Why death penalty is not a solution to rape.

Let’s say, a girl is walking alone at night, and encounters a horrific fate. She is raped and
brutally murdered. The rapist is identified and caught; and is handed over to you to extend
whatever punishment you feel justified. What will you do?

The gang rape and subsequent brutal killing of a dalit girl in Hathras has enraged the people
of India to no end. The angst and cry of people over this heinous rape as well as the sheer
number of sexual crimes against women, especially in northern part of India is clearly
visible from the outrage on social media and other platforms. There are protest rallies and
social campaigns to encourage lawmakers to pass stringent laws to penalize the
perpetrators and impose a death penalty, which is the highest form of punishment given in
India.

Death penalty, or capital punishment, is not unique to India. Many countries, such as China,
United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, as well as most of our neighbours like Pakistan,
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have retained capital punishment for exceptional offences. The
United Nations General Assembly has passed non-binding resolutions in various years,
calling for a global moratorium on capital punishment, and aims at eventual abolishment of
the same.

Why do we, in India, keep asking for death penalty for rapes? The answer is not legal, but
psychological. We not only believe that execution can be a fast and effective deterrent for
the extent of rapes committed in India, but we also want the
perpetrators to suffer as rigorously as can satisfy our imaginations. We want the most
brutal death for rapists, in accordance with their barbaric crimes.

This sounds like a reasonable demand, except for two flaws in the logic.
One, there is no conclusive data available anywhere that validates the claim that execution
is a deterrent to rapes.

Two, this form of punishment concludes that the rapist is a hundred percent, solely
responsible for the rape. Not his upbringing, not the society he lives in, not the people who
have, over his living years, brain-wired him to look at women in a certain way, relegate
them and dominate them as a second-class member of the human race.

The second flaw is a more lethal one, of more lasting consequences, and hence requires our
urgent consideration and attention.

Every time someone commits a rape, it is an act arising from a cumulative regressive
mindset. Of course, I don’t mean to absolve the rapist of his crime. Not in the least. I only
wish to highlight the role of the ecosystem in which he exists, which facilitates the gradual
festering of beliefs that, one day, will culminate into action in the hands of a menacing
patron of this psyche.

We have heard umpteen number of justifications for rapes in India.

 She was out late at night.

 She was with friends.
 She was wearing shorts.
 She must have done something wrong.
 ‘Taali do haath se bajti hai.”

The biggest contributor for ‘rape culture’ in our society is the mindset of regular citizens.
Not all, but definitely a large number of them, including women. When a death penalty is
granted, the society is completely absolved of its invisible hand in the crime. We would
indulge in voyeuristic pleasure when a rapist would
be executed, cheering and jeering; not realizing how many hundreds of times we turned our
heads away in disgust when a woman enjoyed a beer, or laughed freely, or sat in a movie
theatre with a male friend.
So how do we get the society to share the blame? How do we prevent rapes from happening
in the largest democracy in the world? We all know answer, but we are too complacent to
accept it. It is reform, and only reform. I believe there are a few things that the judicial
system in India can put in place to hit the nail on the head.

1. Rigorous imprisonment: As per section 53 of the Indian Penal Code, the offender
may be granted rigorous imprisonment. This usually includes hard labour, but it
could also well include congenial jobs to develop sensitivity and compassion
towards others.
2. Compulsory therapy and counselling sessions: These may be conducted for the
offender as well as his immediate social circle. A comprehensive understanding of
the societal influences over the rapists’ mind can help to utilize his jail time for
behavioural reform.
3. Mandatory community service: After completing jail term, community services
under supervision and a mandatory probation period may be rendered to the
convict, to work in areas of women health and safety, with victims of social/sexual
abuse to develop awareness and empathy.

Apart from prison reform, there needs to be a change in many existing laws to tilt the social
scales towards equality. Rapes that we witness today are arising from less of a result of a
pathological need for sex and more of a tool to exercise power and control over women.
Capital punishment may eradicate the rapist, but not the mindset of rape culture.

So, let’s say a girl is walking alone at night, and encounters a horrific fate. She is raped and
brutally murdered. The rapist is identified and caught; and is handed over to you to extend
whatever punishment you feel justified.

The question should not be, ‘What will you do?’; because that decision would be instinctive,
impulsive and ill-conceived.

The question should be, ‘What can be done to stop men from raping women?’; and then we
can begin to pave the path towards a right answer.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They
do not necessarily reflect the views of Momspresso.com. Any omissions or errors are the
author's and Momspresso does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.