Columns

While the nation balms its bosom and soothes her conscience that sexual outrages are effectively contained by daily religious preaching and moral sermons blared on a daily basis from each temple of worship, the rape of Lanka’s women and children have risen alarmingly to scandalous proportions that mark the sordid shame of a society that turns askance and prefers to remain in a blind state of apathetic indifference.

No amount of religious preaching has been able to contain it, no amount of reference to the cultural wealth of the nation has been enough to control it, and the ad hoc method in which the perpetrators have been dealt with has served to encourage it. Beneath the surface of society’s fragile fabric, behind its prudish Victorian façade, the rape of Lanka’s women — the mothers and daughters of this land — and the rape and abuse of Lanka’s children, the seed and blossom of this nation, are committed with impunity. And, to compound the problem, not a lot of people seem to be overly concerned about it.

Last year the number of women and children raped rose to 1,910 from 665 some 23 years ago — an increase of about three hundred per cent. That boils down to five women raped every day in 2012. And by current accounts the figure is set to rise this year. This represents only the tip of the ice berg for it is universally accepted that the majority of rape cases are not reported to the police or to any other authority.

In most instances, the rape victim perforce suffers the grievous bodily invasion by force in solitary silence rather than voluntarily subject herself to the trauma of revealing it to the authorities and reliving the repugnant ordeal she had endured. There is also the stigma of rape which in the majority of cases blight the prospects of her ever marrying. This is especially so in Lanka where age old customs and traditions have conditioned the Lankan male to regard the pristine purity of the woman as sacrosanct and her preserved virginity supreme evidence of it.

Then there is fear: The fear of being dragged through the whole process to prove the unspeakable and inerasable wrong done to her. The fear of having to lay bare her very soul before the public gaze. The fear of intimidation, the fear of threats made if she dared to report the matter to the relevant authorities. And the fear that she will not be believed, especially if the rapist is well connected and rich and is acquitted on a legal technicality. These and countless other factors commonly make a woman bear in silent grief the gross vile act committed on her.

Women’s rights activists calling on the authorities to take tough measures to curb violence against women

What is also disturbing is that this sordid act is being increasingly committed by the clergy, school teachers, and principals and politicians, members of society from whom others have looked up to for moral guidance. They have taken advantage of the trust, respect and confidence the innocent victims have, in good faith, reposed in them to perpetrate their own sexual perversities. If that was not bad enough, many are the instances where the police have been found to have aided, abetted, and finally covered their sordid deeds. Only last week when a young mother was gang raped in the jungles of Puttalam, a police officer was quoted in a daily newspaper as saying that the complainant is a sex worker, grumbling only because she had not been paid the promised sum.

It is this attitude by some members of the police shared by some of the general public too that has encouraged the idea that if a woman is out on the streets at night, or is dressed suggestively and walks with a wiggle she is ‘fair game’. It must be realised that even a prostitute has rights. She may ply her body for, money but that does not mean she consents to all comers. Her right to choose, to give or withhold consent still remains inviolate. It is this same mentality that made some warped chauvinists in India condone the brutal rape of a young girl inside a bus in New Delhi which shocked not only India but the whole world, by saying that she should never have been on the streets with her fiancée at night and therefore she had been ‘asking for it’.

Last week in Parliament the Women’s Affairs and Child Development Minister Tissa Karaliyadda revealed that 7,418 children were abused in 2012. That is 20 children abused every day. From 2009 to 2012 the total figure is an astounding 18,777.
Rape does not come in uniform. The rapist lives in our midst, is clad in civilian clothes, his gait, language or demeanor does not reveal the pervert within. He is no different from the terrorist and lives incognito amongst us. And he like the terrorist must be dealt with effectively.

After having successfully ended a 30-year war of terror for a separate state, the nation must now brace itself to end a terror unleashed by brigands of psychopathic perverts striving ceaseless to obtain sexual gratification through force and violence from the weak and helpless women and children of Lanka. And instead of merely shrugging our shoulders in defeat, the time has come to make the necessary commitment.

It is heartening to note that the President in his Budget speech noted his own disappointment that “our value based society nurtured with religion, culture and traditions has to witness child abuse and violence against women” and allocated Rs 300 million to the Women’s Bureau and the Child Protection Authority to combat this depravity in society.

If we are serious in our resolve then it is imperative first to set up a special task force comprising of eminent people who possesses the necessary qualifications and experience to spearhead the mission. Their fight should be on two fronts. The task force should examine the existing laws and consider its appropriateness in the present circumstances. Victim protection, the degree of collaboration, and other evidence that are required should be evaluated and if found wanting Parliament should be lobbied to bring in the necessary amendments to effect a higher conviction rate than the present poor 3 per cent
A thorough appraisal of the sentencing policy must also be done and the policy of granting bail to the accused on a ad hoc basis must be condemned for it not only adds to the rapist glee that he has temporarily been let off ‘scot free’ but also causes raw fear in the victim that her rapist is on the loose and is at liberty to strike again and even to kill her in revenge for reporting the crime. Whether the present maximum penalty is sufficient or whether it should be increased to life depending on each case must also be considered. The present delay in hearing and concluding rape trials must be put to an end and a fast track system must be introduced even as India did with the infamous New Delhi rape trial.

The second front should concentrate on increasing public awareness to the shocking rape scandal engulfing Lanka. The anti-smoking campaign carried out these last few years have been immensely successful with smokers portrayed as anti social vermin, and has resulted in a significant drop in cigarette sales and smoking in public places. In no uncertain terms is smoking frowned upon and the smoker finds himself a pariah even in his own home.

In this same way must the special task force employ similar tactics to isolate the rapist (whether convicted or not due to the rape not been reported) to make him a leper shunned from the company of society. It is a long process no doubt but, the message coupled with stiff prison sentences must be hammered home till it reaches its target. Special regard must be paid to enlisting the services of the community to be ever vigilant and report suspicious activity in their respective localities. But above all parents must be educated on the importance of keeping an ultra watchful eye over their children and to be wary not only of strangers but also of known people displaying an unusual interest in the children.

It is incumbent on the authorities charged with the duty of protecting women and children to go on the offensive with a single minded purpose. The time is now. Or else in the future too, on a day like today before the Sabbath ends, five more mothers or daughters or children would have bitten the dust, raped by perverted sons of the soil to sate their brutal beastly carnal lust.