What kind of justice is this?

Column for Mathrubhumi 

(Translated in Malayalam)

July 19, 2020

A woman is gang-raped.  Within four days of making the complaint, instead of the men who assaulted her being put in jail, she is.  This is the extraordinary story of a 22-year-old woman in Araria, Bihar.

It is relevant above all because it exposes, yet again, the problems women who are sexually assaulted face in dealing with the criminal justice system.

In this case, after the rape on July 6, the woman sought out some social workers to help her file the case.  Four days later, when the case came up before a magistrate, she was asked to sign a written statement.  She refused saying she first wanted to know what was in it, something that is a basic right. As she could not read, she wanted the social workers who had helped her to read it out to her.

Instead of understanding the trauma that this woman had already been through, the magistrate was offended and the woman was charged with contempt of court and obstructing civil servants from doing their duty.  She, and the two social workers were sent off to a jail some 250 km away. 

What is worse, the woman's identity was leaked to the local papers who reported it even though it is strictly prohibited by the law.

And while she sat in jail, the men she had accused were free.

This is happening in our country where, according to the latest crime statistics (only available upto 2017), a woman is raped somewhere in India every 15 minutes.  The Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to have slowed down this assault of women in this country.

The bigger tragedy is that despite campaigns to change and strengthen the law, to make it mandatory that the police register a complaint when a woman comes to them, to use humane methods for the medical examination and to counsel her, the same old story keeps repeating itself.

In the midst of all the reports of death and disease, this particular story stood out not just because it flies in the face of the basic criteria of justice, but that it tells us yet again that just changing the law is not enough.  We have to find ways to make the criminal justice system work for the most marginalised, including women.

In many ways, the protests across the United States and other countries against the racists approach of the police, are based on the same premise: that the justice system fails to protect the marginalised and instead victimises them.

In this particular instance, because the story was reported, and there was a campaign on social media, this young woman was released on bail while the two activists who helped her were denied bail.

But think of the message such an incident sends out to all other women who are assaulted and who try to seek justice.  As it is, if you are poor, you fear turning to the police.  Even when you do, there is no guarantee that your case will be taken seriously.  Even when it reaches the courts, it often fails to convict the rapists because the police are too casual about collecting evidence and making a convincing case.  At every step, it is the survivor of the rape who has to struggle to keep up her courage and her sanity. It is hardly surprising then that so many women still prefer not to report a rape and pursue it through the courts.

Now, after this case in Araria, even the few who know their rights and speak up, as this young woman did, will be afraid that they will be punished.  What a state we have come to in this country.