Insensitive remark

This refers to the report “CBI Director’s rape remark triggers row” (Nov. 13). Already, there has been much debate on the topic and the government has been adequately censured for being very insensitive in matters relating to the frequent and unfortunate occurrences of assault on women. Given this, senior officers should be very cautious in making remarks. In an era where social media are hyperactive, they must remember that they will live to rue the day.

Vathsala Jayaraman,

Chennai

Mr. Ranjit Sinha’s remark on rape have shocked the nation as a whole and those who are struggling every day to try and enable a safer environment for Indian women to live and work in. If the top official of a premier agency can make such an insensitive and distasteful remark, and that too out of context, and then make it worse by trivialising such a crime in an offhand manner, what can we expect from lower rank personnel who are supposed to deal directly with victims of rape? More than the enactment of a battery of laws to protect women, sensitising enforcement authorities to the impact of such crimes on victims is more important.

Rameeza A. Rasheed,

Chennai