‘Rapists should be ashamed, not the victims’
Panellists suggest social boycott of culprits, strengthening of the system and proper networking of stakeholders to ensure quick justice in sexual abuse cases.
LUCKNOW: A 12-year-old rape survivor said that she would commit suicide if her parents did not register a complaint against the person who sexually abused her. When a team of counsellors led by police went to her house in Gudamba , she was found consoling her crying mother. The girl was later enrolled in a school.
Yet another victim of rape was locked by the family in a dark room in the house . Her mental condition was so bad that she would wake up and shout at night. She was accepted by her family once again only after a counsellor’s visit .
These and several other cases were cited by deputy superintendent of police Babita Singh and social worker Sangeeta Sharma at Hindustan Times office on Friday during a forum which aimed at inviting suggestions to check sexual abuse of women. The forum was held in the run-up to the HT Woman Award function, themed ‘life after rape’.
Both Singh and Sharma have been part of the counselling cell that was started in the state a couple of years ago to deal with cases of sexual abuse.
“Only a handful of victims come out to register complaints about the crime against them. A large percentage does not move out of the house due to social stigma. We need to reach out to such people also and ensure help,” said Babita Singh.
The panellists emphasised that the social stigma attached to rape should be removed and the survivors should be allowed to live a normal life.
“Why should a survivor be ashamed? The culprit should be told that you are the most cowardly person as you raped a woman. He should be told that he is no man if he sexually assault a woman,” said Nishi Pandey, professor, department of English and Modern European languages, Lucknow University. She was also a panellist at the forum.
The panellists suggested social boycott of the culprits of sexual abuse . They also suggested strengthening of the system and proper networking of stakeholders to ensure quick justice in cases of sexual abuse.
Shubhangi Singh, a human rights lawyer working for Association for Advocacy and Legal
Initiatives (AALI) highlighted the case of a 14-year-old rape survivor whose pregnancy came to light in the seventh month. The girl gave birth to a
stillborn child. “She could have been spared the trauma of child birth had the pregnancy been detected earlier,” said Shubhangi Singh.
Celebrate the lives of rape survivors, the way lives of acid attack survivors are celebrated. Let them know that they are not the culprits who need to be ashamed of the sexual abuse. PROF NISHI PANDEY, academician