7 years down the line, we find out as to how effectively the Govt has dealt with the women safety issue
Seven years have passed, however, Nirbhaya is still awaiting justice. On the intervening night of December 16-17, a 23-year-old paramedic student who came to be known as Nirbhaya, was gang-raped inside a running bus in south Delhi by six people and was later thrown out on the road. The deceased later succumbed to her injuries. Asha devi, the mother of the victim, has yet again on Monday, appealed the government and judiciary to hang the four convicts. Whenever, this day, December 16 arrives, one question which probably hits all of us, is, whether anything related to women safety has really changed in our country, or the situation is still the same?
Nirbhaya incident and other such instances of brutal rape have given India the dismal reputation of being one of the worst places in the world to be female. To answer the question if India has become safer for women in all these years, the statistics present a bleak picture. Statistics, bear out the stark reality faced by women in India, a country where feminine form is worshipped as the mother Goddess.
Nirbhaya case sparked widespread public protests and soon there were demands to award death penalty to those involved in the heinous crime. The horrific incident shook the entire nation and the Indian govt. realized that time has come to take stringent measures and bring in new laws to effectively deal with the rape issue.
Protests, candle march were carried out in the national capital post-Nirbhaya in protest against the rise in rape cases. In order to placate the angry public the govt announced a host of measures like setting up of fast track trial courts, women helpline number, Nirbhaya fund and one stop center scheme.
The horrific gangrape and murder of a 26-year-old woman veterinarian in Telangana indicate that women are as unsafe and fearful today as they were on the eve of Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.
The horrific gangrape and murder of a 26-year-old woman veterinarian in Telangana indicate that women are as unsafe and fearful today as they were on the eve of Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.
Nirbhaya fund and its utilisation
Nirbhaya Fund was created in 2013 in the aftermonth of December 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case. Giving in to popular sentiments, the government announced a separate fund for meeting expenditures to ensure safety of women. The govt proposed an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore under Nirbhaya Fund to ensure safety of women. However, hardly any woman can today claim that Nirbhaya Fund has made her fearless.
According to the latest data, presented in Parliament by Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani - in the wake of questions raised over safety and security of women following the Hyderabad gangrape and murder case - the ministry has allocated Rs 2,050 crore to various states from the Nirbhaya Fund.
The Union home ministry on its part has released Rs 1,656 crore in the last five years to states and Union Territories. But utilisation rate of Nirbhaya Fund has been very dismal.
For the funds released by the Union Women and Child Development Ministry, only about 20 % has been used by the states. In the case of Union home ministry, the states have submitted utilisation certificates of less than 9 per cent money released under Nirbhaya Fund.
Six states and UTs - Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura and Daman & Diu - have not spent a single rupee from the Nirbhaya Fund allocated by the Union home ministry.
Big state like Maharashtra had been under the BJP rule for five years, from 2014 to 2019. Yet the BJP-led govt of the Centre could not put enough pressure on Maharashtra, which recorded 4,306 incidents of assault on women in 2017.
ONE STOP CENTRE SCHEME
Launched in 2015, it provides integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence. Not fully operational in all states.
DIAL 112
This pan-India phone number (like 911 in the US) was launched in 2019, under the Emergency Response Support System, aimed at improving women’s safety. It is not functional in several states.
Death penalty: Will it really deter rape
Given the current context, People from all corner of the nation are demanding a death penalty for rapists. This remains a highly debatable issue between those who advocate death penalty and for those who are against capital punishment. Death penalty violates Article 21, i..e Right to life and as such this cannot be done, if we go by the logical argument.
No studies prove that awarding death penalty to rapists will in anyway deter them from committing such acts. The problem lies somewhere else, probably in our justice delivery system. It is right said, that justice delayed is justice denied.
A report, submitted in 2017, pointed out that the average time of finishing trial in rape cases was eight months in the fast-track courts. Not all rape cases in India are tried in fast-track courts.
The study also found that in most cases, even the deposition of the rape victim does not take place within 60 days. The fast tracked Nirbhaya gangrape case was disposed in nine months.
Delay in trial of rape cases occur due to various reasons - from receiving forensic lab reports to huge burden of pending cases.
What can be the possible solutions-
The real issue appears to be the time taken in the final disposal of cases of rape and murder. What is required for any law to act as a real deterrent is bringing about long pending police and judicial reforms.
Over 32,500 cases of rape were registered with the police in 2017, about 90 a day, according to the most recent government data. Laws become ineffective in the absence of adequate support from its many arms. Police often face allegations of insensitivity while handling rape cases. Once the case reaches the courts, they drag on and on. NCRB data also show that conviction rate in rape cases is just 32 per cent, which is attributed mainly to delay in completion of trials. Regardless of the crime, understaffing is a major driver of pendency in both courts and police forces.
Moreover, Indian courts disposed of only about 18,300 cases related to rape that year, leaving more than 127,800 cases pending at the end of 2017. Nevertheless, this week, as a debate raged in Parliament over the Hyderabad case, Rajya Sabha speaker and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu said: “What is required is political will, administrative skill, change of mindset and then go for the kill of social evil.”
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