India is one of the most dangerous
places in the world for women,
and even young girls.
That perpetrator, that man, didn’t even spare a child!
What they did to me was wrong.
They both raped me.
Despite stronger laws and global outrage,
sexual violence is on the rise.
Most perpetrators face little to no consequences.
In big cities like Kolkata,
protests are growing.
But in rural areas, cases of rape,
including those involving children,
are often buried in silence,
left without justice.
When I asked the police to write "rape" in my
daughter's report,
they refused.
They wouldn’t listen to me.
I'm visiting Madhya Pradesh,
a state in central India that consistently reports
high rates of sexual violence against minors, especially girls,
year after year.
In a small town located in the countryside,
I’m meeting with the women of this household.
To ensure privacy,
we’ve changed the names of victims and their families
in this report.
But not those of perpetrators.
The mother of 6-year-old Masoom tells me,
a man from the neighboring village raped her daughter.
I was cooking, and her grandmother
was washing the dishes.
We didn’t hear a thing.
My daughter was reading an Urdu lesson in the shop,
and playing,
just like she did every day.
She came inside, crying,
and told us a man had come and taken her pajamas off.
She was bleeding profusely from her private parts.
We understood what had happened.
The man had threatened to kill her, if she made any noise.
The incident devastated the family.
My daughter is so innocent and smart,
yet this happened to her.
She was admitted to the hospital for over two weeks.
She’s now scared to be near her father, as well.
She doesn’t sleep next to him.
Is she scared of men?
Yes, she fears men and boys now.
That perpetrator, that man,
didn’t even spare a child!
This is a busy street,
people live right across the way!
We never imagined something like this could happen here.
Masoom's grandmother, Sultana, is concerned about
the lasting impact this traumatic event
will have on her granddaughter.
She used to be an active and happy child.
She was charming, and full of life.
That joy and brightness have vanished from her face
since the incident.
She doesn’t eat.
Or whatever little she does eat,
is not making her strong.
I want no other daughter’s life
to be destroyed
the way he destroyed hers.
Masoom’s rapist, 27-year-old Ramgopal,
was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment
under POCSO:
the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
This framework was established
to fast track the trial and punishment
of the offender.
The maximum punishment is the death penalty,
if the victim is under 12.
But it's rarely carried out.
Many accused offenders don't even land in jail.
Chandralekha is 14,
and belongs to the historically- marginalized Dalit community,
the lowest in the caste hierarchy.
She tells us, a powerful upper-caste man
sexually assaulted her.
I was returning home from selling tea one evening.
That’s when he stopped me and forced me to go with him.
Afterwards, I left and ran away.
According to rights groups, Dalit women are frequently targeted
by upper-caste men,
who harass them,
knowing there will be few, if any, consequences.
Researchers have found that rape is sometimes used
as a weapon against Dalit women, to assert dominance.
Chandralekha’s father is now facing intimidation.
I am under a lot of pressure.
I have not bowed to it.
I’m fighting back.
They are threatening to kill me.
The rapist said to me:
"I am upper caste, and you are at the bottom."
He uses a lot of casteist slurs.
He said:
"You are lower caste, and we will make sure you suffer."
I said: " Do what you will."
A 2020 report found that law enforcement,
often staffed by upper-caste men,
frequently ignore crimes committed
against Dalit women.
In Chandralekha’s case, the police allegedly instructed her family to
file a harassment complaint, instead of one for rape.
This allowed the accused to obtain bail,
and intimidate her family.
Even if he is tried,
the punishment is likely to be less severe.
Did the police take your testimony and act on it?
When I asked the police to write rape in the report - they refused.
They only arrested him after 15 days,
when I called the women's helpline.
Shortly after, he was released on bail.
Is it because they are not applying the penal code
for rape in the police report?
No, they are not.
They won’t listen to me.
They said:
"Why should we follow your instructions?"
Chandralekha’s mother says their family is facing not only
pressure to settle the case out of court,
but also ostracization from the village.
Survivors of rape are often shamed and stigmatized,
as if it were their fault.
Social isolation is often a consequence.
How has this incident affected you and your family?
Our ration shop got shut down.
Out of fear, we all stay at home,
and do not go to the fields to work.
We sold all our livestock to be able to fund this case.
If we don’t work, what can we afford to eat?
He destroyed my daughter's life.
Chandralekha was always a brilliant student.
But she doesn’t dare go to school anymore.
What punishment do you want for him?
He should be hanged.
Sexual violence in rural areas often fails to make headlines.
But in cities, it can spark massive public outrage,
like in the recent case of the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to take a stand.
As a society, we must think seriously
about the atrocities
against our mothers, daughters, and sisters.
Our country is angry!
Despite statements like this,
allegations of sexual violence against women
concern even members of his own party.
Critics say poor police investigations,
institutional backing for perpetrators,
and delays in the legal system
are agitating the problem.
Nearly 39,000 cases of child rape and penetrative assaults
were reported in 2022.
But most incidents still go unreported.
One of the reasons:
Reporting often isn’t effective.
A study found that only 3% of registered child rape cases
resulted in convictions in 2022.
This local courthouse is tasked with
delivering justice for child rape cases.
Lawyers sit at these makeshift desks.
Although the court is supposed to fast-track such cases within a year,
it is overwhelmed by the sheer volume of
other legal matters on its docket.
Vaibhav Bhatnagar is a defense lawyer, who works here.
This is a rural area, so there’s often a tendency to compromise.
In cases of rape or sexual assault, the families are threatened with
force, or pressured by money.
That is why the conviction rates are low.
And there’s only one session judge,
who looks at all these different cases.
So, dates are few and far between,
and it hampers a speedy trial.
Long, drawn-out court trials scare families.
Like in the case of 15-year-old Sarita who was abducted,
held captive, and gang-raped.
What they did to me was wrong.
They both raped me.
They took away my phone, so I could not call my brother.
Sarita’s brother helped the police find the perpetrators.
But the road to getting justice for his sister is daunting.
I have to go in whenever the police call, for every small step.
A signature here, a statement there.
Now the police say it will take at least a year
before punishment.
I make only ₹50,000, or about €535 per year.
I’m the only earning member of the family.
If I stay home, who will make money?
At the root of the rape crisis,
are patriarchal attitudes that consider women to be
subordinate to men,
says Monika Singh.
She’s a local police officer,
who started an initiative to raise awareness about
sexual crimes.
Today she’s at a school, talking to adolescent boys.
When a crime happens, we question the girl:
she must have worn such clothes,
she must have ventured out late at night.
That’s what happens, right?
So, who finds themselves blaming her?
Is that your mindset?
We have to get it into our heads
that women are equal to men.
And we must respect them as equally as men.
We tell them which crime leads to which punishment.
So, that fear should stop them from committing crime.
We also tell them that their gender does not put them ahead of girls.
Nor does it put girls behind.
She also gives talks to girls.
He will first stare at you.
Then, he might try to touch you.
If you remain silent,
he will feel like he can do more.
She empowers schoolgirls to speak up.
We can defend ourselves.
We should learn some self-defense, like karate.
Many girls are scared to report due to stigma from society,
that it will bring a bad name to us, and our family.
If there’s harassment, we should report it, so that it stops there,
and doesn’t lead to a grave crime.
Family or neighbors would often say it's our fault.
But now we stare back at the harassers,
so they start looking down.
In a nearby town, these social activists take to the streets to
perform plays centered around sexual violence.
One goal is to challenge men’s thinking.
What can you do alone?
This is a man’s world!
What can you do alone?
I will fight!
I will fight for my daughter and get her justice.
The first time they witness our play, it’s strange for them.
Because generally, they like to hush-up any talk about rape.
But by the end of the play,
they understand that speaking up is the right thing to do,
and they should apply it to their lives.
Does "masculinity" mean
standing up for women’s rights -
or against them?
A better society, a better nation,
can only be created, when everyone’s
daughters and sisters are protected.
There’s no doubt: This is a huge challenge.
Even so, they will keep striving
to try and make India a safer place,
for Masoom,
Chandralekha,
Sarita,
and thousands of other girls like them.
