Poor record of dispensing justice in rape cases

Rapists must be punished appropriately for the sake of preserving the dignity of women in general, not just of a particular victim. There is also the prime need of creating a society where a woman can feel safe. And that is why relevant laws regarding woman have been made stronger in our country---including the one on rape---but as these law are hardly enforced in letter and spirit, the rape incidents are not declining.
Quoting the police department, a vernacular daily yesterday mentioned that in the first five months of the current year, a total of 896 rape cases were filed. The actual number of rape incidents during this time could be much more as ours is a conservative society and victims and their relatives often try to hush up the incidents. This is particularly true for marriageable girls whose reputation must be protected as the parents see it. There are other reasons which are very serious. Police often discourage the victims to register rape cases and there were past reports that they even intimidated the victims to that end.  Allegations are fairly common that even if rape cases were filed, police did not investigate the same seriously . The judicial outcome concerning rape is very discouraging, as was presented in the report. Among the total 5,117 filed rape cases in the last 10 years, the courts were able to declare verdict on only 821 cases; and among these cases only 101 persons were given punishment. And this makes the rate of declaration of verdict just 3.66 per cent and rate of punishment 0.45 per cent against the total number of cases. Obviously, this offers an encouraging scenario for the rapists.   Due to the long procedural time the court takes for dealing a rape incident, the case itself gradually loses its credibility. Witnesses also lose interest. Moreover, they often do not turn up in courts fearing dangers to their selves from the rapists and their associates.
Therefore, it is quite clear why occurrence of rape in our society is still so common. Unless the police become proactive in dealing with rape and the court punishes the rapists swiftly, we would never be able to bring down the incidents of rape considerably.  According to the report, the government is going to form a different unit in police to investigate rape and is planning to form a special tribunal to swiftly deal with the incidents. In fact, the women’s rights organisations of the country are demanding taking of these measures for a long time. It is expected that the relevant authorities would realise the seriousness of this particular crime and act accordingly.

 

Poor record of dispensing justice in rape cases

Rapists must be punished appropriately for the sake of preserving the dignity of women in general, not just of a particular victim. There is also the prime need of creating a society where a woman can feel safe. And that is why relevant laws regarding woman have been made stronger in our country---including the one on rape---but as these law are hardly enforced in letter and spirit, the rape incidents are not declining. Quoting the police department, a vernacular daily yesterday mentioned that in the first five months of the current year, a total of 896 rape cases were filed. The actual number of rape incidents during this time could be much more as ours is a conservative society and victims and their relatives often try to hush up the incidents. This is particularly true for marriageable girls whose reputation must be protected as the parents see it. There are other reasons which are very serious. Police often discourage the victims to register rape cases and there were past reports that they even intimidated the victims to that end. Allegations are fairly common that even if rape cases were filed, police did not investigate the same seriously . The judicial outcome concerning rape is very discouraging, as was presented in the report. Among the total 5,117 filed rape cases in the last 10 years, the courts were able to declare verdict on only 821 cases; and among these cases only 101 persons were given punishment. And this makes the rate of declaration of verdict just 3.66 per cent and rate of punishment 0.45 per cent against the total number of cases. Obviously, this offers an encouraging scenario for the rapists. Due to the long procedural time the court takes for dealing a rape incident, the case itself gradually loses its credibility. Witnesses also lose interest. Moreover, they often do not turn up in courts fearing dangers to their selves from the rapists and their associates. Therefore, it is quite clear why occurrence of rape in our society is still so common. Unless the police become proactive in dealing with rape and the court punishes the rapists swiftly, we would never be able to bring down the incidents of rape considerably. According to the report, the government is going to form a different unit in police to investigate rape and is planning to form a special tribunal to swiftly deal with the incidents. In fact, the womens rights organisations of the country are demanding taking of these measures for a long time. It is expected that the relevant authorities would realise the seriousness of this particular crime and act accordingly.