India institutes death penalty for rape of children under 12

NEW DELHI — India’s government on Saturday approved of the death penalty for people convicted of raping children under 12, responding to widespread outrage over the recent rape and killing of a young girl and other attacks on children.

An order was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet and was being sent to the president for his approval, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. It will require the approval of Parliament within six months to become law. But in the meantime, suspects can be prosecuted under the order.

The move follows outrage over the recent rape and killing of an 8-year-old girl in India’s JammuKashmir state, the alleged rape of a girl by a ruling party lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh state and several other rape cases involving girls in the country.

Many protesters expressed particular anger at India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party for initially siding with the accused in the Kashmir case. The victim was Muslim. Nine suspects, all Hindus, have been arrested in the Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh cases.

Violent crime against women has been on the rise in India despite tough laws enacted in 2013. In 2012, the fatal gang rape of a woman in New Delhi triggered massive protests by hundreds of thousands to demand stricter rape laws in the country.

The government enacted laws doubling prison terms for rapists to 20 years and criminalizing voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women. Indian lawmakers also voted to lower to 16 from 18 the age at which a person can be tried as an adult for heinous crimes.