Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Sunday April 22 2018, @05:44AM   Printer-friendly
from the make-the-punishment-fit-the-crime dept.

After a number of high-profile crimes that sparked outrage and protests, India will allow the death penalty for those convicted of raping girls under the age of 12:

The executive order was cleared at a special cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It allows capital punishment for anyone convicted of raping children under the age of 12. Minimum prison sentences for rape against girls under the age of 16 and women have also been raised.

According to Reuters, which has seen a copy of the order, there was no mention of boys or men.

Two recent rape cases have shocked the nation. Protests erupted earlier this month after police released horrific details of the rape of an eight-year-old Muslim girl by Hindu men in Kathua, in Indian-administered Kashmir in January. Anger has also been mounting after a member of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was accused last week over the rape of a 16-year-old girl in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

India's poor record of dealing with sexual violence came to the fore after the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus. This led to huge protests and changes to the country's rape laws. But sexual attacks against women and children have since continued to be reported across the country.

Some activists have criticized the application of the death penalty, saying it will deter reporting, especially given that almost all perpetrators are family members or acquaintances.

Also at Reuters and Bloomberg. Editorial at The Indian Express.

Related: Indian Government Attempts to Suppress Rape Documentary


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @07:56AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @07:56AM (#670271)

    This law has been in making for last 1 year at the least. I am not sure who is behind it, but there is(was?) a conscious well-planned effort to bring about this law, but I know that most of the NGOs involved in it get their funding from foreign entitles.

    1) First the NGO heads went to different English medium news channels and cried that Indian men are uncontrollable raping beasts - a well tried and tested tactic that has been working from 1857 when it was invented by the British.
    2) Then they got behind several cases, such as one where a teacher was arrested in West Bengal, but it turned out that the girl was caught cheating in an exam and hence was lying.
    3) Then late last year there was full drama of a celebrity of Dangal (movie) fame who claimed harassment because a man was sleeping behind her in a flight and put his legs on her hand-rest. The man was arrested and spent months behind bars before truth was found.
    4) This year the ruling nationalist part BJP lost a major state election and they have central election in 2019. Kathua rape case hits all the right points - it is in a city ruled by current nationalist party (helps opposition party), in a region that is majorly populated by Muslims (who hate Hindu nationalists), in Kashmir (where it is easy to blame Indian government), is not fake (unlike previous cases), and is close to election year.

    As far as men and boys are concerned, India doesn't recognize rape of men, punishes 16-18 year old men as adults for crimes against women and doesn't recognize domestic violence against men.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +5  
       Interesting=4, Informative=1, Total=5
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @09:04AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @09:04AM (#670288)

    Maybe they should start educating the population first on what is acceptable and what is not. The problem goes much deeper, looking at your last sentence.

    Without solving the source of the problem any punishment will have hardly any effect.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @09:54AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @09:54AM (#670295)

      Oh India is being educated all right, that all Indian men are rapists and wife-beaters. Hence my last sentence.