There is a tremendous scaling up of violence against women since the 16 December 2012 rape case of a young woman in Delhi. Women of all ages have become victims of rape and murder. Whether it is the increase in reporting of violation of women or an actual increase in crime against the fairer sex is debatable.
However the fact remains that women have never been more vulnerable as they are today. This situation calls for a comprehensive step encompassing every aspects- judicial, social, psychological and the like. This situation calls for a comprehensive change in our attitude towards women. This is an idea whose time has come!
Like all over the globe, women in the Northeast
region face violence in the domestic and public spheres. To add woes, conflicts
across the region leave women particularly vulnerable to different types of
violence, including sexual violence. In recent times, cases related to violence
and crimes against women were rising tremendously. How many remain unreported
one does not know.
These crimes against women are part of a wider
change where reactionary forces are becoming dominant. For women in many parts of the world, violence
is a leading cause of injury and disability, as well as a risk factor for other
physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health problems. Violence has
long-term consequences for these women and their children, as well as social
and economic costs for all society.
Crimes against women have become a matter of
serious concern in Meghalaya. Government statistics reveal that in 2012, total
236 crimes were reported against women in the state that is traditionally known
for its matrilineal society.
Rape is the highest reported crime in Meghalaya
among the dominant tribes and victims of over 65 per cent of those cases were
minors. Incidences of crime against women, especially rape, have been showing
an upward trend and this is a matter of serious concern. The total number of rape cases registered
between April 2012 and March 31, 2013 was 179, out of which 118 cases (over 65
per cent) involved victims below the age of 18.
East Khasi Hills district recorded the highest
number of rapes with 62 cases, followed by Ri-Bhoi district (32), West Khasi
Hills (22), East Jaintia Hills (17), West Jaintia Hills (16), South West Khasi
Hills and South Garo Hills (both eight) and West Garo Hills (six).
Among other districts, South West Garo Hills and
East Garo Hills recorded three cases each, followed by North Garo Hills with
two, the minister said, adding that charge-sheets have been filed in 52 cases
so far. And, altogether 91 cases of molestation were reported in the state
during April 2012-March 2013 period. There were also other crimes against women
like trafficking, cruelty by husband and dowry. The local paper has a column on
a daily basis which reports rape cases.
There are many factors at play here: from the
collapse of social systems, under strain for decades by a deep sense of
alienation, injustice, imbalance and confrontation and conflict. The semantic
meaning of ‘crime against women’ is direct or indirect physical or mental
cruelty to women. The alarming rate in the crimes against women can to a large
extent be attributed to the lack of infrastructures for single working women
who have to leave their families at an early age to work away from home.
On 9 July 2012, in Guwahati city a teenage girl
was allegedly molested and manhandled by a crowd of approximately 30 men
outside a bar, many of whom were subsequently arrested based on video footage
of the event. The sordid sexual violence by a group of thugs has stunned people
not just in India but across the world.
Tripura has been registering highest crime
against women for last six years according to the National Crime Control Bureau
and crime perpetrated against minor girls in Tripura is on a rapid increase. In addition, a most disturbing set of silent
social trends is emerging: we find that the ratio of girl children being born
is falling in Assam and Manipur. We note that despite the government’s best
efforts, the maternal mortality rate in Assam remains the highest in the
country at 380 although this is a dramatic improvement, the best in the
country, from the 480 per 100,000 births a decade back.
In Mizoram, crime against women during the last
five years was generally dominated by a high figure of rape (Sec 376 IPC) and
molestation, outraging modesty. It is reported that, a mix trend in the
incidence of rape has been observed during the last five years.
Hardly a day passes without a case of rape being
reported in Indian newspapers and media. Women belonging to low castes and
tribal women are more at risk. Statistics from 2000 showed that on average a
woman is raped every hour in India. Women’s groups attest that the strict and
conservative attitudes about sex and family privacy contribute to
ineffectiveness of India’s rape laws. Victims are often reluctant to report
rape. In some cases, after proving that she has been raped, a victim is often
ostracized from her family and community. This problem is exacerbated by the
fact that rape laws are inadequate and definitions so narrow that prosecution
is made difficult.
On 17th December, a Manipuri actress was
assaulted by a member of banned Naga insurgent group, who identified himself as
Livingstone Anal of NSCN (IM). It is reported that, Livingstone Anal was
recently promoted to the rank of Lt Colonel in the NSCN (IM).
In another dimension of the issue, human
trafficking has received increasing global attention over the past decade. In
the Northeast Region also, the increasing rate of trafficking is alarming. Initially,
trafficking of women and girls for forced sex work and, to a lesser extent,
domestic servitude, were the sole focus of advocacy and assistance. Today,
there is recognition that women, children and men are trafficked into many
different forms of labour, and for sexual exploitation.
It is important to recognize that women, men and
children are trafficked into many forms of labour and vulnerable to a range of
occupational health risks, which vary by sector. The risks can include poor
ventilation and sanitation; extended hours; repetitive-motion activities; poor
training in use of heavy or high-risk equipment; chemical hazards; lack of
protective equipment; heat or cold extremes; and airborne and bacterial contaminants.
Exposure to such risk factors can result in exhaustion, dehydration,
repetitive-motion syndromes, heat stroke or stress, hypothermia, frostbite, accidental
injuries, respiratory problems and skin infections.
Further, to add woes to the region, Armed Forces
Special Powers Act provides impunity for rape. A law like the AFSPA, impedes
accountability for rape and sexual violence in conflict areas at every level,
and, therefore has no place in our statute books. Manorama Devi, a 32-year old
woman from Manipur, was allegedly raped and murdered by the armed forces in
2004. It is reported that, the Assam Rifles personnel came to the house at
midnight without any woman cadre and entered after breaking down the door. They
dragged her out from the bed and beat up the family members when they tried to
intervene.
It is reported that after locking the door from
outside with all the family members inside, the security personnel took
Manorama at a corner of the veranda and thrashed her brutally for almost half
an hour after blind folding and tying her hands and feet. In the morning, the
body was found wearing with no proper cloth. There were not only scratching
marks of fingers all over the body, but also a deep gashing wound probably made
by a knife on the right thigh. There were also at least seven fatal bullet
wounds on her back with one of them shot from upper buttock having pierced
through her private part on the other side.
There were many incident of rape and violence
happens in the affected area. Unless we protest against the AFSPA, and other
similar laws, the entrenched impunity against rape and sexual violence will
remain.
Major causes for violence against women include:
- lower levels of education
- exposure to child maltreatment;
- antisocial personality disorder;
- harmful use of alcohol;
- having multiple partners or suspected by their
partners of infidelity; and
- attitudes that are accepting of violence and
gender
Factors specifically associated with sexual
violence perpetration include:
- beliefs in family honour and sexual purity;
- ideologies of male sexual entitlement; and
- Weak legal sanctions for sexual violence.
Violence
against women is a major public health problem and a violation of human rights.
Violence against women” is any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical,
sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts,
coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in
private life.’
-United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against
Women, 85th plenary meeting, December 1993.
Studies from diverse
settings have documented many social norms and beliefs that support violence
against women, such as:
• A man
has a right to assert power over a woman and is considered socially superior;
• A man
has a right to physically discipline a woman for ‘incorrect’ behaviour;
• Sexual
intercourse is a man’s right in marriage;
• A woman
should tolerate violence in order to keep her family together;
• There
are times when a woman deserves to be beaten;
• Sexual
activity – including rape – is a marker of masculinity; and
• Physical
violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict in a relationship;
• Girls
are responsible for controlling a man’s sexual urges
-
Understanding and
addressing violence against women Publication, 25th
November 2012, World Health Organisation.
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