Is there any way to reduce rape and sexual abuse incidents?

The recent brutal rape case of a young girl in the Indian capital New Delhi has sparked huge debate and discussions in social media, the Indian parliament, and newspapers. People from various sections of society offered many suggestions about how to put a brake on these types of crimes, what type of punishment might help to prevent these types of incidents, and how to deal with the criminals who commit such heinous crimes. Suggestions cover a very wide spectrum. Some say capital punishment is the only right punishment for such crimes; some say hang them in public so that others won't dare to commit such crimes; some say no trial directly hang them or shoot them; some say castrate these males so that they won't be able to engage in any such acts in future even if they want to; some say women should be more careful with what they wear, where they go and how they conduct themselves. There are many suggestions like this. By just surfing the net and one can find many passionate posts that are very critical about India's law and order situation, politicians, government and blame them for this situation and crimes.

No doubt that it's the government's responsibility to protect its citizens from antisocial elements and make them feel safe to carry out their day-to-day activities without any fear. These types of incidents definitely shake the confidence of the residents in their government's ability to protect their interests. Unfortunately what we are seeing this time from the government's side is not very promising. They are trying to play the blame game. They are trying to suppress protests and are not willing to take any substantial steps toward finding a solution for these types of problems. This is very sad but this is what is happening. Another issue is as a society what are we doing to protect our people? How are we training women and men to tackle these types of issues? What do they think about each other? How women are projected in mainstream media and movies? How are they treated in their families? All these are very important questions and somehow directly or indirectly related to the question that why these types of crimes happen in our society?

Rape is not only about sex. If it is only a question of sexual desire then there are so many ways to satisfy that desire legally, without harming any person, or at least by using means which won't involve any violence. Then why do people choose this route? Rape does involve sexual acts but it's not a voluntary sexual encounter between two people. Sex is an integral part of love between adult couples but rape is pure violence, it involves violence, not sex. It's not only about lust or sexual desire but it's like hunting, damaging, or crushing a person physically and mentally. It's a very brutal act and that's why it demands very strict punishment. There is no age limit for rape victims they range from young kids to old women, it can happen in homes, bedrooms, moving buses, cars, and almost anywhere. It seems no place is a safe place nowadays.  The people who commit rape are definitely not normal people, for sure they have some psychological issues. They are not fit to roam in society freely, and they need treatment, as well as punishment.

I don't think capital punishment or hanging these rapists in public will reduce this crime. Already these types of punishments are practiced in some countries, and the situation of women is really pathetic in most of these countries. There is capital punishment for murder but that doesn't stop many from committing a murder. Rather this approach of capital punishment for all rapes might backfire and might increase incidents of  murder of rape victims. Many rapists kill their victims in the hope that they won't be caught because there won't be any evidence, so, I think that capital punishment may not be a very efficient way to stop this crime. Hanging rapists in public or torturing them in front of the public are very gruesome and inhuman acts for any democratic country and most probably these punishments will produce the same result as normal capital punishment. In most of sexual abuse cases, the offender is male or group of males (in case of gang rape), then why not make them incapable of committing this type of crime again and keep them imprisoned? We have modern medical techniques and methods available to do this, so why not use them? It will be a less gruesome and more effective punishment and there is a very high possibility that this fear of losing their so-called manhood might deter others from committing this crime.

Along with this punishment social and economic independence of women is very important. They should get equal respect and fair treatment in their own families. Boys and girls should be treated equally. Girls should not be considered soft targets for sexual abuse. We need to start sex education so young kids know what is proper and improper contact, what can be considered sexual harassment, and what is not. This type of education and training should be an integral part of the high school curriculum and this training should be mandatory at all workplaces. The solution to this problem is not so straightforward, the problem is very complicated so it should be tackled at multiple levels. We should utilize all the resources that we have in our hands to tackle this issue. It might take a long time but we should start working towards it as soon as possible. We already waited too long and should not delay any longer.

Let's start by changing our attitude towards women and let's start this change from ourselves, from our own families. If we can at least change our family's attitude then only we can dream of changing society or the whole world. The government also needs to step up, they have a very important role to play in this whole process. Lawmakers should show the courage to take the necessary steps to tackle these issues. Huge protests and widespread public outcry clearly show that people are fed up with just hollow words and fake promises they need some solid actions. People need a responsible and accountable administration that can respond to their demands and understand their needs and I don't think this is too much to ask from any government in any democratic country.

Thanks for reading and please share your views about this topic.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)