An > online conversation among citizens on the issue of court-directed mediation in a rape case witnessed sharp opinions ranging from rape being a non-compoundable offence, to the inherent patriarchy that women face on a daily basis, to the precedent that this judgement would set.
Following The Hindu ’s report on Wednesday on the Madras High Court judge P. Devadass who ordered a rape convict to opt for mediation talks with the victim, this newspaper's website conducted a live chat with several readers and experts pitching in on Thursday.
Sudha Ramalingam, Chennai-based advocate and social activist and several concerned citizens debated the judgment.
Stating that the judge had “exceeded his brief,” Ms. Ramalingam said, “Endorsing ADR [Alternative Dispute Redressal] in case of rape undermines the seriousness of the offence and opens out opportunities for those accused to buy their way out, or worse, marry their way out of jail.”
The notion that a rape victim’s life is “over” after the crime was also addressed as a commenter said, “This idea of the victim's life being ruined forever is accepted as an a priori truth by everyone. People need to realise that it is we as a society who are making it infinitely harder for rape victims to lead a normal life just by saying such things and adopting such an attitude.”
Other participants included Vasundhara Sirnate, head of research at The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, and reporters from the newspaper.
The chat turned out to be extremely popular and saw the engagement of over 10,000 visitors. The Hindu thanks its readers for enthusiastically participating in the debate.
