To be born a woman is a danger to your health

Today India faces a nationwide issue of women being brutalized by violence and rape; which has become an daily occurrence and the fastest growing crime in India. According to Al-Jazeera, a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, and 24,000 rape cases were reported last year alone. The medical outlet also reported that 80% of women in Delhi had been sexually harassed, while "The Times of India" has reported that rape in India has increase by a staggering 792% over the past 40 years. 



Because of the violence against women, citizens in India are struggling to make a national impact on policy change for the crimes that have, until recently, gone unpunished. This major issue in India had not been properly addressed until more recently with the brutal rape, and subsequent murder, of one woman on December 16th, 2012. This show of dominate masculinity has brought about a surge of protests from both women and men on the streets of every major city in India. The young medical student, who remains unnamed, was gang raped by 6 men on a bus in Singapore and later died of multiple organ failure, the information on the women has yet to be released to the public.


Whats causing the problem? 
With over 1.2 billion people, India is ranked as one of the most populous countries on the globe. India has suffered a plethora of gender-related injustices, including sex-selected abortion, and a misogynistic culture that has only prosecuted one rapist in since 2006, despite a staggering 25% increase in reported rapes over the course of five years. Many sexual attacks go unreported due to women questioning the efficacy of the system to protect their dignity as a consequence of a culture that can afford impunity to offenders by police, cases that drag on for years through the courts, and nonexistent conviction rates. 

India is currently facing a staggering unbalance between the sexes. Due to sex-selected abortion, India has 15 million more men than women. These men are primarily between the ages of 15 and 35. It has been shown that men at this age are most likely to commit crimes, especially when in large groups.

As women continue to seek education and highly skilled careers, the patriarchal framework will continue to be impacted, as cultural norms are challenged and women begin to demand the same rights as men.

Governmental policy on rape allows freedom for criminals

There is a wide consensus that India's government has not implement change, in regards to the ongoing rape. For the past few decades that this problem has really come to the front line, India's government has not taken sexual offenses against women seriously.

One of the more recent methods that the government has used to address the issue of ongoing rapes in India has been to form a committee of three members to look at the broader problems. After deliberation the committee had "a sweeping demand that India 'change the way in which women are treated' ”. The government issued an agreement that offenders receive the death penalty if a woman dies or is in a vegetative state after a rape. When interviews are conducted of a rape victim a female officer must be present. More strict penalties were placed on "stalking, voyeurism, acid attacks and trafficking". This is only the beginning; several issues still need to be addressed.

One unresolved issue is what actions should be taken when "marital rape and sexual crimes" occurs by military personnel. Along with correcting the "corrupt and poorly trained police forces and a shift in entrenched cultural attitudes".

Working towards making a change

Most organizations against rape in India say that the best way to prevent rape is to advocate women’s rights. By changing attitudes toward woman and promoting their rights they are less likely to be raped.  Many organizations are using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to help get their word out there.  Organizations that are using Facebook include India against rape, Yuvacracy Woman, and Volunteers for a BetterIndia. Advocates against rape and for woman’s rights post their opinions on these pages to help further the word, promote just for woman.

  The Volunteers for a Better India was founded along with the Art of Living Foundation and Times Foundation. This organization meets with NGO’s to promote woman’s rights, fight against corruption, and speak out against rape.  They hold candle light protests as part of their efforts to get the word out.