Prevention of sexual violence
The writer is a practising lawyer. He holds PHD in Political Science and heads a think-tank ‘Good Governance Forum’. He can be reached at aashah7@yahoo.com
The gang rape of a lady from Lahore in front of her children on the motorway near Lahore has sent shock waves all around the country with demands for arrests of the culprits and punishment. The intensity of the outburst of the emotions has been so high that the Prime Minister of Pakistan suggested chemical castration of the culprits found guilty of the offence.
No doubt, the victim in such a crime passes through a trauma, requiring psychological treatment and empathy. But, the situation further took an ugly turn when a police official rubbed the injury with salt by his remarks that the lady should not have travelled late night and should have taken the GT Road. While those advices might have been right in normal times but in such a dismal and depressing situation, it was totally uncalled for. In such a situation of test and trial, the police officer is required to not only act as a good detective but also a good psychologist. A police officer’s duty in such circumstances is to solicit the cooperation of the community and in particular, the survivor and the family. He or she has to provide hope and this can be done if the police officer is taken as an impartial and wise friend.
The Punjab Police and particularly Lahore Police are still under scathing criticism for being callous. In the meantime, other such cases have also surfaced, giving rise to an impression that this menace only exists in Pakistan. Therefore, the situation requires dispassionate comparative analysis of rape cases in the world and its underlying causes.
The job cannot be left to the police only. The synergised efforts of sociologists, psychologists and criminologists can lead to a better understanding of this problem. An insightful analysis can find better solutions both from a psychological and a sociological point of view.
In this context, according to the UN Crime Trend Statistics Report 2013, the United Kingdom has the highest incidents of rape, followed by the United States and Brazil.
The UNODC has also recoded data on sexual violence by country, per 100,000 population. The country-wise count and rates of police recorded sexual violence and rates per 100,000 people for the year 2017 has been: Pakistan had a count of 3,828 with a rate of 1.8; Saudi Arabia did not provide data, India (in 2013) had a count of 117,035 and rate of 9.1 but it appears that no data was provided for subsequent years; the UK (England and Wales) had a count of 151,120 and rate of 257.2; Sweden had a count of 18,874 and rate of 190.6.
The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), an organisation against sexual violence, in a survey, established that an American is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds. The same reports indicated that as of 1998, an estimated 17.7 million American women had been victims of attempted or completed rape. Similarly, legal job sites assert that at present, sexual assaults are the most prevalent crimes in the US, yet also the most underreported. Although, lot of resources have been dedicated even in developed countries over the last two decades to change the landscape of sexual assault and empower the victims and survivors of this type of crime, despite several helpful, progressive reforms, sexual assault statistics reflect that many crimes are still not fully addressed or understood. The main causes most often cited are, anger, power assertion, sadism, neuropsychological processes, deviant sexual preferences, personality disorders and traits, insecure attachment lens, antisocial personality traits/quadripartite lens, and a narcissistic personality lens. Similarly, the World Health Organization has also enumerated multiple factors, but “the number of initiatives addressing sexual violence is limited”.
From a policing perspective, better prevention and detection of the crime is one angle. This requires an improved system of vigilance on the streets and roads through the eyes of high resolution cameras, increased foot patrols and mobile patrols with an easy distance so that the police can reach immediately in case of any mishap. Although the 25 police registers maintained in the police stations, weekly diaries and village touring of the supervisory officers provide measures for prevention, unfortunately these basics are being ignored. All police stations also maintain a record of proclaimed and habitual offenders and are required to constantly conduct raids and keep surveillance over the bad characters of the area. The supervisory officers are under an obligation to check such registers and state of crime but this is rarely being done.
From a sociological point of view, it has been observed that in most cases of sexual molestation and rape, the offenders were relatives, trustworthy neighbours or acquaintances. This signifies that the community has to play a major role in preventing this major crime. It cannot be left alone to the police and criminal justice system. Knee-jerk responses to a crime asking for public hanging may satisfy some immediate hatred and rage. But, much more needs to be done. Education on sexual violence, protection and giving children the right message is fundamental in addressing the formidable challenge. Appropriate education starts from home and should continue into the classrooms and beyond.
The role of the media cannot be over-emphasised. Reporting an event is important, but generating discussions that ultimately lead to the prevention of this diseased mindset is pivotal. The media cannot shy away from their social responsibility on one pretext or the other.
Comparative studies suggest that vigilance of police on roads, streets and isolated places; crackdown against criminals, drugs and intoxicants; parental care; education against sexual violence; police advisories regarding risk areas; better vigilance in parks; community-based vigilance committees; and bringing offenders to justice are some of the suggested measures to minimise such offences.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2020.
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