Opinion: A rape and murder’s wake-up call
Stakeholders should advance their resources towards pre-emptive, preventive and proactive procedures
By B Maria Kumar
Can the law alone shield society from the horrors of rape-cum-murders? Can the police force single-handedly prevent such unspeakable acts of violence? Does the criminal justice system have any real influence over the twisted intentions of those who harbour criminal motives? These are a few fundamental questions, which haunt any right-thinking citizen whenever there occur sensational rapes or horrifying rape-cum-murders. Such instances grip not only the womenfolk but also the entire society in fear on an unimaginable scale. Various types of atrocities are being committed against women and children not only in India but also across all parts of the world.
Juxtaposed with psycho-ethical values and underlying gender equality, the way the status of women has been assessed and maintained is still worrisome. In that sense, a significant number of offences perpetrated on them do seem to spring from the behavioural shortcomings of the accused persons.
Existential Struggle
Again, it is to be noted that such subliminal deficiencies are also tied to instinctual and transient perverse characteristics of the individual. Before we further analyse the aetiology of such social violations, we will have to understand the fluctuant manner of existential struggle. At an elemental level, human life is designed by nature to subsist on the instincts of food and sex, one for self-survival and the other for the survival of species. Every individual strives to pull on life going through survival mechanisms. As long as food is not available, the individual craves for it and seeks to achieve it by any means.
History is witness to bloody revolts such as the French Revolution and Marxian class conflicts when the hungry unleashed panic and havoc and destabilised nations. As the communists adopted the need-based sharing of common resources, the capitalists rolled out social security measures for the secure living of the masses. Likewise, various nations have employed different schemes, extending maintenance support to the poor so as to curb food crime.
Then comes the concern of controlling sexual crime, which in fact is the outcome of the culmination of three nefarious ingredients viz, ability, opportunity and intention (mens rea). If any of these three is ruled out, the offence can be nipped in the bud. The ability to commit criminal sexual assault lies solely with the culprit himself. Opportunity can be pre-empted by various preventive measures of police and other agencies. And the criminal intention of the potential rapist and murderer can be mostly rooted out by law enforcement and administrative policy interventions.
Protecting Vulnerable
In ancient times, societies addressed criminal sexual impulses to a considerable extent by establishing institutions such as regulated prostitution, aiming to protect vulnerable females from the predatory advances of those with depraved intentions. Currently, in some cities abroad, legalised arrangements including licensed brothels or commercial sex centres are in vogue and on a par with any other professional business activity. However, this practice can be perilous without proper protective safety provisions. The world has already witnessed the catastrophic impact of HIV/AIDS, which, while largely controlled, continues to pose a threat. Fortunately, recent developments in vaccines have shown promising results in prevention.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation declared the ongoing monkeypox (now referred to as mpox) outbreaks in Africa a global public health emergency of international concern, just a few days ago in August 2024, demanding immediate action to halt the virus’ spread. Alarmingly, new data suggests that the virulent strain of monkeypox has adapted to infect through sexual contact, raising further concerns. A worrying trend is that illegal underground and commercial sex operations are not uncommon, driven by fear of police action and the harsh penalties that come with getting caught.
Apart from seeking fulfilment of their callous urges in the company of commercial sex workers, the perpetrators also don’t hesitate to torment the innocent victims in pursuit of their sadistic exploits. Naturally, the prospective criminals look for the vulnerable of society like small children, lone or old women. Such instances have continued to occur undiminished. Though there are legislations for more stringent punishments, including the death sentence, there is hardly any significant downward trajectory in sexual atrocities.
To explore possible concrete solutions to the never-ending sexual offences, many social thinkers have put forth different approaches. There is a dominant school of thought among certain circles of intellectuals that prevention of rape-cum-murders can best be done only through a strong criminal justice system. Some of them even demand violent penal remedies a la eye for an eye or arm for an arm, as has been existing in some countries. Others believe in a system where the certainty of quick punishment is a more effective requirement than the stringent laws whereas another band of active citizenry subscribe to the opposite view of according greater emphasis on the severity of penalties as deterrence in comparison to the certainty of justice.
Inculcating Values
Howsoever varied the opinions are, the most important aspect of any solution is that it must find its worth and efficacy in positive results in terms of making society assault-free. Hence, the inculcation of ethical and moral values through socialisation and sensitisation processes is the sine qua non for instilling intrinsic discipline in individuals right from childhood. Rather than waiting for reactive methods, all stakeholders should advance their resources towards pre-emptive, preventive and proactive procedures.
To achieve that, the maximum role is attributable to organisations like the police, education, health and youth welfare which can rectify the loopholes by analysing the previous and present experiences, drawing lessons and launch a new dispensation by implementing full-fledged practical interventions.
(The author is IPS (Retd) and a winner of National Rajbhasha Gaurav Award for 2022-23)
