8 Violence at the Public Spaces and Workplace (Rape, Sexual Harassment, Street Sexual Abuse)

Sumit Saurabh Srivastava

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Introduction

 

The Module is structured in a way so as to give a basic understanding of violence itself. In doing so, it uses dictionary meaning of the same and subsequently attempts to define it through social scientists. Later on, the issue of Violence Against Women (VAW) and its various forms are discussed in detail. An attempt is also made to locate VAW in the global / international organizations/ conventions framework. The idea is to argue that VAW now has a global presence in terms of initiatives taken to curb it. The Module thereafter shifts to the Indian context and outlines three major manifestations of VAW. These include rape, custodial rape & sexual assault; sexual harassment of women at workplace and corrosive crime against girls and women i.e. acid attacks on women and girls. The Module in conclusion argues that patriarchy and male domination over the female can be seen as the underlying reason of VAW in broader context and Indian in particular.

 

1. Understanding Violence

 

At a very basic level, violence can be understood as any individuals’ behaviour which results in physical harm of the other person or group. Such a behaviour is characterized by aggression and impulse aimed towards other person. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines violence as “the use of physical force to harm someone, to damage property, etc.” Similarly, Oxford Dictionaries define it as “Behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.” In her seminal essay, ‘On Violence’ (1969), Hannah Arendt has outlined basic contours of violence. For her power, strength, force, authority and violence are to be understood in relation with each other. She states that “Violence … is distinguished by its instrumental character. Phenomenologically, it is close to strength” (ibid.: 239). John Galtung has (1969: 167-191)     defined violence in terms of direct and structural violence. Direct violence involves personal injury whereas the structural violence elaborates the any structure of social injustice in any society. Thus we see that the act of violence does not only include the physical harm done to the other but also the mental as well as psychological acts of torture and mental harassment are also included in the same.

 

2. Violence Against Women (VAW)

 

One of the most visible & widely spread forms of violence is Violence Against Women (VAW) which is very specific to women per se. It is because of the person being a women, she suffers from such violence. Some of such VAW include domestic violence, sexual assault, rape & molestation among others. Regards the nature of VAW, DeKeseredy (2011) has distinguished between narrow and broad definitions of VAW. The former emphasize “mainly on physical abuse or sexual assaults involving forced penetration as most common” (2011: 5) whereas the latter highlights “emotional, verbal, and spiritual abuse” (2011: 9). Similarly, Krishnaraj (2007: 90)    has argued that “There are crimes specifically directed against women like rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, prostitution, domestic violence and pornography. The forms may vary between cultures and settings, but what is near universal is male violence far exceeds female violence.” Violence Against Women (VAW) sometimes is also known as Gender-Based Violence (GBV). It refers to violence that targets individuals or groups on the basis of their gender. Gender-based violence and violence against women are often used interchangeably as most gender-based violence is inflicted by men on women and girls. Various manifestations of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as outlined by Schuler (1992: 14) are presented in Table 1.

 

 

3. VAW and Global / International Organizations/ Conventions

 

Any attempt to locate VAW at the global level begins with certain international agreements in the said context. Some of these are Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1979 and the 1993 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. With reference to VAW, CEDAW addresses it especially through General Recommendations 12 and 19. An attempt is being made here to highlight some of its major themes. It was on 18th December 1979, that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Subsequently, it entered into force as an international treaty on 3 September 1981. It has altogether 30 Articles divided into VI parts. In the beginning itself, Article 1 states that “For the purposes of the present Convention, the term ‘discrimination against women’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”

 

The 1993 United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW) effectively defined and outlined its various forms. According to the Declaration, “the term ‘violence against women’ means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” According to United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), “violence against women can include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, and it cuts across boundaries of age, race, culture, wealth and geography. It has many manifestations — from the most universally prevalent forms of domestic and sexual violence, to harmful practices, abuse during pregnancy, so-called honour killings and other types of femicide.” According to World Health Organization (WHO), Violence Against Women (VAW) takes many forms including, intimate partner violence (including physical, sexual & emotional abuse), sexual violence (including conflict-related sexual violence), forced & early marriages, trafficking, female genital mutilation, honour killing etc. A UNESCO publication by Kosambi (1993) defined VAW as “(i) sexual exploitation (forced prostitution, rape, sexual harassment); and (ii) physical assault on women and girls, leading even to deaths, within the family context.” Thus this definition not only includes the public sphere but also looks into the private familial space wherein notions like domestic violence, battered women, marital rape among others. According to Amnesty International, “Violence against women is rooted in the belief that women deserve less social power and it is therefore acceptable – maybe even necessary – to exert power over them. This mindset also drives many other forms of violence, such as racism, homophobia, classism, ageism, and religious persecution.” The Beijing World Conference, 1995 identified VAW as one of its twelve priority areas. In the decade of 2000, the Human Rights Committee (HRS) and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) also focused on VAW and argued for its resolution as soon as possible.

 

4. Violence Against Women (VAW): Indian Context

 

The Constitution of India addresses the issue of VAW through plethora of its mechanisms like Articles 14, 15, 15(3), 16, 39(a), 39(b), 39(c) and 42 among others. At global level, India has also ratified the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993. Some of the crimes specific to women are termed as ‘Crimes Against Women’ and these are identified under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860. These include Rape (Sec. 376 IPC), Kidnapping & Abduction for different purposes (Sec. 363-373), Homicide for Dowry, Dowry Deaths or their attempts (Sec. 302/304-B IPC); Torture, both mental and physical (Sec. 498-A IPC); Molestation (Sec. 354 IPC); Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509 IPC) and Importation of girls (up to 21 years of age) from foreign country (Sec. 366-B IPC). Additionally, the crimes under the Special & Local Laws (SLL) include The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986; and the Commission of Sati Prevention Act, 1987.

 

Table 2 represents various crimes against women during 2009-2013. According to the National Crime Record Bureau Report 2013, there were altogether 33707 incidences of Rape (Sec. 376 IPC), 51881 incidents of Kidnapping & Abduction (Sec. 363-369, 371-373 IPC), 8083 incidences of Dowry Deaths (Sec. 304B IPC), 118866 incidences of Cruelty By Husband or his Relatives (Sec. 498A IPC), 70739 incidences related to Assault on Women with intent to outrage her modesty (Sec. 354 IPC), 12589 incidences related to Insult to the modesty of Women (Sec. 509 IPC), 31 incidences related to Importation of Girls from Foreign Country (Sec. 366B IPC), zero incidences related to Commission of Sati Prevention Act, 1987, 2579 incidences related to Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956; 362 incidences related to Indecent Representation of Women (P) Act, 1986 and 309546 incidences related to Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Thus we see that in spite of the plethora of the laws and legislations, violence against women is still on increase. In the forgoing paragraphs, three specific forms of VAW at the public spaces and workplace i.e. rape and sexual assault, Sexual Harassment at workplace and Acid-attacks on women / girls will be discussed in terms of their nature & prevalence.

 

 

4.1 Rape, Custodial Rape & Sexual Assault

“Man’s discovery that his genitalia could serve as a weapon to prehistoric times, along with the use of fire and the first crude stone axe. From prehistoric times to the present, I believe, rape has played a critical function. It is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear” (Brownmiller, 1975).

 

The brutal and mind numbing gang rape of a young female paramedical student on the night of 16th December, 2012 in the moving bus in New Delhi and her subsequent death after being hospitalized for few days despite her struggle, brought in the fore once again the vulnerability of women in public space. Following the massive uproar and protest by the general public, a three-member commission headed by former Indian Supreme Court Chief Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma was formed to “review the present laws so as to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault.” As the conviction and the quantum of punishment awarded to the perpetrators of such heinous crime still under sub-judice, the Module will not comment on the same. Rather, it will highlight some issues pertinent to VAW in Indian context. The act of rape results in the severe mental and physical trauma wherein the ‘rape survivor’ tends to lose the sense and worthiness of life. Apart from this, she is seen by the society at large as the ‘helpless’ victim who needs sympathy as well as protection in terms of women shelter homes. As a result of the societal apathy which tends to shun the ‘rape survivor’ due to stigma attached with the rape; subsequent hurdle in way of getting justice is the snail-paced judicial probe into the same. The latter has financial implications also. It is due to these reasons, the conviction rate in such crimes is very less.

 

Regards the constitutional provisions, rape is a crime against human rights and violates the person’s right to life contained in Article 21. The term ‘rape’ is legally defined under Section 375 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and also details punishment for the same. Whenever a man penetrates or does sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent or will, it amounts to rape. The rape law under Indian Penal Code had gone through a lot of amendments. In 1983, amendment was made and Section 376(2) i.e. Custodial rape, Section 376(A) i.e. marital rape & Section 376(B to D) i.e. sexual intercourse not amounting to rape were added. Additionally, the issue of rape of a woman who is under twelve years of age is outlined in Section 376 (2)(f). The issue of Custodial Rape is mentioned in Section 376, Subsection 2 a, b, c, d.

 

The engagement of women’s movements & organizations with State and incidents of rape are entangled with the rape cases of Rameeza Bee in March 1978, Mathura rape case in 1972 and Maya Tyagi in 1980 and subsequent acquittal of those involved in these cases. In September 1979, the Supreme Court of India acquitted the accused policemen of Mathura custodial rape case. It led to public uproar and subsequently eminent feminists wrote an ‘Open Letter to the Supreme Court’ critiquing its judgement and thus highlighting “the colonial and male-dominated notions” of rape (Sen, 2010: 83). The ‘flawed’ justice “brought home the need for a sustained campaign for reform of the laws relating to rape” (Kannabiran, 2002: 104). It was after a long struggle against the ‘biased’ penal code that the Indian Evidence (Amendment) Bill, 2002 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on November 28 2002. It intended to remove Section 155(4) of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The Indian Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2003, provided deletion of clause 4 of Section 155 by specifically providing in Section 146. Again, the Indian Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2006 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 12th May, 2006 to further amend the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It stated that “In the Evidence Act, 1872, after section 114A, the following section shall be inserted, namely 114B: In a prosecution for culpable homicide or murder, as the case may be, of a person by a police officer the court may presume that the death was caused when that person was in the custody of the police, by the police officer having custody of that person during that period after taking into account all the relevant circumstances and facts unless otherwise proved by that police officer.”

 

It is pertinent to note that the act of rape is not simply an act of aggression or crime rather it should be located within the framework of patriarchy and/ or male domination. Such a framework is further fragmented on the lines of religion & caste. It has been pointed by many that rape and sexual assault of the women belonging to the ‘opposing’ camp is an effective tool of domination of other side. The rape of lower caste women by the upper caste men does not only imposes the male domination over her but also attests to the pervasiveness of the caste ideology. Similarly, the incidents of sexual assault and rape of women belonging to the minority community during riots has a shrill overtone of religious majoritarianism. Thus, the act of rape need not be seen only as a manifestation of violent male domination but also needs to be problematised along the religious & caste lines.

 

4.2 Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace

 

According to Kishwar (1999: 154), sexual harassment “occurs when a woman, despite having clearly indicated her disinterest, is pressured into tolerating or accepting undesirable sexual advances by someone who is in a position of power over her and is able to harm her interests if she declines these advances or to have sexual relations with him.” Roy argues that “Sexual harassment at the workplace seriously impedes a person’s professional growth and her ability to make a significant contribution to society while eroding her self-esteem and self-confidence” (2010: 151). Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 aims at addressing any sexual harassment incident in relation to any workplace. Here ‘workplace’ includes any department, organization owned and/or financed directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government or the local authority. Most importantly, it also includes any private sector organisation or a private venture. For the sake of the Act, ‘sexual harassment’ includes any one or more of the unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication) including physical contact and advances; a demand or request for sexual favours; making sexually coloured remarks; showing pornography; and any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

 

The historicity of this act can be traced back to the infamous September 1992 gang rape of Bhanwari Devi and subsequent acquittal of the accused by the Court of law. It led to filing of a Public Interest Litigation by the women’s collective Vishakha in the Supreme Court against the State of Rajasthan and the Union of India. Subsequently Supreme Court gave the judgement popularly known as the ‘Vishaka Guidelines’. In the wake of the guidelines, various universities have formulated their own version. The formation of Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) can be taken as an exemplary example of the same.

 

Menon (2004: 145) has outlined certain barriers to the effective functioning of such guidelines like “reluctance of the employees to set up committees, committees that fail to understand the nature of the harassment” among others. Similarly, Justice Verma Committee (Committee formed on 23rd December 2012 to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law regarding swift addressal of sexual assault against women) has highlighted that “While much has been said and done in the past several years about sexual harassment at the workplace, it is evident that this evil is still rampant in Indian society” (pp. 119). The Committee further made certain suggestions regarding the same clearly focusing on the sexual harassment of woman at the workplace. Some of these are briefly discussed here. The Committee suggested that Section 10(1) of the Sexual Harassment Bill, 2012 emphasizes on conciliation between the complainant and respondent. This Section should be deleted (pp. 128). Additionally, the rationale of Section 14 related to punishing women for filing false complaint should be relooked into. The Committee also recommended setting up a separate Tribunal to be termed as the Employment Tribunal to receive and adjudicate all complaints of this nature (pp. 130). The Committee proposed that domestic workers along with women in the armed forces and police, agricultural workers and women students and staff of all schools and educational institutions should also fall within the ambit of the proposed legislation (pp. 133).

 

4.3 Corrosive Crime against girls and women

 

Another issue of concern for VAW is the increasing incidents of acid attacks on the girls and women. According to Acid Survivors Trust International, “Acid violence is the deliberate use of acid to attack another human being. The victims of acid violence are overwhelmingly women and children, and attackers often target the head and face in order to maim, disfigure and blind.” According to Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI), it is a “vicious, premeditated crime, involving throwing of corrosive acid on the face or exposed part with intent to scar and disfigure the victim. It seldom kills but devastates the sufferer’s life mentally, morally, physically and financially. The acid melts the flesh, sometimes to the bone.” Such acid-attack crimes are often committed by the jilted one-sided lover or as a result of refusing marriage proposal by the girl/ woman. The 226th Report of the Law Commission of India titled ‘Inclusion of Acid Attacks as Specific Offences in the Indian Penal Code and a law for Compensation for Victims of Crime’ (2009) specifically pointed out violent ramifications on girl and women who suffer from crimes of acid attack. Additionally it pointed out that Section 326, IPC does not cover the act of administering acid. The Report further pointed that there should be a separate and comprehensive legislation so as to address such crimes more efficiently. Criminal Injuries Compensation Board should be set to provide financial help to the victim taking her specific needs into consideration.

 

The identity of the victim should be concealed so that the victim is not intimidated or harassed by the alleged convict.

 

Indian Penal Code was amended on the 2nd April 2013 with the passing of The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act. 2013. The amendment resulted in insertion of sections 326A and 326B for specifically dealing with acid violence. According to the Section 326A of Indian Penal Code, ‘Acid’ includes any substance which has acidic or corrosive character or burning nature that is capable of causing bodily injury leading to scars or disfigurement or temporary or permanent disability. Section 326A and Section 326B of Indian Penal Code includes punishment which is given to an accused. Section 326A lays down the punishment for acid throwing. The minimum punishment is 10 years imprisonment. It can extend up to life imprisonment with fine. Section 326 B lays down the punishment for attempted acid throwing. The minimum punishment is 5 years imprisonment. It can extend up to 7 years imprisonment with fine. Subsequently in the light of a PIL which was filed in 2006 by Laxmi, an acid attack victim from Delhi, the Supreme Court on 18th July, 2013 passed the order to regulate the sale of acids across the country. However, in the intermittent period saw frequent such attacks on the women.

 

Senthalir (2013: 35-36) while commenting on acid attack victims in Karnataka laments that “there is no widespread awareness of the first aid to be administered to acid attack victims” which is detrimental in minimizing the damage done. Additionally, “two aspects are crucial in curbing this crime: strict law enforcement and a vigilant civil society that demands accountability” (Economic & Political Weekly, 2013: 9). In an important way Justice Verma Committee (Committee formed on 23rd December 2012 to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law regarding swift addressal of sexual assault against women) has also recommended that acid attacks be specifically defined as an offence in the IPC, and that the victim be compensated by the accused (pp. 148). However, what is more important is the empathy reflected by the civil society towards such survivors. One needs to understand the aggressive and egoistic male psychology to comprehend such acid attacks. The male is unable to accept his defeat howsoever momentarily to the female. At the same time such attacks can be also seen as the result of ‘free play’ of male sexual advances wherein the girl / woman has refused the same.

 

5.  Conclusion & Interpreting Textures of VAW

 

Ortner in a significant way has dwelt upon the universality of female subordination which can be seen as one of the root causes of VAW. In the process she has outlined three inter-related propositions which are “(1) elements of cultural ideology and informants’ statements that explicitly devalue women, according them, their roles, their tasks, their products, and their social milieux less prestige than are accorded men and the male correlates; (2) symbolic devices, such as the attribution of defilement, which may be interpreted as implicitly making a statement of inferior valuation; and (3) social-structural arrangements that exclude women from participation in or contact with some realm in which the highest powers of the society are felt to reside” (Ortner, 1974: 69). At the analytical plane, violence against women which directly undermine the autonomous existence of the female self is often anchored in both the theory & practice of patriarchy which itself can be understood as “structural system of male domination” (Omvedt, 1986: 30). Hunnicutt argues that “violence against women cannot be understood as a simple formula of “oppressor and oppressed. Patriarchal systems must be envisioned as “terrains of power” in which both men and women wield varying types and amounts of power” (Hunnicutt, 2009: 555). Similarly, Johnson and Johnson have outlined “theoretical position that violence against women in India is due in part to the patriarchal nature of … society” (Johnson and Johnson, 2001:1051-1068). Thus we see that VAW in general and more specifically in Indian context is the manifestation of universal subjugation of women. It can be seen as by-product of the violent & aggressive patriarchy denying women own space.

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Reference

  • DeKeseredy, Walter S. 2011. Violence Against Women: Myths, Facts, Controversies. Toronto:University of Toronto Press.
  • Economic and Political Weekly. 2005. “Corrosive Crime”, XLVIII(33): 9.
  • Galtung, Johan. 1969. “Violence, peace and peace research”, Journal of Peace Research, 6(3): 167-191.
  • Hunnicutt, Gwen. 2009. “Varieties of Patriarchy and Violence Against Women: Resurrecting “Patriarchy” as a Theoretical Tool”, Violence Against Women, 15(5): 553-573.
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  • Kishwar, Madhu. 1999. Off the beaten track: rethinking gender justice for Indian women. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
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  • Krishnaraj, Maithreyi. 2007. “Understanding Violence against Women”, Economic and Political Weekly, XLV(17): 90-91.
  • Menon, Nivedita. 2004. Recovering subversion: feminist politics beyond the law. Ranikhet: Permanent Black.
  • Omvedt, Gail. 1986. ““Patriarchy:” the analysis of women’s oppression”, Critical Sociology, 13(3): 30-50.
  • Ortner, Sherry B. 1974. “Is female to male as nature is to culture?”, in M. Z. Rosaldo and L.
  • Lamphere (eds.): Woman, culture, and society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. pp. 68-87.
  • Roy, Puja. 2010. “Invisible yet trapping: confronting sexual harassment at the workplace”, in Bishakha Datta (ed.): Nine degrees of justice: New perspectives on violence against women in India. New Delhi: ZUBAAN. Pp. 150-168.
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Online Reference

  • http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CEDAW.aspx
  • http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/48/104

 

Violence against Women.

  • Available at: http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/

 

Violence Against Women Information, Amnesty International.

 

  • Available at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/violence-against-women/violence-against-women-information
  • Brownmiller, Susan. 1975. Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. New York: Simon and Schuster. Available at: http://www.susanbrownmiller.com/susanbrownmiller/html/against_our_will.html

 

A brief history of the battle against sexual harassment at the workplace By Vibhuti Patel [Online]

  • Available at: http://infochangeindia.org/women/analysis/a-brief-history-of-the-battle-against-sexual-harassment-at-the-workplace.html
  • http://www.acidviolence.org/index.php
  • http://www.asfi.in/webpage.php?title=Nature+of+acid+attacks&p_type=1&parent=71&catid=72
  • http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/reports216onwards.htm