Molest and Get Away. Easily.
Remember the shameful incident at the Gateway of India, 2 years ago on New Years Eve, when a young woman was groped and stripped by a mob, and the whole incident recorded on camera? Inspite of all the publicity it got, turns out the case is going nowhere.
For one thing, the victim hasn’t pressed charges, which police say makes it difficult to register a case of molestation. One can of course say that if educated urban women are not going to stand up for themselves, then what hope do we have? On the other hand, it is worth thinking about what is it in our system, that makes even educated urban women afraid to press charges. The dismal record of conviction even in rape cases shows that there is something very, very wrong with our police and judicial systems when it comes to handling such crimes. (The record in general is poor of course, but in crimes against women, there seems to be an added element of under-reporting and victims not pressing charges).
In this particular case, after the outcry, the attackers even held a press conference under the aegis of the MNS, claiming that they were innocent and that the girl in question was drunk. Why that should make a difference is beyond me, but clearly, attacks of this sort play a role in getting the victim to back down. Be a good Bharatiya nari and shut up. While the scum who molest roam around scot-free.
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I am not surprised at all. Even today women are asked to keep quiet fearing any backlash from society. It takes ages for Police to prove anything if it involves an average Indian girl. Unless media gives attention nothing works anymore.
I think these cases are such a farce. The women who press charges eventually drop it to end the case and the repeated visits to the court with nothing ever happening. Maybe, women have tendency to see that nothing has happened in the past and then nothing will happen again, so dragging the whole thing to court is more tedious a process.
And once started, one can not easily drop it. Also, I am not sure how many years into the future you would want to see the faces of these criminals, and in fact watch them walking free in the city.
Apart from the time it takes and the torturous process of proving that you were not the one who ‘asked for it’, I guess not many women would want to go through the social boycott or get the ‘bad name’ that would invariably come their way if they continue fighting.
I can almost see their own family, friends and society abandoning them in such situations.
ALL - Thanks for commenting. Yes, it is the lengthy process along with fear of social backlash. Also, I think the initial police investigations are completely unsympathetic and tend to focus on what the victim was doing. Today, I was saddened to read the case of a young girl in Karnataka who has committed suicide due to the harassment she faced when she was talking with a Muslim boy.
Reminds us why Gandhi long ago said something along the lines that India could never really claim to be free until its women could walk without fear on the streets at night.