MyVoice: Views of our readers 30th November 2020

Atrocities against girls, women should be stopped

The World Health Organisation has declared the corona a pandemic. But in our country, even more dangerous sexual assaults are devouring lives of women like an epidemic. The National Crime Records Bureau's 2019 census is direct evidence of this. According to the report, in 2018, 3,80,000 women in India were subjected to various forms of violence and in 2019 that number increased to 4,50,000. Eight per cent of them were sexually assaulted and 11 per cent of the victims were Dalits. Cases of sexual assault are up 7.3 percent from last year. The crime rate per lakh female population was 58.8 per cent in 2018 and 62.4 per cent in 2019. An average of 8% of sexual assault cases are reported per day. Events like Nirbhaya and Disha continue to happen. But the onus is on the government to see that such things are not repeated. According to a 2019 NCRB report, the activities of gangs selling women as market goods have increased.

If the situation in the country is so bad, then the situation in the State is also commensurate with it. While Maharashtra tops in trafficking and trafficking in women, the gang activity has also expanded to Andhra Pradesh, the report said. Human trafficking has been steadily rising for three years in Andhra Pradesh and in 2019 it was the second largest in the country. Maharashtra tops the list with 12.5 per cent women and human trafficking, followed by MP with 10.8 per cent.

We are a society that thinks that boys have the right to kill a girl if they do not love, and parents have the right to kill if they love and marry. Just because of such actions, the girl is beaten, slapped, sexually assaulted if confronted. If not satisfied yet will be made to kill. The National Crime Bureau itself has revealed that sexual assault on a Dalit woman is being used as a tool. The State is becoming increasingly vulnerable to human-animal atrocities.

About 70 percent of those elected are criminals. Today, women are not protected. There were situations where women could not go outside even after graduation, not in the middle of the night. Many children and women have been and continue to be abused. If there are more than 230 attacks on women from June 2019 till now, it is due to the incompetence of the government and the failure of the system. It was rumoured that fast track courts would be set up in all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh to trial sexual assault cases. To date, the government has not done any paperwork on setting up courts. Forensic labs in each district were limited to announcements that 176 posts would be filled.

The AP government has introduced the AP Disha Bill 2019 in the Assembly and passed it for the first time in the country after last year's Disha murder incident in Telangana. Ultimately the Disha Act was repealed without the approval of the Central government. The responsibility for the protection of women does not lie with the government. That is the social responsibility. The government should take steps in that direction. Leaders who are at the forefront of development and welfare in one end do not see the atrocities being perpetrated on women.

It is unfortunate that there are no instances where governments have taken steps to curb sexual assault and harassment of women. The women's world is questioning the extent to which the laws brought by the governments are working to curb these ever-increasing attacks.

As part of the revolutionary changes coming in the society, the use of technological materials and tools has increased widely. It is unfortunate that this knowledge should be used only for the betterment of the society and not for the safety of women. There must be strict control, mainly in the media. The government should take the initiative to make everyone feel respectful towards women. Some are working to protect those who have done wrong, including officials and politicians. Laws must be enforced, and appropriate action must be taken. Attacks on women and children must be severely punished so that attacks do not recur.

Dr N Khaleel, KPHB Colony, Hyderabad