RAPE "THE CATASTROPHE OF INDIA"

-MANASVI PANDYA

The term rape originates from the Latin rapere (supine stem raptum), "to snatch, to grab, to carry off". With the growing population, the crime rates are seeking higher highs especially when it comes to sexual abuse/offence. No matter who are you, sexual abuse arises irrespective of gender, age, community and much more to the list add up.

Rape cases of men have come into awareness breaking the stereotype that rape is limited just to women. According to section 375 of the Indian Penal Code states “rape is something that only men can do to women”, which has now been updated after many cases being reported of rape in males.

Some inhumane beasts have forced their needs on animals. In 2018 a dog was gang-raped in Mumbai, four men from the labor colony in Majoor village sexually assaulted a one-year-old calf and many horrific incidents.

Coming to women, according to the annual report of the National Crime Record Bureau of 2019, stated that eighty-eight rape cases per day occur in India, thirty-two thousand thirty-three cases have been reported in the year 2019 out which eleven percent rape victims belong to the Dalit community, from span of 2010 to 2019 three lakh thirteen thousand two hundred eighty-nine cases of rape have been recorded and there are so many rape cases that are not even recorded.

The mindset of some people is just trash, a survey taken by The Quint showed the stereotypical thinking of people in villages of Haryana, they’ve been taught in school that women hold fifty percent of responsibility in their rape because they dress the way that boys are attracted towards or they go to clubs and roam around having fun at night which seemingly is a female asking for “it”. Their stereotypical beliefs have been fed to their kids and the kids in such an environment grow up being that very beast because they’ve been taught from the starting that committing rape is not entirely their fault they do this because females are asking for it.

Cases have risen in the lockdown of domestic sexual violence. During the lockdown, several cases have been reported of fathers raping their daughters. A veterinarian from Hyderabad was gang-raped in a moving car was later burnt and found dead though her rapists got encountered and were served justice yet many cases are still pending in court and deserve justice immediately. Recently on 14 September a nineteen-year-old Dalit girl was brutally gang-raped and was injured severely, they broke her spinal cord causing her paralysis and several fractures and injuries, she was admitted to a government hospital, on 22 September her statement was recorded by the police and on 29 September she took her last breath as she couldn’t afford to fight anymore, accused have been arrested by the police and her family seeks justice.

India is a country where many goddesses are worshiped, the same country where goddess Sita, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga are being worshiped and on the other hand the count of “Nirbhayas” is rising briskly, the lack of knowledge and common etiquettes is the major cause. Recently M.S Dhoni, the retired player of international cricket series and the former captain of the cricket team of India received rape threats about her daughter who is a five-year-old kid just because her father is losing some matches in IPL, this doesn’t end here, trolling and giving rape threats on social media, people’s mind cannot be even compared to trash.

People talk about how a girl, a woman is the honour of their home's but the same people are ready to violate that honour of somebody else’s home. We stand at a point where so much can be done, so many things can be changed by just raising awareness, awareness of sex education is what’s needed among kids of this generation so that they don’t grow up to be the beasts which are destroying lives. Rape is a punishable offence but the system takes years of court hearings to give justice to the victim and the vengeance to the criminals.