Sexual Violence in India and How It Is Rising

Around the world, as many as one out of three women been beaten, compelled into sex, or abused in some other way. It is most often someone she knows, including her husband or another male family member. This negatively has an effect on the well-being of women and prevents women from fully participating in society. Particularly in India, sexual violence is a reoccurring issue that has scarred the lives of thousands of women. Sexual violence is more than just physical abuse, it's damaging on so many levels; mentally, emotionally and psychologically. Over the past year, the issue of sexual violence in India has been especially sensitive. A certain event happened on December of 2012 that initiated women to finally speak their mind and protest. In December, there was a brutal gang-rape and murder on a public bus. A 23-year-old victim was tortured and left to die. This created international attention around the world. Although this case is fairly recent, India’s rape crisis has been controversial for a long time.

Sexual violence has tarnished India’s image and has made it one of the most frowned upon countries in the world. Each year hundreds of cases are reported, yet those are a fraction of how many go unreported. The cases reported barely receive enough attention for the police to do anything about them. Many stories have inspired people all over the country to take action. Promila Das, a victim of rape, has expressed her story when she told her mother that she was raped by her uncle. A close friend, Jasmine Bala, listened to her. Her mother said, “so, you got raped by your uncle? I’ll just ask him to pay for the abortion if you get pregnant and you can go back to work tomorrow. We have not eaten rice in three days. We do not c...

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...the victims of these unimaginable assaults, but more must be done by India’s government to fix this problem. The country cannot fix these ongoing problems without completely dedicating themselves to the issue. Because India has recently allowed organizations such as UNICEF to enter, India is still years away from eliminating sexual violence. But it is a start, and if they stick to their word, India can achieve their goal. Many more steps need to be taken, India must appoint more judges to provide justice to the victims of sexual abuse/violence quicker, they must take every case into their hands as if it were their last, give females the same rights men have, and ultimately allow women to have their voices heard. If India continues to make improvements in society, and eliminate the problems at the source, India will successfully solve their issue of sexual violence.