | 78 | 23.8 | 17.4 | 25.3 | 23.9 | 28.5 | 21.9 | 24.7 | ||
| Ireland | 370 | 409 | 451 | 371 | 357 | 348 | 377 | 479 | 9.2 | 10.0 | 10.8 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 10.7 |
| Latvia | 123 | 319 | 251 | 129 | 93 | 100 | 69 | 78 | 5.3 | 13.8 | 10.9 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| Lithuania | 278 | 260 | 265 | 253 | 200 | 164 | 149 | 208 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 6.3 |
| Norway | 706 | 739 | 798 | 840 | 945 | 944 | 998 | 938 | 15.5 | 16.1 | 17.3 | 18.0 | 20.0 | 19.8 | 20.6 | 19.2 |
| Sweden | 2235 | 2261 | 3787 | 4208 | 4749 | 5446 | 5937 | 5960 | 25.0 | 25.2 | 41.9 | 46.3 | 51.8 | 59.0 | 63.8 | 63.5 |
| United Kingdom (England and Wales) | 13272 | 14013 | 14443 | 13774 | 12673 | 13096 | 15084 | 15934 | 25.1 | 26.4 | 27.0 | 25.6 | 23.4 | 24.0 | 27.5 | 28.8 |
| United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) | 364 | 360 | 345 | 447 | 389 | 368 | 422 | 498 | 21.4 | 21.0 | 20.0 | 25.7 | 22.1 | 20.7 | 23.6 | 27.7 |
| United Kingdom (Scotland) | 794 | 900 | 975 | 922 | 908 | 821 | 884 | 15.7 | 17.7 | 19.1 | 18.0 | 17.7 | 15.9 | 17.0 | ||
| Albania | 49 | 40 | 41 | 39 | 34 | 24 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | ||||
| Andorra | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 1.2 | ||||||||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 39 | 40 | 44 | 35 | 29 | 46 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.2 | ||||
| Croatia | 213 | 165 | 142 | 187 | 162 | 188 | 129 | 141 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| Greece | 231 | 240 | 177 | 182 | 185 | 232 | 213 | 215 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Italy | 2744 | 3734 | 4020 | 4513 | 4.7 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 7.6 | ||||||||
| Malta * | 11 | 13 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Montenegro | 8 | 11 | 1.3 | 1.8 | ||||||||||||
| Portugal | 392 | 338 | 365 | 341 | 305 | 314 | 377 | 424 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Serbia | 89 | 115 | 105 | 123 | 111 | 72 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | ||||
| Slovenia | 70 | 87 | 58 | 55 | 97 | 57 | 79 | 63 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.1 |
| Spain | 2140 | 2102 | 2530 | 2437 | 2051 | 1578 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 3.4 | ||||
| The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | 93 | 103 | 4.6 | 5.0 | ||||||||||||
| Austria | 687 | 678 | 700 | 710 | 693 | 779 | 875 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 9.3 | 10.4 | ||
| Belgium | 2850 | 2944 | 3029 | 3194 | 3232 | 3126 | 2953 | 2991 | 27.7 | 28.4 | 29.1 | 30.5 | 30.7 | 29.5 | 27.7 | 27.9 |
| France | 10408 | 10506 | 9993 | 9784 | 10132 | 10277 | 10108 | 17.3 | 17.3 | 16.4 | 15.9 | 16.4 | 16.5 | 16.2 | ||
| Germany | 8766 | 8831 | 8133 | 8118 | 7511 | 7292 | 7314 | 7724 | 10.6 | 10.7 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 9.4 |
| Liechtenstein | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 11.5 | 5.7 | 2.8 | 8.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Luxembourg | 40 | 44 | 57 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 11.7 | ||||||||||
| Monaco | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2.8 | 8.5 | 5.7 | ||||||||||
| Netherlands | 1700 | 1800 | 2485 | 2385 | 2095 | 1920 | 1850 | 1530 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 15.2 | 14.6 | 12.7 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 9.2 |
| Switzerland * | 547 | 573 | 646 | 639 | 648 | 612 | 666 | 543 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 7.1 |
| Australia | 18237 | 19781 | 19878 | 19469 | 17762 | 91.9 | 94 | 93 | 89 | 79.5 | ||||||
| New Zealand | 994 | 1183 | 1143 | 1130 | 1128 | 1129 | 24.0 | 28.3 | 27.0 | 26.4 | 26.1 | 25.8 | ||||
| Solomon Islands | 170 | 65 | 79 | 61 | 56 | 37.2 | 13.8 | 16.4 | 12.3 | 11.0 | ||||||
| South Africa | 277,012 | 120.0 | ||||||||||||||
[edit]United States
Main article: Rape in the United States
Koss, Gidycz & Wi published a study in 1987 where they interviewed approximately 6,000 college students on 32 college campuses nationwide. They asked several questions covering a wide range of behaviors. From this study 15% of college women answered “yes” to questions about whether they experienced something that met the definition of rape. 12% of women answered “yes” to questions about whether they experienced something that met the definition of attempted rape[19]
In 1995 the CDC replicated part of this study. They examined rape only, and did not look at attempted rape. They found that 20% of approximately 5,000 women on 138 college campuses experienced rape during the course of their lifetime.[20]
In 2000, the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice statistics published a study called The Sexual Victimization of College Women based on a 1996 - 1997 survey. [6] At page 11, it can be seen that 3.1% of undergraduate women reported surviving rape or attempted rape during a 6-7 month academic year. Exhibit 7, page 18 of the report suggests that 10.1% of college women reported experiencing rape prior to entering college. 10.9% reported attempted rape prior to college.[21]
In a different section of the report, the authors speculate about whether statistics during an academic year generalize to an entire college experience. For a full discussion, read more on page 10 of the report, stating that "... the percentage of completed or attempted rape victimization among women in higher educational institutions might climb to between one-fifth and one-quarter" and further acknowledging in the corresponding footnote, #18, that "These projections are suggestive. To assess accurately the victimization risk for women throughout a college career, longitudinal research following a cohort of female students across time is needed."
Other studies of the annual incidence of rape find it to be closer to 5% (compared to the 3% in the DOJ study). For example, Mohler-Kuo, Dowdall, Koss & Weschler (2004)[22] found in a study of approximately 25,000 college women nationwide that 4.7% experienced rape or attempted rape during a single academic year. This study did not measure lifetime incidence of rape or attempted rape. Similarly, Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggiero, Conoscenti, & McCauley (2007) found in a study of 2,000 college women nationwide that 5.2% experienced rape every year.[23]
Other research has found that about 80,000 American children are sexually abused each year.[9] It has been estimated that one in six American women has been or will be sexually assaulted during her life.[10] Largely because of child and prison rape, approximately ten percent of reported rape victims are male.[11]
According to United States Department of Justice document Criminal Victimization in the United States, there were overall 191,670 victims of rape or sexual assault reported in 2005.[24] 1 of 6 U.S. women and 1 of 33 U.S. men have experienced an attempted or completed rape. (according to Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault)[25] The U.S. Department of Justice compiles statistics on crime by race, but only between and among people categorized as black or white. The statistics for whites include Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites combined. There were 194,270 white and 17,920 black victims of rape or sexual assault reported in 2006.[26]
However, the report does give a note that for the percentages of white-on-black or black-on-white rape, and the estimate of total number of black victims, the statistic is based on 10 or fewer sample cases.[27] Some types of rape are excluded from official reports altogether; the FBI's definition for example excludes all rapes except forcible rapes of females, a significant number of rapes go unreported even when they are included as reportable rapes, and a significant number of rapes reported to the police do not advance to prosecution.[28]
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics states that 91% of rape victims are female and 9% are male, and 99% of rapists are male.[29] Denov (2004) states that societal responses to the issue of female perpetrators of sexual assault "point to a widespread denial of women as potential sexual aggressors that could work to obscure the true dimensions of the problem."[30]
According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the adjusted per-capita victimization rate of rape has declined from about 2.4 per 1000 people (age 12 and above) in 1980 to about 0.4 per 1000 people, a decline of about 85%.[31] But other government surveys, such as the Sexual Victimization of College Women study, critique the NCVS on the basis it includes only those acts perceived as crimes by the victim, and report a higher victimization rate.[32]
RAINN asserts that from 2000–2005, 59% of rapes were not reported to law enforcement.[33][34] One factor relating to this is the misconception that most rapes are committed by strangers.[35] According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 38% of victims were raped by a friend or acquaintance, 28% by "an intimate" and 7% by another relative, and 26% were committed by a stranger to the victim. About four out of ten sexual assaults take place at the victim's own home.[36]
Drug use, especially alcohol, is frequently involved in rape. In 47% of rapes, both the victim and the perpetrator had been drinking. In 17%, only the perpetrator had been. 7% of the time, only the victim had been drinking. Rapes where neither the victim nor the perpetrator had been drinking were 29% of all rapes.[37]
Contrary to widespread belief, rape outdoors is rare. Over two thirds of all rapes occur in someone's home. 30.9% occur in the perpetrators' homes, 26.6% in the victims' homes and 10.1% in homes shared by the victim and perpetrator. 7.2% occur at parties, 7.2% in vehicles, 3.6% outdoors and 2.2% in bars.[37]
According to a statistical average over the past 5 years, about 10% of all rapes or sexual assaults in the United States are never reported to the authorities. For college students, the figure is 5%, noted in the Fisher, Cullen and Turner study cited above.
Despite a decline of 60% since 1993, the US still has a relatively high rate of rape when compared to other developed countries.[38]
As well as the large number of rapes that go unreported, only 25% of reported rapes result in arrest. Many rape kits are not tested.[39]
[edit]Sweden
Sweden has the highest incidence of reported rapes in Europe and one of the highest in the world. According to a 2009 study, there were 46 incidents of rape per 100,000 residents. This figure is twice that of the UK which reports 23 cases, and four times that of the other Nordic countries, Germany and France. The figure is up to 20 times the figure for certain countries in southern and eastern Europe.[40]
The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention claims that it is not "possible to evaluate and compare the actual levels of violent crimes... between countries", but that in any case the high numbers are explained by a broader legal definition of rape than in other countries, and an effort to register all suspected and repeated rapes. It asserts that comparisons based on victim surveys place Sweden at an average level among European nations.[41]
[edit]United Kingdom
Main article: Sexual offences in the United Kingdom
According to a news report on BBC One presented in 12 November 2007, there were 85,000 women raped in the UK in the previous year, equating to about 230 cases every day. The 2006-07 British Crime Survey reports that 1 in every 200 women suffered from rape in that period. It also showed that only 800 people were convicted of rape crimes that same year, meaning that less than 1 in every 100 rape survivors were able to convict their attacker.[42][43] According to a study in 2009 by the NSPCC on young people aged between 13-18, a third of girls and 16% of boys have experienced sexual violence and that as many as 250,000 teenage girls are suffering from abuse at any one time.[44][45] 12% of boys and 3% of girls reported committing sexual violence against their partners.[46]
[edit]Democratic Republic of the Congo
Main article: Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In eastern Congo, the prevalence and intensity of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world.[47] It is estimated that there are as many as 200,000 surviving rape victims living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today.[48][49] Rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo has frequently been described as a "weapon of war" by commentators. Louise Nzigire, a local social worker, states that “this violence was designed to exterminate the population.” Nzigire observes that rape has been a "cheap, simple weapon for all parties in the war, more easily obtainable than bullets or bombs."
[edit]South Africa
Main article: Sexual violence in South Africa
One in three of the 4,000 women questioned by the Community of Information, Empowerment and Transparency said they had been raped in the past year.[50]
South Africa has some of the highest incidences of child and baby rape in the world.[51] In a related survey conducted among 1,500 schoolchildren in the Soweto township, a quarter of all the boys interviewed said that 'jackrolling', a term for gang rape, was fun.[50] More than 25% of a sample of 1,738 South African men from the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces admitted when anonymously questioned to raping someone; of those, nearly half said they had raped more than one person, according to a non-peer reviewed policy brief issued by the Medical Research Council (MRC).[52] Several news publications extrapolated these results to the rest of the South African population.[53][54][55] The humanitarian news organization IRIN claims that an estimated 500,000 rapes are committed annually in South Africa, but does not provide a source for this figure.[55]
More than 67,000 cases of rape and sexual assaults against children were reported in 2000 in South Africa.[56] Child welfare groups believe that the number of reported incidents represents merely a fraction of the actual number of incidents.[56]
A belief common to South Africa holds that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure a man of HIV or AIDS.[56] South Africa has the highest number of HIV-positive citizens in the world. According to official figures, circa 11% of South Africans are infected with the virus.[57] Edith Kriel, a social worker who helps child victims in the Eastern Cape, said: "Child abusers are often relatives of their victims – even their fathers and providers."[56]
According to University of Durban-Westville anthropology lecturer and researcher Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala, the myth that sex with a virgin is a cure for AIDS is not confined to South Africa. "Fellow AIDS researchers in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria have told me that the myth also exists in these countries and that it is being blamed for the high rate of sexual abuse against young children."[58]
January 24, 2013 11:15 IST
Verma panel says no to death penalty
The Justice Verma Committee formed to look into crimes against women on Wednesday ruled against recommending the death penalty even in the rarest of the rare rape cases, and also did not favour lowering the age of a juvenile from 18 to 16.
The committee, which was tasked with suggesting legal reforms to deal with sexual assault cases, however said the minimum sentence for a rapist should be enhanced from 7 years to 10 and that life imprisonment must always mean jail for ‘the entire natural life of the convict’. It has also recommended forming a new constitutional authority like the CAG for dealing with issues related to education and non-discrimination of women and children.
Presenting the report on ‘Amendments to Criminal Law’, Mr. Verma said at a time when there were talks of abolishing the death sentence, the committee has “enhanced the punishment to mean the remainder of life”. An overwhelming majority of scholars and women’s organisations told the committee they were strongly against death penalty.
After the gangrape and death of the para-medical student in Delhi last month that led to a nationwide uproar, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had said that the government favoured death sentence in the rarest of the rare rape cases.
He had then announced formation of a three-member committee headed by the former Chief Justice of India, with former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh Justice Leila Seth and former Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam as its members.
“According to the Working Group on Human Rights, the murder rate has declined consistently in India over the last 20 years despite the slowdown in the execution of death sentences since 1980. Hence we do take note of the argument that introduction of death penalty for rape may not have a deterrent effect,” the Committee recommended.
The Committee also said that in the proposed Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2012, the minimum sentence for punishment for rape should be enhanced to a minimum of 10 years (currently it is 7 years) with maximum punishment being life imprisonment.
The Committee said castration would be unconstitutional and inconsistent with basic human rights treaties to expose any citizen without their consent to potentially dangerous medical side effects.
On the issue of reducing the age of a juvenile from 18 to 16, Mr. Verma said: “Assuming that a person at the age of 16 is sent to life imprisonment, he would be released sometimes in the mid-30s. There is little assurance that the convict would emerge a reformed person.”
The Committee has criticised lack of reformatory and rehabilitation policies in jails and juvenile homes.
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