Ghaziabad girl raped by father for 6 years. And as usual media violates victim's privacy rights
Anyone who says that rape culture does not exist in the Indian society is as blind as a bat. On June 11, a 43-year-old mathematics teacher from Ghaziabad was sent to judicial custody for raping his 19-year-old daughter for the past six years, after the victim shot a video of the incident on her mobile phone at their residence and showed it to the police.
The 15-minute video shows the woman being raped by her father, the owner of an English-medium school where he also teaches Mathematics.
The survivour – who is a first-year BA student – went through such a long and terrible ordeal because she could not garner support from her mother as she was unable to stand up against her husband. Jha, the accused had allegedly threatened his wife about not reporting the matter to anyone.
It was ultimately, when she opened up to a friend about it, that she found enough courage to expose her father’s behaviour. Her friend convinced her own mother who approached the survivor’s mother and convinced her to report the incidents.
The survivor’s mother then took her to Kavi Nagar police station on Sunday and lodged a formal complaint against her husband, with the video clip as evidence. The police subsequently arrested Jha not only on charges of rape, but also levied Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC as the accused also beat the victim often. Additionally, as the rapes also took place when the survivor was a minor, he has been booked under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.
“The young woman repeatedly suffered the assault by her own father for the past six years. She could not garner support from her mother as she was unable to stand up against her husband. The incidents took place when she was a minor, so we have booked the accused of rape and also under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,” said Hemant Rai, station house officer, Kavi Nagar.
“They counselled the victim’s mother to report the matter to police. Her mother knew about the incidents but kept quiet as she feared the social stigma the family will have to face later. In the meantime, the victim placed her mobile in her room and turned the video on when her mother was not present. The video clearly captured the assault by her father who is also seen threatening her and later forcing himself on her. The video is a vital piece of evidence and will be a part of investigation,” Rai added.
According to a recent survey conducted by World Vision India – a humanitarian organisation – one in every two children is a victim of child sexual abuse. Can you imagine that - 50 per cent of children are molested or sexually abused.
The survey, participated in by more than 45,000 children in the 12-18 age group, across 26 states in the country, also revealed that one in four families do not come forward to report child abuse.
“With 98 per cent of rapes being committed by people known to the children, I feel it is time that we all come under one banner to focus our work around child protection,” said World Vision India national director Cherian Thomas.
In India, the ordeal of sexual assault and rape does not end with the incident. The survivors have to face the social stigma of being raped. In fact, they are the ones who are often blamed and shamed. While it is important for the media to highlight incidents of rape and sexual assault as and when they are reported – after all people even today are very much in denial about the state of women in this nation – there is a need to exercise caution.
Often, in a hurry to report, or just to have a competitive edge over other organisations, the news reports are filled with facts that reveal crucial details about the identity of the survivor. This is something that The Times of India managed to do in its report. Not only did the report reveal the name of the accused, but also mentioned what college the victim studied in and where her father’s school was located.
Time and again, this is an issue that has been brought up. It’s not only ethically wrong to reveal the identity of a rape survivor in a country where a huge chunk of people believe “short clothes cause rapes” and “boys will be boys”; there are legal provisions to back it up as well.
According to the Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code:
Disclosure of identity of the victim of certain offences etc.—
(1) Whoever prints or publishes the name or any matter which may make known the identity of any person against whom an offence under section 376, section 376A, section 376B, section 376C or section 376D is alleged or found to have been committed (hereafter in this section referred to as the victim) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) extends to any printing or publication of the name or any matter which may make known the identity of the victim if such printing or publication is—
(a) by or under the order in writing of the officer-in-charge of the police station or the police officer making the investigation into such offence acting in good faith for the purposes of such investigation; or
(b) by, or with the authorisation in writing of, the victim; or
(c) where the victim is dead or minor or of unsound mind, by, or with the authorisation in writing of, the next of kin of the victim: Provided that no such authorisation shall be given by the next of kin to anybody other than the chairman or the secretary, by whatever name called, of any recognised welfare institution or organisation. Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, “recognised welfare institution or organisation” means a social welfare institution or organisation recognised in this behalf by the Central or State Government.
(3) Whoever prints or publishes any matter in relation to any proceeding before a court with respect to an offence referred to in sub-section (1) without the previous permission of such Court shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation.—The printing or publication of the judgment of any High Court or the Supreme Court does not amount to an offence within the meaning of this section.
Last year, an FIR was registered by Delhi Police against Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal for allegedly revealing the identity of the Burari rape victim. A few years ago, AAP leader, Alka Lamba was booked for by the police in Lucknow for sharing the photograph of a rape victim online.
Of course, one can argue, that the rape survivor has nothing to be ashamed of, something incidentally Swati Maliwal did as well. But what one does not realise, while making an infantile argument like that, is that revealing the victims’ identities violates their right to privacy.
Sadly, it is not just the media or politicians who are frivolous about a rape survivor’s identity. A 2015 study by Rahat - a support programme for rape survivors initiated by Majlis - that surveyed over 600 people over three years, revealed that in 36 per cent of cases between 2011-12, the victim’s name appeared in the judgment of the trial court despite the Supreme Court guidelines to keep it confidential.
In a perfect world it would be the rapist who would be shamed. But we do not reside in a perfect world. Here, the rape survivor is dubbed as impure and damaged by the society. We live in a culture that not only normalises rape, but also finds it okay to shift the blame from the rapist to the survivor. After all that the survivor goes through, is it not just basic human decency to allow her to take the decision whether to come out into the open, when she wants to, and how she chooses to?
It is too much to ask for?