RAPE – THE WORST FORM OF GENDER BIASED

VIOLENCE IN INDIA

SUBMITTED TO: Dr. AYAN HAZRA

(SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR)

SUBMITTED BY: NIDHI SHARMA

ROLL NO. 103

SECTION A

SEMESTER : III

SUBMITTED ON :1OTH OCTOBER 2014

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

RAIPUR, C.G.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Acknowledgement 3

2. Research Methodology 4

3. Objectives 4

4. Introduction 5

5. Defination of Rape 7

6. Causes of Rape 8

7. Psychological Effects On Rape Victim 9

8. Delhi Gang Rape , 2012 – An Eye Opener 10

9. Amended Provisions of Criminal Law Relating to Rape 11

10. Provisions of Indian Evidence Act 13

11. Conclusion 14
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

At the outset, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and thank my teacher, Dr. Ayan Hazra for
putting his trust in me and giving me a project topic such as this and for having the faith in me to
deliver. Sir, thank you for an opportunity to help me grow.

My gratitude also goes out to the staff and administration of HNLU for the infrastructure in the form of
our library and IT Lab that was a source of great help for the completion of this project.

NIDHI SHARMA
(Semester Three)
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This present research is made on the basis of primary and secondary sources of information. The
primary sources of information include The Constitution of India and existing laws and amendments.
Whereas secondary sources of information include articles from journals and those available on internet
and books .

OBJECTIVES
 To know the specific social conditions in India reinforce and perpetuate a gender bias in its legal
systems.
 To know that how the male and female interpretations of a given situation can be opposing
because differential socialization leads to ‘perceptual fault lines’ or different understandings of
the same situation.
 To know how the gender bias is conceptualized as a prioritizing of the male point of view over
the female.
 To illustrates how this gender-biased view of sexuality affects the people and the society.
 To know how different types of victims and attacks are understood, and the way in which they
are treated in the pre-trial stages of the legal system.
 INTRODUCTION

“Yatasya pujyate nari, tatasya ramyate devta.” This sloka of Sanskrit means that “where the women
are prayed and respected, God exists in that place”. The deduction of the above literal meaning tells that
the women must be respected as they are the source of strength and courage and, thus, has a divine
sanctity attached to it. However, the country from where the above sloka has emerged has become the
worst place for a woman to exist with respect and dignity. Rape in India is one of the most perverted and
degraded forms of gender based violence anywhere in the world. The latest estimates suggest that a new
case of rape is reported every 22 minutes in India. In the last few years crimes against women including
rape, has gone up in major cities across the country. This article makes an attempt to show the various
causes for commission of rape in India. It also aims at highlighting the effects of rape on its victim. It
has also attempted to show the changes that have been brought in the existing laws to protect women
from this heinous crime in the society.

Research has shown that violence against women is a serious social problem that exists in varying
degrees in almost all the societies.1 The principal characteristic of gender-based violence is that it occurs
against women precisely because of their gender. Gender-based violence involves power imbalances
where, most often, men are the perpetrators and women the victims. Violence has many shades. When
someone experiences violence because of his/her gender identity, it is known as gender-based violence.
The term ‘gender-based violence’ is used inter-changeably with ‘violence against women’ because more
often than not, the victim/survivor is female and the perpetrator is male.2 Violence against women and
girls continues to have devastating and often dehumanizing consequences for millions of women and
girls across the world. Violence against women has been described as ‘perhaps the most pervasive
violation of human rights’ across the globe’.3 Violence against women and girls is recognized as a
violation of women’s and girls’ fundamental human rights, including the right to non-discrimination on
the basis of sex, the right not to be treated in an inhuman and degrading way, the right to respect for
private and family life (including the right to physical and psychological integrity) and the right to life.4

1
Holly Johnson, Natalia Ollus, et.al., Violence against Women; An International Perspective 33 (Springer, 2008).
2
Sowmya Rajendran, “Factors behind gender-based violence", The New Indian Express (October 8, 2013).
3
United Nations, Remarks of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Inter-Agency Videoconference for a World Free of
Violence against Women, SG/SM/6919 WOM/1113, available at:
4
C. Chinkin, Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights on Violence against Women (Council of Europe 2009).
Rape per se is an offence against woman, violating her dignity and self-respect. Rape is one of the most
prevalent crimes in the society wherein women are targeted by men to satisfy their sexual urge. Rape
can occur anywhere, even in the family, where it can take the form of marital rape or incest. It occurs in
the community, where a woman can fall prey to any abuser. It also occurs in situations of armed conflict
and in refugee camps.5 A serious challenge for all types of research on the prevalence of the crime of
rape is that most estimates probably reflect a certain degree of under-reporting. Women are often
reluctant to disclose experiences of physical or sexual violence due to shame or fear of reprisals.6
According to USA Today reporter Kevin Johnson, "No other major category of crime has generated a
more serious challenge of the credibility of national crime statistics than rape”. 7 A United Nations
statistical report compiled from government sources showed that more than 250,000 cases of rape or
attempted rape were recorded by police annually. The reported data covered 65 countries.8

Rape in India has been described by Radha Kumar as one of India's most common crimes against
women9 and by the UN’s human-rights chief as a “national problem”.10 According to 2012 statistics,
New Delhi has the highest number of rape-reports among Indian cities, while Jabalpur has the per capita
incidence of reported rapes.11 According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2012, 24923 rape
cases were reported across India. Out of these, 24,470 were committed by relative or neighbor.12 The
latest estimates suggest that a new case of rape is reported every 22 minutes in India.13 In the last few
years crimes against women including rape, has gone up in major cities across the country. The national
capital has 1,121 rape cases registered in the first eight months of the year 2013, the highest in the last
13 years.
Even minor girls are not safe in this country against the commission of this heinous crime. The
incidence of minors getting raped in the country has been on the rise since the past six years. While
5
P. Sundara Pandian and R. Shobnadevi, “Violence against Women” in Subhash Chandra Singh (ed.), Gender Justice 220
(Serial Publications, 2009).
6
M. P. Koss, “Detecting the Scope of Rape: A Review of Prevalence Research Methods” 8(2) Journal of
Interpersonal Violence 198-222 (1993).
7
Kevin Johnson, “Rape statistics not crystal clear" USA Today (November 19, 1998).
8
Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems’
9
Radha Kumar, The History of Doing: An Account of Women's Rights and Feminism in India 128 (Zubaan, 1993).
10
"India’s women: Rape and murder in Delhi", The Economis
11
"Rape statistics around the world", India Tribune
12
Vasundhara Sirnate, "Good laws, bad implementation" The Hindu (February 1, 2014)
13
Harmeet Singh, Jethro Mullen et.al., "Court sentences 4 men to death in New Delhi gang rape case" (CNN: International
edn., September 14, 2013)
5,045 such cases were reported in 2007, in 2012 the figure touched 8,541, according to data of the
National Crime Records Bureau. In 2008, the number of cases was 5,446; in 2009 it was 5,336; the next
year it touched 5,484; and in 2011 it reached 7,112. During the past six years, the annual figures of this
crime reported to the Delhi police always remained above 300 and in 2012 it reached 415. Except for
one year, Madhya Pradesh topped the list for this crime from 2007. As per the NCRB statistics, 1,043
minor girls were raped in that State in 2007; 892 in 2008; 1,071 in 2009; 1,182 in 2010; and 1,262 in
2011. In 2012, the number reached 1,632. In 2008, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 900 cases and
1,040 minor girls were raped in the State in 2012. Lakshadweep is the only administrative division in the
country where no rape of minors has been reported since 2007. The highest rate of this crime in 2012
was in Mizoram- 21.66 cases for a population of 1,00,000 children. The National Percentage Share of
the crime by Mizoram stands at 0.85.14

Centuries have come, and centuries have gone, but the plight of women is not likely to change. Time has
helplessly watched Indian women suffering in the form of discrimination, oppression, exploitation,
degradation, aggression, humiliation.

DEFINITION OF RAPE
Rape is defined as “a physical invasion of a sexual nature committed on a person under circumstances
that are coercive”.15

Definition of Rape as Provided under Criminal Law (Amendment) Act,

2013
Section 375 of Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 defines rape as “a man having sexual intercourse
with a woman against her will; without her consent; with her consent, when her consent has been
obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested, in fear of death or of hurt; with her
consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she
believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married; with her

14
Crimes in India, National Crime record Bureau, GOI, 2012
15
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Prosecutor v. Akaseyu, Case No. ICTR‐96‐4‐T, September 1998.
consent when, at the time of giving such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication or
the administration by him personally or through another of any stupefying or unwholesome substance,
she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent; with or
without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age or when she is unable to communicate
consent”.16

CAUSES OF RAPE
The important question which arises when we talk of rapes is what causes rape. The following causes
can be said to be responsible for the increase of rape cases at an alarming rate in India:

1. Lack of public safety:

Women are not safe outside their homes and why only outside they are not safe even inside their homes.
A number of cases have been reported wherein the guilty has committed the crime in the very house of
the victim. Rapes are being done in moving vehicles also which raise a question on the effectiveness of
the traffic system of our country.17
2. Dearth of police officials:
Another important reason is the dearth of police officials and female police officers in particular.
According to the Times of India, there is 1 officer for every 200 citizens. Studies show that rape victims
are more likely to report sex crimes if female police officers are available. Lack of female police further
aggravates the problem.

3. Sluggish court system of India and few convictions:

India's court system is painfully slow and for rapes that do get reported, the conviction rate is not more
than 26%. As the accused is not convicted, others think that they can go around freely and rape
whosoever they like.

4. Stigmatizing the victim:

16
Section 375 of the Indian Penal code as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013
17
Priyanka Agarwal, “Anatomy of Rape, Causes and Remedies”
Stigmatizing the victim gives a further impetus to this horrendous crime. When verbal harassment or
groping do occur in public areas, bystanders frequently look the other way rather than intervene, both to
avoid a conflict and because they, on some level, blame the victim.18

5. Encouraging rape victims to compromise:

In many rural areas, the victim is pressurized by village elders and clan councils to "compromise” with
the family of accused and to drop charges against the guilty. Not only this they are encouraged to marry
their rapist by telling them that nobody will marry them now and it will bring shame to her family. Such
compromises are aimed at keeping the peace between families or clan groups.19

6. Patriarchal structure of society and social conditioning:

The high incidence of rape in this country is a result of the power imbalance between men and women.
Women are expected to assume a subordinate relationship to men. From very early ages, men and
women are conditioned to accept different roles. Women are raised to be passive and men are raised to
be aggressive. Our conditioning is continuously and relentlessly encouraged and reinforced by the
popular media, cultural attitudes and the educational system. The media is a major contributor to gender-
based attitudes and values.20

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RAPE ON VICTIM

Rape can traumatize not only the victim, but also her family and friends. Rape outrages a woman's
modesty. After a rape incident, a woman lives a pathetic life which includes fear, depression, guilt,
complex, suicidal action and social stigma. While a murderer destroys the physical frame of the victim,
a rapist degrades and defiles the soul of a helpless female. Lack of understanding and the stigmatizing of
the victims further makes rape a very brutal crime, with long-term adverse consequences for not just the
victim, but her immediate family too. The public, including the members of the victims’ families,
relatives and neighbours invariably spell social degradation for the victim. The media sensationalize the

18
Rapes in India: Why is the number of rape cases increasing in India?
19
Ten reasons why India has a sexual violence problem, available at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/29/india-rape-victim-dies-sexual-violence-proble/
20
shobha Saxena, Crimes against Women and Protective Laws 23 (Deep and Deep Publications, 1999).
rape cases which further stigmatizes the victims.21 Childhood and adulthood victims of rape are more
likely to attempt or commit suicide.22 The risk of lasting psychological harm is greater if the perpetrator
of the sexual assault on the child is a relative (i.e., incest), or if threats or force are used.23 Incestual rape
has been shown to be one of the most extreme forms of childhood trauma, a trauma that often does
serious and long-term psychological damage, especially in the case of parental incest.24 The victims
often feel insulted, injured, betrayed and dishonoured.
They feel inferior and worthless and shy away from everyone- relatives, neighbours and friends. The
victims remain terrified of possible mishaps all the time and tend to keep away from impending danger.
They see a potential rapist in every man.

DELHI GANG-RAPE, 2012: AN EYE OPENER

On December 16, 2012, a female physiotherapy intern was beaten and gang raped in Delhi. After the
attack, she was taken to Safdarjang Hospital, received multiple surgeries, and was placed on mechanical
ventilation. On 26 December, she was moved to Singapore for further treatment, where she died on 29
December.

The following day, in the Indian parliament, severe punishment was demanded for the perpetrators. The
Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj stated: “The rapists should be hanged”.25
Member of Parliament, Jaya Bachchan said that she was “terribly disturbed” over the incident, and felt
“ashamed” sitting in the House, feeling “helpless” for “not being able to do anything”.26 Meira Kumar,

21
Usha Venkitakrishnan and Sunil George Kurien, “Rapr Victims in Kerala” in Vineetha Menon, K. N. Nair et.al.(eds.),
Confronting Violence against Women 73 (Daanish Books, 2008).
22
J. R. Davidson, et.al., "The association of sexual assault and attempted suicide within the community" 53 (6) Archives of
General Psychiatry 550–555 (June 1996).
23
C. M. Bulick, et.al., "Features of childhood sexual abuse and the development of psychiatric and substance use disorders"
179 (5) British Journal of Psychiatry 444–449 (2001).
24
Christine A. Courtois, Healing the Incest Wound: Adult Survivors in Therapy 208 (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988).
25
Delhi gangrape shakes Parliament; Jaya Bachchan breaks down, Sushma Swaraj, others seek death penalty, The Indian
Express( December 19, 2012)
26
Delhi bus gang rape: Uproar in Indian parliament, BBC News (December 18, 2012).,
speaker of Lok Sabha told reporters a “new law should be brought in and must get passed to ensure the
safety of women.” She went on to say: “The laws at present are not enough, we need stricter laws”.27
Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, said that she did not have the courage to meet the victim and
described Delhi as a “rape capital” in interviews. She said that senior police officials should be held
accountable for the failure to take adequate measures to stop such incidents.28

On 24 December 2012, in his first official reaction after the incident, the Prime Minister of India, Dr.
Manmohan Singh appealed for calm, stressing that “violence will serve no purpose”. In a televised
address, he assured that all possible efforts would be made to ensure the safety of women in India. Singh
expressed empathy, saying: “As a father of three daughters I feel as strongly about the incident as each
one of you”.29 As a tribute to the female victim, the Prime Minister cancelled all his official events to
celebrate the New Year.

The incident generated international coverage and was condemned by the United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, who called on the Government of India and the
Delhi “to do everything in their power to take up radical reforms, ensure justice and reach out with
robust public services to make women’s lives more safe and secure”.30
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued this statement: “Violence against women must never be
accepted, never excused, never tolerated. Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued
and protected”.31

AMENDED PROVISIONS OF CRIMINAL LAW RELATING TO

RAPE
After the brutal gang-rape of Delhi student in a moving bus, Indian parliament amended the provisions
of criminal Law to make the punishment for this heinous crime against women more severe.

Provisions of Indian Penal Code

27
Delhi gang-rape: Need stronger laws, says Meira Kumar, DNA, IANS (December 19, 201
28
Senior police officers should be held accountable, says Delhi CM, The Hindu, Press Trust of India (December 23, 2012)
29
Delhi gang-rape: Indian PM Manmohan Singh's 'Theek Hai' gaffe sets Twitter on fire, Emirates247 (December 24, 2012),
30
UN Women condemns gang rape of Delhi student, Stenhammer, Anne F (December 20, 2012
31
Ban condoles death of gang-rape victim, urges reforms to deter violence against women
Section 376(1): Punishment for Rape: Punishment for rape is rigorous imprisonment of either
description for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may extend to imprisonment
for life, and shall also be liable to fine.32

Section 376(2): Rape by a police officer or a public servant or member of armed forces or a person
being on the management or on the staff of a jail, remand home or other place of custody or women's or
children's institution or by a person on the management Or on the staff of a hospital and rape committed
by a person in a position of trust or authority towards the person raped or by a near relative of the person
raped shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years,
but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of
that person's natural life, and shall also be liable to fine.33

Section 376-A: Punishment for causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim:
Punishment for causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim shall be rigorous
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to
imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, or
with death.34
Section 376-B: Punishment for Sexual intercourse by husband upon his wife during separation:

Section 376-C: Punishment for Sexual intercourse by a person in authority: Sexual intercourse by a
person in authority, who abuses such position or fiduciary relationship to induce or seduce any woman
either in his custody or under his charge or present in the premises to have sexual intercourse with him,
such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with rigorous
imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years, but which may
extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.35

32
Section 376 (1) of Indian Penal code as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
33
Section 376 (2) of Indian Penal code as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
34
Section 376-A of Indian Penal code as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
35
38 Section 376-C of Indian Penal code as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
Section 376-D: Punishment for Gang rape: The punishment for gang rape shall be rigorous
imprisonment of not less than twenty years, but which may extend to life which shall mean
imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, and with fine.36

Section 376-E: Punishment for repeat offenders: Whoever has been previously convicted of an
offence punishable under section 376 or section 376A or section 376D and is subsequently convicted of
an offence punishable under any of the said sections shall be punished with imprisonment for life which
shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life, or with death.37

Provisions of Indian Evidence Act:

Section 53-A: Evidence of character or previous sexual experience not relevant in certain cases: In
a prosecution for an offence under sections 354, 354-A, 354-B, 354-C, 354-D, 376, 376-A, 376-B, 376-
C, 376-D or 376-E of the Indian Penal Code or for attempt to commit any such offence, where the
question of consent is in issue, evidence of the character of the victim or of such person's previous
sexual experience with any person shall not be relevant on the issue of such consent or the quality of
consent.38

Section 114-A: Presumption as to absence of consent in certain prosecution for rape: In a

prosecution for rape under sub-section (2) of section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, where sexual
intercourse by the accused is proved and the question is whether it was without the consent of the
woman alleged to have been raped and such woman states in her evidence before the court that she did
not consent, the court shall presume that she did not consent.39

36
Section 376-D of Indian Penal code as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013
37
Section 376-E of Indian Penal code as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
38
Section 53-A of Indian Evidence Act as inserted by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
39
Section 114-A of Indian Evidence Act as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
 CONCLUSION

Rape has, of late, become an acute disease in the Indian society. The increasing number of rapes in India
has become an issue of serious concern throughout the country today. Perpetrators are sometimes the
very people upon whom the survivors depend to assist and protect them, including police, government
officials, family members, neighbours and relatives of the victim. Rape outrages the modesty of a
woman and leaves scars on the soul of the women. It becomes unable for them to lead their lives like
before and they put themselves into an un-ending phase of darkness. Rape affects the life of its victim
very badly.
For over two decades, activists in India had been fighting for amendments to the existing laws on rape in
order to broaden their scope on the definition of the crime. Though a lot of amendments have been made
in the existing legal provisions but still the gap remains to be fulfilled. Reasons for this include both
problems with the law itself and with procedures followed after a complaint of rape has been filed.
Hundreds of cases go unreported both due to social stigma and the nature of the police system which
does not have a uniform procedure to deal with rape and often does not take the crime very seriously.
As compared to recent years, many victims of rapes have started reporting their cases and this rise in
reporting of cases of rape is welcome but we still need a long way to go to improve the criminal justice
system. The conviction rate is poor and an alarmingly high number of cases are awaiting trial. And,
despite growing inclination to register or report a case of rape our laws and judgments are still behind
the times, as the conviction rate shows, rape in India is still not been seen as a heinous crime against
women. Rather its severity is judged from a patriarchal point of view.
No doubt that various changes have been brought in the existing laws by the Parliament of India after
the Delhi Gang Rape for the protection of women but still a lot remains to be done to bring these
provisions of law into action. Data still shows that there is an increase in the number of cases of rape in
India. Proper implementation of the Law has become an urgent need of the hour for the protection of
women in society. Although female participation in public life is increasing and laws have been
amended, India still has a long way to go to make Indian women equal citizens in their own country.
Rape must be viewed as a political issue, because it keeps women powerless and reinforces the status
quo of male domination. It must be seen as an issue which affects all women. However, rape is not just a
women's problem; it is a community problem.