AN OVERVIEW OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN- BY P.SUGANTHI

INTRODUCTION 

Sexual violence is one of the most venomous problems that the society facing today All laws are only in the papers not applicable in the reality. The sexual violence is happening from long back and still it is continuing. Countless cases and countless womens are affected but still there is nothing surprise happen against all these tyrannical and truculent incidents. Even though women achieved 33% but still women are looking as weaker sex in the society. There is not at all end to the male chauvnism, women are only prey to these arrogant inhumane male dominated society.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE 

Women are more likely to be sexually harassed than men and experienced sexual harassment at higher frequencies. Women are to be given utmost respect they should be treated equally but all these are only in the words but not from bottom of heart. Sexual violence not only form of physical attack, but there is mental and emotional attack too. The Constitution of India guarantees equal rights to women but where it has gone? Sexual violence is a criminal offence there are severe punishment in Indian Penal Code but not implying all those punishment very stringently. Many women not complaining about these issues because of family pride, shame, hesitation and how the society will treat them. There is no age category for committing violence against women. Even Children's are suffered by such brutal activities of perpetrators. Children’s are treated as equal to God but how could they involve such brutal activities against children’s. Child abuse become more vulnerable today. These are all happening because of dominance and most of the abuse are happening based on caste dominance. Where do the men get such a courage to involve brutal activities against women. There is always gender biased in committing offence, comparatively women are affected more than men as all we were witnessing in the present world. 

SEXUAL VIOLENCE LAWS

Sexual harassment 

It is defined under section 354A of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The very nature of working environment brings into picture the aspect of power which has pervaded accounts of sexual harassment. At last, the feminist scholars has characterized as sexual harassment within patterns of discrimination and privilege thereby relating the phenomenon of sex-based inequality. This discrimination is showcased into vulnerable victim and it is power-threat. This type of sexual harassment can be defined as quid pro quo sexual harassment (this for that). The leading case in sexual harassment was Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1997 SC 3011, which was a gangrape on the discrimination of gender biased at the workplace. Rajasthan state government employee Bhanwari Devi who tried to prevent child marriage as a part of her duties as a worker of the women development programwas was raped by the landlords of the gujjar community. She belonged to a poor community so they had guts to teach her lesson and she raped repeatedly. Then the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Women Act 2013 was enacted. 

Voyeurism

It is defined under section 354C of IPC even watching and capturing image of woman by perpetrator is also a kind of abuse. 

Human Trafficking 

It is defined under section 370 of IPC legal prostituting should not be legalized because it leads to increase human trafficking with lack of interest.

Rape

It is defined under section 375 of IPC. There are countless rape cases and till it does not comes to end which is faced by woman and the society daily at any corner of our country. At present many of the youngsters involving with such activities because of pornography and with someother network attitudes. There are so many rarest of rare rape cases but there is no rarest of rare punishment for rape till of the day. Because law is not to kill anybody only to correct this was a big advantage for the repeat offenders. Sex education must need to overcome these offences, While the youngsters watching obscene videos and images and reading about sexual activity they are instigated to commit offence. Only few of them were complaining about it and most of the woman not complaining because of shame and family pride. Most of the rapist committing rape on the basis of caste dominant because the lower caste people cannot question the higher caste because of threat from higher authority people. Another landmark case would be Mathura rape, a 16 year minor girl was rapped by two police men. The family members logged complaint to the police station of missing girl. But the two police men rapped the minor girl. The main motive of the offence was that the girl belonged to schedule tribes (adhivasi) and the offender's were in authority. There is also a loopholes in law the great example is the nirbaya case the famous Delhi gang rape case which happened in 2012, but the justice granted in 2018, executed in 2020, even the evidence was in hand, “Justice delayed is justice denied”. The pain of the women is more than while she raped when she don’t get justice. Most of the rapist are in authority if the victim go against the offender’s they using their power and kill the victim.

Child sexual abuse

It is the most vulnerable offence. Three types of child sexual abuse 1. Sexual assault (using minor for the purpose of sexual gratification (rape) 2. Sexual exploitation (using minor for the purpose of prostituting a child) 3. Sexual grooming (child sex offenders who seeks to make minor more accepting of their advances). The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 has been enacted to protect children from sexual abuse, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of special courts for trail of such offences and related matters and incidents. 

CONCLUSION 

Sexual violence is faced by woman at every nook and corner of our country. The very common things are male chauvnism,dominant and gender based discrimination. Sexual education must needed to overcome sexual violence. Rigorous punishment should be given and women should not be consider as weaker sex. Law is not to kill offenders but to punish them severely.