On the 19th of September, a missing complaint was filed at the Laxman Jhula police station in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. After almost a week-long search, on September 24, 2022, they found a body in Chilla canal, Uttarakhand. It was the body of the girl who had gone missing, killed and tossed in the water by the very men who had filed the complaint a week back.
The accused confessed that it happened because of a disagreement. It was further corroborated by the girl’s WhatsApp chat with a friend, wherein she said she felt ‘insecure’ in her workplace. It was found that the girl – who worked as a receptionist in a hotel owned by one of the accused – refused to provide sexual services to the guests and was killed because she threatened to reveal her plight to the public.
This case will probably run circles in the system for quite a while, as has been with such cases before, including the bone-chilling 2012 Nirbhaya case, for which justice was served after 9 long years. When the evidence is present and the conviction valid, what makes the justice so delayed?
A lack of accountability is one of the reasons.
Gender-based violence is a rampant issue in our country. Gender-based violence doesn’t only include crimes against women, but also against other genders in society. It is an umbrella term that includes crimes like acid attack, rape, honour killing, workplace harassment, discrimination against the queer community, etc. These crimes happen mostly with women, done mostly by men. India ranks 148 out of 170 countries in the ‘Women, Peace and Security Index 2021’. According to NCRB data, released on 29 August 2021, India saw a total of 4,28,278 instances of crimes against women in 2021 – a 15 percent increase from the previous year. Of these, ‘cruelty by husband’ saw the highest number of cases – almost 32 percent. In 2021, on average, there was a crime committed against women registered every 74 seconds in India. A lack of accountability gives abusers leeway to do crimes repeatedly with no fear of being punished.
But why the lack of accountability?
In India, it comes from various reasons, one of them being an inefficient judiciary.
1. Long Resolution Time: Most of the cases registered for crimes against women in India take years to resolve. The cases have to go through the police first, later the court. According to NCRB data, 29% of all cases of rape at the end of 2017 were unresolved by police forces across the country.
2. High Pendency Rate of Cases: The pendency rate in courts is even worse- nearly 88% of all rape cases in Indian courts were pending resolution in 2017. “Though the government proposed establishing 1,800 fast-track courts, only 700 are currently operational with the total number of pending cases in these courts standing at around 700,000.” – a LiveMint article said. This problem exists also because of under-staffing of courts.
3. Corruption in the System: The problem with delayed justice is compounded further through corrupt practices by both the police and the judiciary, and a lack of transparency. In the Status of Policing in India Report 2018 by CSDS and Common Cause, it was found that 66% of women said they trusted the police compared to 71% of men. The reason for this lack of trust can be seen in Status of Policing in India Report 2019, which shows that around 1 in 5 of all police believed that gender-based violence complaints are false and motivated to a great extent. According to NCRB’s report, the conviction rate for crimes against women is only 26.6%. This discourages victims from reporting abuse.
This delay leads to people preferring extrajudicial killings, as seen in the 2019 Hyderabad encounter. The aforementioned 2019 report showed that 19% of police personnel believed that killing dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial and 75% felt that violence towards criminals is justified. Though this method gives a false sense of justice to the public, it is a display of a failed legal system.
Another reason for the lack of accountability is societal pressure. Victims of gender-based violence are often told to not report the crime and let it be to save the family name. Especially for women, they say publicising such incidents hinder their chances of marriage. The honour of a family and a woman’s “dignity’’ remain more important than her getting justice.
Can something be done about the situation?
Our country has a long way to go with regards gender-based violence. The legal system is flawed and so is society; but things can be done right at an individual level. First and foremost, learning about gender-based violence is essential. It includes learning about abusers and victims and the power dynamic between men and women that society has established. The concept of consent needs to be understood. Victim-blaming needs to be stopped. Abuse of any form should be called out. These little steps can save someone someday.
Let’s be the change we seek.
