India gets tough on sexual assault

by Simon Denyer

India has dramatically tightened its laws on sexual assault and trafficking, rushing through a far-reaching package of measures to satisfy public opinion after the horrific gang rape of a young woman in December.

Women’s groups complained that the government had not gone far enough, particularly because it neither outlawed marital rape nor dealt with the legal impunity that members of the armed forces have. But other activists said the new measures, which imposed much stricter penalties for a range of crimes, marked one of the most significant changes to laws protecting India’s women.

Parliament is in recess, so the changes were pushed through in an ordinance that was approved by the cabinet on Friday and signed into law on Sunday. The measures go into effect immediately, but Parliament must ratify them within six months.

“This shows the intention of the government to take the issue very seriously," said Bhuwan Ribhu, an activist who has spent the past decade fighting trafficking and child labour.

A high-level committee led by retired chief justice J. S. Verma was set up after nationwide protests over the rape of the 23-year-old woman in New Delhi and her subsequent death. The panel recommended sweeping changes to Indian law and governance. The government has accepted many of the recommendations.

In particular, India’s rape law has been changed to allow for tough penalties for all types of sexual assault. In the past, rape was defined as penetration only, and anything short of that fell under the ambit of criminal assault on a woman with “intent to outrage her modesty", an offence that carried a light penalty. That provision was almost never enforced, leaving women vulnerable to, for example, groping on public transport by men.

Separate offences with strict punishments have been introduced for stalking, voyeurism, stripping a woman or carrying out an acid attack. For the first time, trafficking has been outlawed, with stiff penalties for traffickers and those employing people who have been trafficked.

The Australian Financial Review