With a slew of molestation and sexual harassment incidents being caught on camera in the city, cries for arresting the culprits are getting louder.
But the road to justice is clearly long, going by data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The 2015 Crime in India report reveals that Karnataka is languishing nearly at the bottom when it comes to conviction in cases of sexual harassment.
Of the 4,302 cases that went to the court (5,112 FIRs were registered) in 2015, just 69 ended in conviction. The conviction rate, a meagre 1.6 per cent, is well below the national average of 12.5 per cent for cases involving assault on women with intent to outrage modesty. Among comparable States, only West Bengal has a lower conviction rate.
Even the report of the Expert Committee on Prevention of Atrocities Against Women and Children, under the chairmanship V.S. Ugrappa, presented last year pegged conviction rate in sexual abuse cases at a mere 3 per cent in Karnataka.
The problem, say legal experts, lies with the police. “The FIR is an eyewash. By the time the charge sheet is filed, the case is further diluted. Take the Kammanahalli case. The girl was dragged and pushed on the road. Attempt to murder should have been slapped on the accused. The accused were also stalking her. The charge of stalking, which is a serious one, has been excluded from the FIR. How can you expect the court to convict?" says Pramila Nesargi, a senior advocate.
Alok Mohan, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), said there are many reasons for the low conviction rate, but the FIR is not one of them. “Police file sections based on the statement given by the victim. Based on this statement, police book the relevant sections,” he said.
Reporting the issue
The sexual assaults on women on December 31 have triggered a series of posts and comments on social media where women have shared their own experience in the city. The testimonies, many hope, will lead to greater reporting of such crimes.
Padmalatha Ravi, a wife and a mother, posted a video where she talks about the three times she was molested. "Women need to come out to discuss this, not just with their female friends, but also men and their family. I have been able to process the incidents, understand that I was not to be blamed for them and also learnt to talk about it. Others need to learn too.”
To break the patriarchal notion that clothes warrant the harassment, Jasmeen Pateja, founder of Blank Noise, has started a campaign where women give garments worn during incidents of harassment. This will be collected for an exhibition called ‘I never ask for it’.
