Action Against Rape
- by: Indo-Canadian Women's Club
- recipient: The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh
The December 16th, 2012 gang rape incident on a bus in India shattered one of the biggest democracies of the 21st century. Then on December 30, 2012 the world joined in grief over the death of the victim. We continue to mourn the loss of this bright young female medical student from senseless violence rooted in misogyny. We mourn for the family who has lost a daughter. We mourn for other survivors and their families...faceless, voiceless, silenced, and in pain. But now it is time that we are heard and we will be heard!
The Anti-Rape-Protest in India is asking the Indian government to open a 24 hour help line for victims of sexual assault which would connect them directly to 185 police stations.
The Question, is this enough?
The Answer, NO!
Sign this petition and ask Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, to bring about immediate change! Ask him to develop a support system and bring long term changes in the judicial, social and educational systems of India to protect an India woman’s fundamental human rights. Ask him to bring swift justice for past rape victims and take a firm stance in the prevention of future violence and sexual abuse against Indian women and girls. Sign this petition if you believe an Indian woman should be able to leave her house and feel safe without having to surround herself by a mob of her peers. Sign this petition if you believe that a young woman should be able to attend the Cinema in the evening with her friend and take public transportation home without being brutalized. Sign this petition for the thousands of other survivors suffering in silence, without government aid and support, without the world watching. Sign this petition if you believe in democracy and want to restore faith in humanity!
We ask that you add your suggestions and comments at our petition site to help bring about positive and long term changes for the women of India. We ask that you lend your support with a simple signature. Your voice is needed now! Together in numbers we CAN effect change.
To: Prime Minister of India
Dear Dr Manmohan Singh,
December 16 2012; the date that will be remembered in the history of mankind for the brutal and painful incident that killed a23-year-old Jyoti Singh Pandey for trusting a stranger. A girl with promising future was abused, beaten and raped by six males on a running bus for 40 minutes. She did not have to die! If she had known in advance that the man on the bus who was supposed to drop her home safely with her friend will beat and rape her with five other men on the bus; maybe, she would have backed off. It sounds strange, but the fact is, we cannot predict the future. As human beings we trust and act on our instincts without knowing of consequences. We accept doors held open from strangers and get on buses without a second thought. The most import question we need to ask is; should we stop trusting each other, humanity? This and many other similar incidents pose a big question to humanity in itself.
The statistics from India are staggering:
From the backlog of 33 million court cases there are round 95,000 pending rape cases in court of India and it takes around 12 to 14 years to take the case for trial to court for justice.
In last five years, 2620 rapes were recorded in New Delhi itself, out of which 572 were recorded in the year 2012; besides, the list of unrecorded ones is huge.
Over 24,000, rape cases have been recorded in the crime record bureau in India in year 2011.
In last 10 years, only 25% of rape case convicts were punished and 75% remained unresolved due to lack of evidence and bureaucratic stalling.
Every 20 minutes a rape was reported last year in India. Were there more? The answer is an unfortunately, YES. Was this the first gang rape in India? The answer is an unfortunate NO!
Women and girls who complain to the authorities and register sexual assault complaints against their perpetrators are harassed by the police officers in India. Let us also not forget that they are marginalized and tormented by their immediate circle of family. Recently, a 17-year-old young woman in India killed herself because she was being coerced to marry the man who raped her.
More than 20 rape incidents have been recorded in different parts of India after December 16th.
A TEN YEAR-OLD GIRL was gang raped and killed after December 16th incident, and her body dumped into a nearby canal. What actions have been taken to support the family of this little girl? The answer is, NONE!
However, the ferocious and inhuman behavior towards women in India does not stop here: Aborting a girl child, killing the girl child after she is born, dowry, prostitution, street vandalism, and physical and psychological abuse of wives, daughters, sisters and mothers has been going on for generations.
On the one end, a woman is called a Devi (goddesses), and on the other she is stripped and stigmatized every day.
Violent and illegal incidents happening with girls and women of India raise a lot of questions towards the constitutional and judicial system of India. There are rules, but never followed. There are laws that can be broken. There is a system, but can be easily bribed and manipulated. Are these the reasons that have given liberty to people to commit the crime, or are it because they know that no matter what crime, they commit nothing will happen?
The anti-rape-protest in India is not about opening a 24-hour helpline, or bringing justice to Jyoti and her family. It is about bringing change that will not only bring justice to this one case, but also to more than 25,000 pending rape and women abuse cases in India. This protest is about bringing long-term changes in the judicial, constitutional and educational system of India.
It is time that we educate our future generation, especially women and brings awareness to change the overall concept of degrading women in Indian society.
As a Prime Minister of India we ask you to:
Not just have the issues like gender equality, gender respect and women’s safety, as a part of your agenda, or use them to gain public votes. We ask you to take firm steps and pass the bills that will bring long-term changes in the judicial, constitutional and educational system of India.
Impose laws to take immediate action on more than 95000 pending rape, physical and psychological violence and abuse cases towards women in Indian.
Not just open a 24-hour help line and provide financial support to one family, but to commit to a long-term plan and develop a support system that continues to stop abuse and violence against the women in India.
Develop quick-response system that will act immediately as soon as a physical and/or verbal violence and/or abuse case is registered in any police station in India.
Develop a support system that will help women who are raped and abused to overcome the trauma, and will provide them with courage and safety that will help them to stand back and live with dignity.
Train helpline staff and police officers (male/female) to deal with verbal and physical violence, and abuse cases.
Impose strict punishments and laws for not just sexual crimes like rape, but also to crimes like verbal and physical harassment, or abuse and domestic violence.
Bring changes in the educational system at all levels from primary grades to University.
Train teachers and develop curriculum that will help to motivate discussions about topics like verbal and physical abuse, violence against women and violence in general.
Educate today's youth about the gender respect and humanity!
Educate the general public, especially women about what constitutes abuse and how to take action for themselves, for their peers, for their family members.
Educate and train women about safety, so that they do not end up taking law in their hands.
It is time to bring long-term changes that will not only bring justice to the past victims, but also reduce the number of crimes in the future.
Sincerely,
Resources and References:
http://www.icwc.ca/gang-rape-case-in-india-news.php
10 reasons why India has a sexual violence problem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Delhi_gang_rape_case http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20873462
http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=784444 http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/12/31/uk-india-rape-attack-idUKBRE8BU02A20121231
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/1308332--india-s-appalling-record-on-rape-needs-to-change
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/india-gang-rape-trial-to-begin-with-opening-statements-thursday-1.1122404
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