Abate Rape Cases

Bini Dahal

In the last eight years, according to Nepal Police, Nepal saw a total of 16,960 rape cases. These figures date from fiscal year 2073/74 up to 2080/81. And during the same time, rape attempts were made on as many as 5,105 women. These are only reported figures. Many more cases related to this heinous crime go unreported across the country.  From a young age, girls and women are mostly protected by their family members. By fixing a curfew time, understanding their friend circles and their day-to-day activities and most importantly tagging along with them for their safety has become a common norm today. This is really a sad reality. 

Even today girls and women are not free from physical and sexual violence. Especially, those who appear more vulnerable are picked by the perpetrators to assault sexually. The issue also extends to our weak societal perception regarding rape, poor judicial system and disregard and absence of support on the part of the police and family members. One of the main reasons behind a significant rise in the number of rape cases is a lack of strong political commitment and effective measures to deal with this problem. 

Nirmala Pant’s case till to date is a matter that cannot be forgotten so easily. A girl so young lost her life and her parents had to suffer mentally so much that this whole incident became very tragic. Just two weeks back, a former Home Minister in the country had announced that the security agencies were in the process of concluding the case. Hopefully, the present government will try its best to bring the perpetrators to justice. The fact that already five years have passed since Nirmala’s death is a shameful matter in itself. 

Over the years, more cases have rattled the country. Yet, we have never learnt a single lesson from them. Rather these cases have now become a common reality of the society. And this cycle has to be stopped at all costs. The law enforcement agencies and the judiciary must work in favour of the rape victims. The security agencies must be empowered to handle rape cases with sensitivity and professionalism. The rape perpetrators must be given harsh punishment. 

At times, looking at the existing legal provisions, the duration of and the light punishment make the whole situation so much worse. 

Also, when will we change our mentality? Our social taboo towards rape and the rape victims make it so much harder. We lack the ability to point and shame the perpetrator. Rather our activities are going in reverse. Why should a rape victim, even after going through so much ordeal has to suffer further from the society? We still have a long way to go. Especially, there are a lot of child minors who do not have much understanding of good and bad touch. Such innocent children are bound to be greater victims of sexual crimes. 

And especially in these cases, perpetrators get easily scot-free also because the victim’s family are ready to come to terms. By disregarding someone’s rights, their thoughts and most importantly their emotions, we are basically causing them to suffer from a life-long trauma. The rape survivors must be provided with necessary medical, psychological and legal support. Also their identity should be safeguarded and they must be shielded from re-victimisation.  And we really need a complete societal and institutional transformation to create a just society in the coming days. Zero tolerance for perpetrators should be the focus.