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| Indian report on gang rape receives guarded welcome from campaigners | Indian report on gang rape receives guarded welcome from campaigners |
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| Campaigners in India have given a guarded welcome to a 630-page report recommending wide-ranging legal and other reforms in the wake of the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in Delhi last month. | Campaigners in India have given a guarded welcome to a 630-page report recommending wide-ranging legal and other reforms in the wake of the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in Delhi last month. |
| The report, presented by a special commission set up in the wake of the attack and given to the government by Jagdish Sharan Verma, a former chief justice of India, amounts to a harsh indictment of policing, the courts, successive governments and social attitudes which together have contributed to the wave of sexual violence against women. | The report, presented by a special commission set up in the wake of the attack and given to the government by Jagdish Sharan Verma, a former chief justice of India, amounts to a harsh indictment of policing, the courts, successive governments and social attitudes which together have contributed to the wave of sexual violence against women. |
| Key recommendations include police and judicial reforms, an end to intrusive testing of rape victims, heavier sentences for some crimes as well as new offences to cover stalking and marital rape. "Failure of good governance is the obvious root cause for the current unsafe environment, eroding the rule of law and not the want of knee-jerk legislation," said Verma, who headed the panel. | Key recommendations include police and judicial reforms, an end to intrusive testing of rape victims, heavier sentences for some crimes as well as new offences to cover stalking and marital rape. "Failure of good governance is the obvious root cause for the current unsafe environment, eroding the rule of law and not the want of knee-jerk legislation," said Verma, who headed the panel. |
| "It is a landmark," Meenakshi Lekhi, a lawyer, activist and opposition politician told the local NDTV channel. However, Lekhi and many others pointed out that most of the recommendations contained in the report had already been made several times before. | "It is a landmark," Meenakshi Lekhi, a lawyer, activist and opposition politician told the local NDTV channel. However, Lekhi and many others pointed out that most of the recommendations contained in the report had already been made several times before. |
| "There have been so many reports before. Little of this is new. Most is what a government should already be doing. The key thing is to do something with the recommendations," said Anil Bairwal, of the Association for Democratic Reforms campaign group. | "There have been so many reports before. Little of this is new. Most is what a government should already be doing. The key thing is to do something with the recommendations," said Anil Bairwal, of the Association for Democratic Reforms campaign group. |
| Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research and a prominent women's rights activist, said she had doubts about the institutional and political will to implement any reforms. "The key ministries and the police sent low-level clerks to the commission's hearings. What signal does that send? The government may act on the easiest recommendations but nothing more," Kumari said. | Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research and a prominent women's rights activist, said she had doubts about the institutional and political will to implement any reforms. "The key ministries and the police sent low-level clerks to the commission's hearings. What signal does that send? The government may act on the easiest recommendations but nothing more," Kumari said. |
| Public calls for the death penalty for rapists were rejected by the report. | Public calls for the death penalty for rapists were rejected by the report. |
| Verma said the demonstrations in which tens of thousands took to the streets across the country following the incident, in which the victim was raped in a moving bus on public roads at around 9pm before being dumped with very serious internal injuries on a roadside, had been inspiring. | Verma said the demonstrations in which tens of thousands took to the streets across the country following the incident, in which the victim was raped in a moving bus on public roads at around 9pm before being dumped with very serious internal injuries on a roadside, had been inspiring. |
| "We are greatly indebted to the youth … but for them the issue would not have come out … [They] have taught us, the older generation, something which we were not aware," Verma told reporters in Delhi. | "We are greatly indebted to the youth … but for them the issue would not have come out … [They] have taught us, the older generation, something which we were not aware," Verma told reporters in Delhi. |
| The ruling coalition in India, led by the Congress party, was caught out by the strength of the protests and popular emotion. The commission was one of several measures taken by the government to allay public anger. | The ruling coalition in India, led by the Congress party, was caught out by the strength of the protests and popular emotion. The commission was one of several measures taken by the government to allay public anger. |
| Another was the establishment of fast-track courts to avoid the endemic delay that cripples trials, particularly of sexual offences, in India. The trial of five men accused of the rape and murder is currently under way. A sixth accused, a juvenile, faces separate proceedings. | Another was the establishment of fast-track courts to avoid the endemic delay that cripples trials, particularly of sexual offences, in India. The trial of five men accused of the rape and murder is currently under way. A sixth accused, a juvenile, faces separate proceedings. |
| One controversial area touched on by the report is rape by security forces in areas such as the north-east and Kashmir, where insurgencies have killed tens of thousands over decades. The issue of marital rape is also very sensitive, said Kumari. "This is a very threatening thing for Indian men. This would mean a shift in the way sexual violence is seen in a society where men traditionally think they have rights over women's bodies," she told the Guardian. | One controversial area touched on by the report is rape by security forces in areas such as the north-east and Kashmir, where insurgencies have killed tens of thousands over decades. The issue of marital rape is also very sensitive, said Kumari. "This is a very threatening thing for Indian men. This would mean a shift in the way sexual violence is seen in a society where men traditionally think they have rights over women's bodies," she told the Guardian. |
| Cases that would have received little publicity before the 16 December incident continue to make the news. On Wednesday it was reported that a gang-rape victim had attempted suicide by drinking poison, possibly pesticide, at a court in Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, to protest against delays in the hearing of her case. The alleged attack, by the head of the workshop where she was employed and three others, occurred four years ago. | Cases that would have received little publicity before the 16 December incident continue to make the news. On Wednesday it was reported that a gang-rape victim had attempted suicide by drinking poison, possibly pesticide, at a court in Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, to protest against delays in the hearing of her case. The alleged attack, by the head of the workshop where she was employed and three others, occurred four years ago. |
| There were 706 rapes reported in Delhi in 2012, a 23% rise from the previous year, according to local police, while molestation cases rose by 11% to 727. A woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, recent figures show. | There were 706 rapes reported in Delhi in 2012, a 23% rise from the previous year, according to local police, while molestation cases rose by 11% to 727. A woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, recent figures show. |
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