Punishment for rape

 A lot of people are saying a lot of things about Rape and the correct punishment for it.  It is interesting how everybody is making laws for Rape with the exception  of the law –making  body, The Indian Parliament

Every third person in the  government is a lawyer these days instead of a common sensical  common man . The opposition has also got a lot of lawyers as a counter balance.  The debates on TV look like court room battles.  One would not give the debates  such an honourable mention if Leaders of opposition, Cabinet ministers and party spokespersons didn’t appear on them with unfailing regularity. 

Mukul Rohatgi  (Ex Additional Solicitar General) once said on one of these debates  “Whenever a crime happens there are voices which say- Hang them by the nearest lamp post, but that is not how laws are made”.   Death for rape is more easily said than done.  

One governmental  lawyer-spokesperson said that Rape has to be categorized into the following categories.  Rape in marriage, rape outside of marriage, rape of a minor, rape of an invalid/demented person, rape with violence, rape with brutality, rape with attempt to murder and Rape with Murder. This sounds sick but the punishment for the last two types of crimes is already death if it is a rarest of the rare cases. 

What is left then is the case of Rape. What is Rape ? There is a large chapter of Legalese on the definition of rape. The reason why I lift a pen to put on paper is to say that all rape is Violence, Rape is not a crime of passion, Forced Sex may be a small part of the crime but it is mostly violence. It is a different violence, it is always brutal because the perpetrator uses his brute force to inflict injury both physical and mental in order to permanently scar and scare the victim. So what should be a good punishment? 

The important thing here is what is happening inside his mind.  He thinks that someone somewhere will support him. HE THINKS THAT IT IS A SMALL INFRINGEMENT ON SOMEBODY’S PERSONAL SPACE WHICH WILL BE FORGOTTEN JUST LIKE MANY OF HIS EARLIER INDISCRETIONS.   In other words a person only takes the step to do a full fledged rape only when he has made small moves in the past and they have been ignored/forgotten  or  encouraged by his friends and peer group. Such a person takes the laxity of the justice delivery system for granted. Such a person thinks  he is never going to be caught and punished. Maybe he thinks that he will get a small punishment of which he is not scared anyway.  It is done by a person who is summarily  `Uddand’  (roughly translated means insolent). So what should be the correct punishment?

Some people have raised questions about the jail system itself being so faulty that a prisoner has too many rights and eventually he may manage to scare the victim or get out one day and get back at the victim and family. Therefore a jail term is no good.  I will write a separate piece on that later but first the conclusion of the above essay. 

A lot of studies have indicated that rape is an act of violence and all the punishment should be directed towards curbing of the violent tendencies.  If  prisons could reform then lets send them there.  Perhaps we need to relax this business of human rights of prisoners a little bit for rapists. The punishment has to be visible yet not cruel like in the Roman times.

I want you people out there to think if we could think of new methods outside of the existing system to reform them with the purpose of integrating them back in the society. Here are a few suggestions. They are all better than killing the rapist (death penalty)  or making him a Government guest with proper human rights  for 20 years.   We have to make them work and  not deprive them  of the company of other humans. 

1.       Make them wear a  collar/ belt / leg strap  on which `I am a rapist’ is written. Let them out and let them work in the middle of everyone. 

2.       Make that collar emit a sound every ten minutes which says `mujhe afsos hai, main balatkari tha’  ( I am sorry I was a rapist) 

3.       Rather than making their other organs useless , make their  hands useless. How about letting them do menial jobs  but with their hands tied with a handcuff.  Hand cuff should read `I am a rapist’.

4.       Give them a job in a public place like a gate-keepers/ shoe keepers  job or as a cashier in a super market where a lot of people will see them. Make them wear  a metal plate which says `I am a rapist’. Keep them  symbolically chained to the gate or the desk. Make them give part of their wages to some fund which rehabilitates victims. 

5.       Put them in for hard work on a shipping vessel/light house/ with no leave for 10 years.

 

Please send me your thoughts on paramjigyasu7@gmail.com  . The debate is not yet finished

Param Jigyasu