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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
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @09:03PM (1 child)
Very little in your post really addresses mine, which was about the value of someone's life and whether or not younger people's lives should be considered more important under the law. I, at least, don't think so, but apparently that's trolling.
But here, we can agree.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 23 2018, @01:45AM
The issues you wish to discuss are not the issues under discussion. I'm glad that we can agree on that final point, though.
JFK made a great speech: Some people see things as they are, and ask why. I see things as they are not, and ask why not. It was a great, stirring speech. But, fact is, we have to deal with what is, not with what we wish.
What really is, with people, is that most people find it more horrifying when a very strong person abuses a very weak person. Age and gender affect a person's strength, and helplessness. Sexually molesting an infant is more horrifying than sexually molesting a 25 year old woman. The infant is totally helpless, and worse, has no possible way in which to respond sexually. The 25 year old woman may be helpless, but she is far LESS helpless than the infant. And, she at least has the physical potential to respond to sexual advances. That is - simple penetration won't destroy her, as it can the infant.
The more helpless the victim, the more horrifying the crime is. That is human nature. The more damage done to the victim, the more horrifying the crime is. Sexual harassment can be as simple as patting a woman's ass as she walks by. In the case of the medical student, not only was she raped multiple times, but foreign objects were forcefully inserted into her body, for the amusement of her rapists. That is sick beyond any understanding. It's just horrifying to anyone capable of understanding the rape.
These same crimes just don't commonly happen to males. The laws aren't making a comparative value judgement between male and female victims. The laws are directly addressing reality - the reality that subhuman animals that act out on their impulses are overwhelmingly male, and that their victims are overwhelmingly female.