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Unit 26: Family Problems: Violence in Families, Desertion and Divorce

The major crimes against women are as follows: Notes

Rape
According to section 376 of the Indian Penal code, rape is a punishable offence and the culprit
could be awarded life imprisonment. According to this section, a man is termed as a rapist when
he gets into the act of intercourse with a woman, without her consent or against her consent or
threatening her of death. The manace of rape is found everywhere, but such incidents are less
in India, compared to the West. In case of rape, it is not possible to know the exact number of
all the cases, as only a few are reported to the police. It is believed that compared to the official
statistics, the actual number of such cases is more than five times higher. According to a survey
in London, of the 1236 women, one out of every six was a victim of rape of the remaining five,
one fought back. Of all the rape cases, half were committed at woman’s place and half at the
rapist place (home). Most of the rape victims wished to forget about it. They were reluctant to go
for medical checkup and get the investigation done by police and court because the procedure of
law is long and tedious. The questions put by the lawyer also cause hurt to the victim. The court
attendance causes a sense of fear and she has to confront the culprit in court. The court too, does
not prosecute the rape accused merely on the basis of evidences provided by the victim; She has
to provide other evidences too, which are difficult to materialise. Bhanwari Bai who worked
at an ‘Aanganwadi’ (day care centre) in Rajasthan was raped by some men, but due to the lack
of sufficient proof, no strict action could be taken against the accused. Similarly, the women
protestors, who were protesting in Delhi for the establishment of Uttarakhand, were raped by
policemen, but no strict action was taken against the accused. It is a daunting task to materialize
evidence that the rape had actually been committed. To identify the rapist and prove that the
incident occurred without the consent of the woman is a tough task. For the crime (rape) com-
mitted in a deserted place and at night, it is all the move difficult to collect evidences.
An act of forced intercourse by the husband is not legally defined as ‘rape’ because it is consid-
ered the resulting factor of marriage. If a man rapes his wife during the separation period, that is
before the divorce, then too, it is not termed as rape. In marriage, rape is not considered illegal or
an offence. In some Western countries like Canada, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, if a married
man rapes his wife, it is said to be an offence.

Self Assessment
Fill In the Blanks:
1. It is believed that compared to the official statistics, the number of actual rape cases are
more than _____________ .
2. Most of the rape victims wished to forget that _____________ .
3. The court too, does not _____________ the rape accused on the basis of the rape victims she
has to provide other evidences too.

The facts related to rape are as follows:
1. Most of the rape victims were from poor family background.
2. The working women are raped by their office boss.
3. The labour women working in factories are raped by their owners.
4. In hospitals, Patients are raped by the hospital staff.
5. The female in-mates (Prisoners) in jail are raped by the jail employees.
6. Women indulged in immoral acts and those found in suspicious state are raped by
policemen.
7. Insane, physically challenged, hearing and speech impaired, begging women are also raped.

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