Vigilantism and revenge for rape does nothing to help victims, these are no substitute for the law

The anger against abusers and rapist/murderers is understandable. But public rage cannot be allowed to spill over into the realm of people taking the law into their own hands.

Each rape case that we hear of now appears to involve extreme brutality, often resulting in the death of the victim. If the 2012 Delhi gangrape shocked us, the Rohtak case, the one in Kerala and several others, some involving infants, have further numbed us. And the idea of vengeance and retribution is understandable. But even so, it is appalling that the Andhra Pradesh chairperson of the Women’s Commission should say that rapists should be skinned and paraded in public and knives distributed to college girls to protect themselves. “When some men behave like wild animals and resort to such atrocious acts, I think there is a need to equip girls with knives. A law is needed for this,” she said.

Many women refrain from filing cases for fear of further isolation and threats. If these are addressed effectively, then half the battle is won. (Mond Zakir/HT Photo)

Earlier, after a woman in Kerala bobbitised her rapist after years of sexual abuse, she was commended for this by the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other politicians. The anger against abusers and rapist/murderers is understandable. But public rage cannot be allowed to spill over into the realm of people taking the law into their own hands. If this is allowed, then there is very little counter to the ugly vigilantism we are witnessing today. Suggesting that young women carry knives puts them in greater danger of the would-be rapist seizing the weapon and using it on the victim. There is no getting away from better policing, a more enabling environment for the victim to file charges in time and for the law to kick in without delay. Today, we see rape victims wait for years, reliving their trauma in the courts, in the hope of justice.