“Everyone Blames Me”: Barriers to Justice and Support Services for Sexual Assault Survivors in India

Of nearly all survivors rape cases the Human Rights Watch documented, the women and girls reported receiving no basic healthcare including counselling necessary for recovery.

An article by the Press Trust of India published on March 18, 2015, stated that amendments to the Indian Penal Code in 2013 – which made failure of the police to file an FIR a punishable offence in the case of a rape complaint – led to a rise in the number of rape cases reported. Activists claim that these figures still underrepresent reality, the report adds.

Failure of the police’s in discharging their duties resulted in women and their families dropping or settling their rape complaints across the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Victims from socially and economically marginalised groups are more vulnerable to police apathy, victim blaming and misuse of police power.

Unofficial caste councils known as Khap Panchayats in various states across northern India, such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan, pressurise victims in withdrawing complaints, the report states.

Officials carry a bias towards “stranger rape”, the report states. Police tends to distrust survivors in cases of rape where the accused is known or related to the survivor. In such cases, often the survivor is suspected of falsifying cases or having provided some level of consent.

Refusing medical treatment to rape survivors is a punishable offense under section 166B of the Indian Penal Code, carrying a maximum imprisonment of one year. Additionally, doctors have a legal obligation to report to the police all cases of sexual offences. Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2014 tailor the approach medical professionals must take with survivors, in order to eliminate cursory medical examinations based on common misconceptions about rape. So far, only nine states have adopted these guidelines, with poor implementation.

The report states that unscientific and degrading findings from the two-finger test are still cited in court judgements. As high as 25 per cent of the judgments of Karnataka fast track courts made explicit reference to the test and to the victim being “habituated” to sexual intercourse, this report states citing a news article published in 2015.

India lacks a comprehensive nationwide system that establishes systematic connections between police stations and legal aid services. None of the women interviewed reported receiving any referrals for legal assistance after approaching the police.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act enacted in April 2013 fails to abolish the requirement of government authorization to initiate prosecution against public officials. This, the report states, grants armed forces personnel protection against sexual offences committed during domestic operations.

In 2014, the Committee on the Rights of the Child under the United Nations raised concerns about the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, not including provisions to criminalize sexual abuse of married girls above the age of 15. The committee recommended full criminalization of all forms of sexual abuse against girls below 18 years of age, including marital rape.

The report recommends collaborative efforts between state governments, the police, medical treatment and forensic facilities, the legal system, child welfare committees, national and state commissions for women, civil society organisations, and legal aid services in order better implement laws which protect children and women against sexual violence.

Focus and Factoids by Chandrima Dey.

PARI Library’s health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.