No More Nirbhayas: 16/12

Showing posts with label 16/12. Show all posts

Sunday, December 15, 2013

For Rape Victims in India, Police are Often Part of the Problem

12/15/2013 08:21:00 am 16/12, 16/12 in the Media, Why Police reforms No comments

In this article published in the New York Times, the author Gardiner Harris uses reportage and analysis to highlight what is ailing the police force and why they are unable to respond efficiently to incidents of crimes against women. The article highlights some of the major concerns of this Campaign, for example with regards to denial of justice to victims. The reluctance of police officers to investigate the facts when a rape complaint is lodged and attempts to seek reconciliation between the attacker and the victim are common practices when it comes to dealing with cases of violence against women. The author quotes experts to say that the police are poorly organized to deal with serious crimes, particularly those against women.

Public forum discusses the fight against rape

12/15/2013 12:07:00 am 16/12, 16/12 in the Media No comments

The Chennai-based newspaper 'The Hindu' had organised a public forum on December 28, 2012 to discuss the fight against sexual violence which brought forth viewpoints from various spheres- legislation, law enforcement, social activism, media and students. The speakers include former Madras High Court judge Justice Prabha Sridevan, D. Nagasaila, advocate and civil rights activist and Sashi Kumar, trustee, Media Development Foundation, among others.

You can view the video clippings here:

Part One
Part Two

The debates that followed

12/14/2013 02:46:00 pm 16/12, 16/12 in the Media, Nirbhaya, Op-eds No comments

The December 16 gangrape had stirred a national debate on gender crimes, policing and the law. This section of the blog tracks the nature of concerns that were expressed immediately after the incident when huge protests had broken out in the streets of Delhi demanding justice for the victim. Here we have documented the concerns that were expressed by leading opinion-makers on this subject.

Please click on the label '16/12 in the media' to follow the popular discussions and debates that this incident led to.

Please click on the label 'Op-eds' visible on top of this post for a selection of opinion articles we have documented in this section.

16/12 in the Media

12/14/2013 02:33:00 pm 16/12, 16/12 in the Media, Nirbhaya No comments

About the Campaign

No More Nirbhayas - Towards Better Policing is a CHRI Campaign demanding an improved police response to crimes against women. Women need better policing to feel safe and secure, and especially to tackle sexual violence which is endemic and affects the lives of countless girls and women across the country. One year on from the tragic gangrape and death of a young girl in Delhi, the campaign has adopted the gangrape victim's alias 'Nirbhaya' as a synonym for the victims and survivors of sexual violence who are entitled to the very best police response but often do not get it.

This blog is part of the Campaign, providing a space for documenting incidents of sexual assault since 16/12 and discussing the progress (or lack thereof) of reform efforts necessary for ensuring women's safety. This blog has updated databases of relevant laws, government-commissioned reports and crime statistics that will serve as a ready resource for journalists, researchers, women's rights activists and members of the general public.

Based on an analysis of statistics available in the 2012 National Crime Records Bureau Report 'Crime in India', we have narrowed down to ten states where reported incidents of rape are evidently high - Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

This campaign demands

An efficient and sensitive police response to cases of sexual assault
Access to justice is made real for victims of sexual assault.
Gender-sensitive handling of cases of sexual assault.
Accountability from the police when they fail to act responsibly in cases of sexual assault.

We will keep the campaign alive from December 16 to March 8, International Women's Day. We hope that individuals and groups interested in contributing to the discourse on gender crimes, policing and the law will utilise this space for meaningful discussions on the subject.

Laws and Reports

Revisiting 16/12

A Year On

Why Police Reforms?

Interviews