Indian crusaders fighting for women's rights have reasons to feel happy as a number of changes have been introduced in the laws revolving around rape. Read them here.
Indian crusaders fighting for women’s rights have reasons to feel happy, as a number of changes have been introduced in laws, helping rape victims return to normal life.
According to a latest news report, the two-finger test to establish rape is finally a closed chapter in India. Besides negating the need for this test, the 25th edition of MODI- A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, a much used textbook for medical students, also introduces changes to make doctors more sensitive to rape cases.
Broadening the scope of sexual abuse by including people with alternate sexual orientations, sex workers and children is a progressive step and will definitely help in mitigating the trauma rape victims go through.
Rape often distorts victim’s sense of personal security and self-dignity. In such a bleak scenario, it becomes very important for survivors of rape to feel emotionally secure. Doctors and authorities should behave in a very sensitive way in order to thwart any further humiliation.
Firstly, the interrogation session with the victim should take place in the presence of a family member whom the victim can trust. Secondly, the questions should be framed in a way that doesn’t augment victim’s discomfort level. Thirdly, pressing charges against the assailant can go a long way in making the victim feel secure about herself.
Friends and relatives can play a pivotal role in instilling confidence and helping the victim get back to her normal life. Other pragmatic steps like seeking help from NGOs and other support groups can ameliorate the victim’s condition. They prove particularly helpful as they provide a safe avenue for her to sort out her feelings with others who have similar experiences. Long-term mental health therapy is also useful.
The attitude of the society towards the victim plays a big role in how the victim copes with the ordeal. Relentless taunts revolving around her character, attempts to raise the topic in the presence of the victim, and efforts to alienate the victim from the festivities and larger society can emotionally paralyze the victim.
If victims of natural disasters or road accident are accepted by the society, why don’t we broaden our horizon enough to help victims of rape regain their space in the society?
Image Source – Shutterstock
read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, indivisual posts do not necessarily represent the platofrom's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Somewhere in the endless quest for perfect skin, glossy hair, six pack abs, fitting in with the current fashion trends and presenting a flawless self to the world, we lose ourselves.
Truth is beauty and beauty is truth. Penned beautifully by the great John Keats, eons ago. Cut to modern times: beauty is as far from truth as possible.
In her book 'Devil's Daughter', Vidhie Mukerjea writes about the arrest of her mother Indrani Mukerjea for alleged murder of sister Sheena Bora which gripped the entire nation & created havoc in her life!
In her book ‘Devil’s Daughter’, Vidhie Mukerjea writes about the arrest of her mother Indrani Mukerjea for alleged murder of sister Sheena Bora which gripped the entire nation & created havoc in her life!
On the eve of her 18th birthday Vidhie Mukerjea returned from school excited to celebrate with her family and friends. Instead, she walked into a house full of cops and watched as her mother Indrani Mukerjea was arrested for a crime she couldn’t ever fathom.
Most women are anxious about their first pelvic exam at a gynaecologist's. What happens? How does it feel? What are the doctors like? Find out.
Most women are anxious about their first pelvic exam at a gynaecologist’s. What happens? How does it feel? What are the doctors like? Find out.
I did not see an OB/GYN till I was 27, in the US. I wanted to get a PAP test done. I knew a swab of the cervix had to be taken, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. The cold, shiny, metal speculum that the doctor was holding. It looked like an instrument of torture. My husband was with me. He is very good at reading my expressions and immediately held my hand to comfort me, but even a stranger could have decoded that look of terror on my face.
Stop being a spectator in your own lives, says the author, and stand up against the misogyny that follows an Indian girl at every point in her life.
Every girl is a princess of her parents, and has dreams to conquer the world. Girls with dreams become women with vision. Until their path gets diverted by someone’s lust. Sadly, such barbaric and heinous mindsets in which an innocent woman is held for personal interests takes away her everything.