Strong Sexual Assault Act is the need of the hour 

Courage of the people and cowardice of the rulers was writ large in the national capital today as thousands of protestors defied Section 144 and all the barriers and tricks of the Police to demand justice for crime against women. A wave of shock, grief and anger has swept the country over the last one week. A brave and unfortunate girl, fighting for her life, has become the national symbol of women's insecurity and their determination. Thousands of outraged citizens, women and men gathered outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday and around India Gate on Sunday to register their anguish and demand immediate action. Instead of action against such heinous crime, they got tear gas shells, water canons and lathis.  Political establishment, that was praising the police till yesterday, now wants to get away by finding some scapegoats and offering a load of empty assurances. These tricks are not going to fool the protesters, for they know from their experience that this government can go back on any promise as soon as popular pressure is released.

The assurances offered by the Government and the rhetoric of the Opposition fails to carry any conviction with the people. While all women of this country, urban or rural, rich or poor, struggle with various forms of harassment and assault, this question does not figure on the agenda of all these parties.  A woman is raped every 22nd minute somewhere in this country. The capital of the country threatens to become the rape capital of the country, with more than one thousand registered cases of rape in the last two years, besides many more times cases that never make it to the police register. As yet, not a single of these cases of the last two years has reached the stage of conviction. The government has been fiddling for long with the Sexual Assault Bill to replace the archaic rape laws in the country. The Central and all state governments have brazenly refused to follow the Supreme Court's direction on police reforms that could insulate the police from undue political interference and make it accountable to the people. All this while these rulers go on to deploy a big chunk of police force for VIP security as a status symbol. Girls and women, boys and men are out on the street not only to demand justice for the victim of the latest episode but to demand justice for all forms of violence against women – teasing, harassment, molestation, domestic violence, rape and assault of any other kind.  

 

We believe that this spontaneous and unprecedented popular protest must not go in vain. This outpouring of public sentiment on an issue long neglected by the political establishment must result in something concrete, something constructive, something that would make women of this country safer. We appeal to the protestors to maintain the peaceful and democratic character of this protest, despite grave provocation from police forces. We call upon this spontaneous movement to guard against miscreants whose irresponsible action may provide the establishment with the excuse that they have been looking for.

 

We propose the following agenda for consideration of this popular upsurge:

1.    The parliament must immediately enact the Sexual Assault Bill (currently pending before Lok Sabha) either through a special session of the parliament or an ordinance. This Bill provides for 

·         Wider definition of sexual assault which would cover a case like the present one

·         Stricter punishment for all forms of sexual assault, leaving no scope for the judge to reduce the punishment.

·         Strict provisions and special penalty for sexual assault on women under custody.

2.    The following additional provisions must be added to the Sexual Assault Bill 

·         Time Bound Investigation of every case of sexual assault with penalty for delay or negligence.

·         Fast track courts and day to day hearing so that sexual assault cases reach the stage of verdict within 3 months.

·         Immediate relief, legal and medical assistance, and long term rehabilitation measures for the survivors of sexual assault.

·         These provisions should apply to lakhs of pending rape and assault cases all over the country.

 

3.    Wide ranging Police Reforms must be implemented as directed by Supreme Court in 2006 (Prakash Singh others Vs Union of India and others). These include

·         Constituting a State Security Commission

·         Constituting an independent police complain authority

·         Insulating the selection and promontions of police personnel and officals from political favouritism 

·         Separating investigating police from law & order police

·         Making police accountable to local people

Aam Aadmi Party salutes this democratic upsurge and stands with the people in this historic movement to hold their rulers accountable. Its activists and supporters extend support to aam aadmi in this protest.