On the Professional front Anshul is a Published Author with a book Titled "STUCK!"
- Know Your Mangoes - June 24, 2019
- #Men Too - June 18, 2019
On the top left corner of today’s Sunday Times was a small story which caught me wondering. The headline read “Spanish Intern raped in Gurgaon”. Now, these were heavy words which though common these days still stimulate anguish in any sane human’s heart. I straightened the newspaper with a forceful jerk and narrowed my eyes. As I continued to read my senses continued to ease from Prejudice. Apparently, the headline didn’t do complete justice to the whole scenario. A more apt one could have read “Spanish Girl accuses Man of Rape” or “Spanish Girl presses charges against Man for Rape” or any other which would abide more by the procedure of Law. The Girl while speaking to the police had confessed that she had wilfully gone to the Party (where the incident took place) and was also involved in an intimate moment with the concerned individual wherein the couple had kissed on mutual consent. However, as it turned out the girl wanted to keep it limited to the kiss but the Man got carried away and ended up raping her. Agreed, if this version is true the man should be dealt with the harshest punishment in the business. But, first that individual needs to be heard out. Maybe it didn’t happen this way. Maybe, the guy was blackmailed after consensual sex, for that would also provide medical proof of the incident.
Back in School we had a Principal who had proposed to introduce the subject of Sex Education for classes of eight standard and above. The guy had his own personality which some thought was a bit weird. Soon the word was spread around and students were found chuckling on the back of the Principal for the idea of teaching Sex Education in school. Students were not Prudent but the teachers were and it was a surprise when most of them were found discussing the issue in front of students and in a manner which invited intense dislike to the proposal. The Principal had his say and soon he started taking classes wherein he appraised young boys and girls about the hormonal changes of the tender age and the importance of guiding the force in the right direction. Honestly, the atmosphere in the classroom was a bit uncomfortable while he taught and although he took only one lecture a week the hangover from his class lasted enough for some exciting recess stories throughout the week. Then one day as we stood in the Morning assembly there were whispers around. Soon, the news was out that the Principal had Raped one of the school maids. He had been arrested from his small apartment in the school premises where the incident was reported to have occurred. “That guy surely was a Pervert” I had heard one of the girls saying. The whole school had their own versions of how he would have carried out the act. About a week later he was released with the Maid and her husband who worked as a construction worker in the school premises having confessed to their crimes of Robbery, Cheating and Blackmail. The Principal was innocent. The backdrop of him teaching Sex Education in school and his overall personality of talking freely about things which were considered Taboo were exploited well by a couple. He was trapped and he escaped maybe because he had an association behind him or maybe because that woman who accused him was not educated enough to play the plot right. This might not be the case always and with everyone.
In another recent case which actually sparked up the Term #MenToo in India Actor Karan Oberoi was accused by a 34 year old woman who claimed to be an astrologer of rape and extortion. As the actor’s family along with friends from the television and film industry began protests defending him and as social media was flooded with hash tags of ‘MenToo’ another complaint was filed by Oberoi’s accuser. She had now accused four unknown men of assaulting her on her early morning walk. The men who she claimed to be Karan’s acquaints allegedly threatened her to withdraw her complaint against the actor or else face an acid attack. The police soon arrested these four men and during investigation one of them was found to be the cousin of the woman’s own lawyer Ali Kaasif Khan. The Lawyer was also arrested. In a statement, he confessed that it was the lady who had planned the assault on herself. Of course, she denied the charges. As the Lady and the Lawyer played a passing of Parcel of accusations the court soon deciphered the whole conspiracy and granted bail to the Actor. The Woman was also arrested and booked under IPC Section 182/203 & 120B for false information and Criminal conspiracy respectively. As it was brought out, she had staged the attack on self in consultation with her Lawyer. Karan Oberoi has been granted Bail but the case is still pending and will stay like that for no one knows how many Months. In the mean time the social media has been flooded by Memes against the actors and his personal and professional life has been shattered. If the actor is found ‘Not Guilty’ in the case, is there a way that this lost time and emotional trauma can be compensated?
What do the Statistics Say?
According to the National Crime Records Bureau publication “Crime in India” for the year 2016 there were a total of 36209 Rape cases (not including Stalking and Sexual harassment) solved during the year. Out of these 2421 cases were rendered “False” and in 249 cases it was just “Mistake of Fact” (The data can be found at http://ncrb.gov.in). Considering the numbers it makes a staggering 7.5% of false allegation rate. Those are 7 lives out of 100 spoiled, characters disfigured if not ruined forever. Then there are families, the Kids who are looked down upon in schools and their traumatised childhood.
Another data which this Statistic does not include is the number of cases which were withdrawn after accusation and the out of court settlements. A Delhi Commission of Women Report brings out that the total number of false cases filed in the capital between August 13 to July 14 was a staggering 53.2%. The report was obviously turned down by women activists stating that the report was collated by taking into account all the cases which were dropped before reaching the court. The Jaipur Police also recorded an alarming high in the false rape cases in 2016. According to a Report from Jaipur Police released in 2016 out of 276 solved rape cases in the year, 43% turned out to be False.
What Causes False Accusations?
If the nature of False accusations is studied it comes down to four broad categories.
- Material Gain
- Unsuccessful Relationships/Failing to keep the Promise of Marriage
- Consensual sex criminalised by Parents
- Mental Illness
- Revenge
- Producing an Alibi
According to the National Crime Records Bureau publication “Crime in India” for the year 2016 out of the 38,947 Rape cases reported in the year only 2,088 cases were such in which the accused was not known to the victim. What this highlights is that the percentage of ‘Stranger Rape’ is of the order of 5.3% (which in no terms in Low and should not be neglected). This figure though when compared to 10,068 rape cases wherein the accused was known to the victim on Promise of Marriage looks low on the scale. In fact, the categories of Unsuccessful Relationships (Live In Partner/ Ex or Separated Husband) and Failing to keep the Promise of Marriage gives rise to 10,625 cases out of the total of 38,947 rape cases filed in the year. This means that almost 27% of the total cases had consensual sex involved at some point in the relationship between the accused and the proclaimed Victim.
Another very interesting observation was brought about in 2013 by data Journalist Rukmani Shrinivasan who worked with The Hindu. She studied a total of 460 cases that went to a full trial in Delhi district courts in 2013 and compared the initial complaint made to police with what happened in court. She founded that more than one third of the 460 cases involved young people who had engaged in consensual sex outside marriage until their parents found out and used the criminal justice system to end the relationship. “File a case against him so that he gets scared and has to Marry you. You have lost your virginity as such, no man would accept you” seems to be a clause ringing in the Parents’ mind blinded with Orthodox and Customs. There was a definite trend in all these reports which made Shrinivasan believe that they were rigged stories which generally involved relationships that were considered taboo.
“I was repeatedly seeing stories of women being picked up in moving cars, being given a cold drink laced with sedatives which would render them unconscious, and then they would be raped,” she said.
“But when I started reading more and more cases I realised that there are patterns to how complaints are filed. So this sedative-laced drink becomes important because it is necessary to show that consent was not given.”
Unjust Laws?
After the Horrifying Nirbhaya Rape case of 2012 in Delhi the government had to take some quick steps to control the roaring mass movement of anguish and resentment. What followed was “The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Nirbhaya Act). While most think that the law classifies everything and anything as rape, the same is not true. The law surely extended the definition of Rape to more broader horizons, which I do not intend to elaborate at this juncture. Several new categories under “Crime against Women” were introduced which include Voyeurism, Stalking, Sexual Harassment, Act of intent to Disrobe and Acid Attack. Out of these all but one (Acid Attack) protects only Women making them Gender Biased. What this means is that Women can commit and escape the exactly same crime for which they are protected by Law against men. Ever been Stalked by a Woman Guys?
Consequences of False Allegations
If you are with me till now you would agree that there is something called as “False Rape Accusation” that is going around in the society and though fighting and curbing the offence of Rape still remains our primary focus, a little attention should also be paid to this Subset which is ruining many lives every passing year. If we fail to do so there are certain consequences we will have to be content with in the near future
Injustice to Actual Rape Victims: With everything said and done one fact remains, that there are rarely any people who are falsely accused and end up in Jail. With the increase in the reporting and escalation of False Rape Cases by the Media which emerges contradictory to the final Judicial judgement the Judiciary and the Society will eventually recognise it. This can lead to the easing of Laws and also the overall interpretation from experience by the Judiciary thereby paving ways and means for actual criminals to find loop holes in the system.
Creation of an atmosphere of Fear and Social Tension in the Coming Generations : You wake up on a Sunday morning and sit with a hot cup of tea with your family in front of the Television to grab the Day’s headlines. What is the first thing you hear? “Rape here” “Rape There”, “A two year old Raped”, “A five Month Old Raped” back to back 100 news in 60 seconds in which more than half are of a Minor getting Raped. Your six year old daughter sits there gaping at the Television. What is she thinking? Is the question of her own safety swirling around in her mind? She glances at you and you give her a “Don’t-Worry-Daddy-Will-Keep-You-Safe” look and swap your mood with a music channel instead. Later in the day you check the internet and do some research. It reveals that out of total number of Rape cases filed in 2016 the crime against girls of below 12 years is 5.4 % (Which of course is sad), a figure very indifferent from what is screamed out on the television every day. The Act of Media escalating the issues of Rape left right and centre without any proof of occurrence just to spike TRPs has had an impact on the mental state of the young generation. Instead of making them Aware, News anchors shouting at the top of their voices in your living rooms have made them Sacred.
Hate Rape Not Men
Not many understand that for every educated man who enters alone in a lift with a strange person of the opposite sex the situation is as uncomfortable as the lady, maybe more. I check out the CCTV every time I get caught in such a scenario. With the new laws, it is not mandatory for the Woman to go under a medical examination for making a Rape accusation. What if the lady in the lift asks me for my Wallet and when I refuse she starts shouting, accusing me of Rape? Forget the Police, forget the CCTV and the Court, the Public around after we exit the lift would beat me up so badly that I would have to spend a few days in the hospital. Leave apart the numerous explanations I would owe to my wife and friends. In this case my extra cautiousness may have a Psychological link attributed to the incident which happened with the school Principal during my adolescence but the fact remains. Men in today’s world are easy targets. Money can be and has been extorted from individuals and there have been cases wherein the person has paid for it just to secure his social image which he has built over years and cannot afford for it to shatter.
YES we need to fight Rape, we need to get the Guilty ones the harshest of the Punishment possible (which in my opinion should be nothing less than Capital Punishment), we must educate our children well to not commit and be secure from this heinous crime of Rape. We must create social awareness in society to an extent that the term Rape vanishes from Vocabulary. But all this cannot be at the cost of Men been Staged of false allegations with their lives, families and careers spoiled. We do not want to get into a scenario where the young generation of Men and Women are scared of falling into relationships with the eternal bond of trust broken.
We, the Media, The Government, the Educational Institutions and Society as a whole should all Hate Rape and Not make it synonymous to the word Men.
Let’s hope there are no more incidents and no more scenarios in which we have to get to the streets and social media with the term “#MenToo”
(Disclaimer: The above Article focuses on the topic of False Rape Allegations alone. It is no way promotes Male Dominance, Misogamy nor the Crime of Rape itself. The author in no way justifies the cruel act of Rape or any other misbehaviour against Women)