DNA
1.2.2010

For Australian students, oral sex 'has become the new kissing

Melbourne: Teachers at a primary school in Tasmania, Australia are worried over students talking about having oral sex.
Roz Madsen from the Australian Education Union said that the teachers are increasingly overhearing kids in grades as low as 4 and 5 boast about having oral sex, using explicit language.
Madsen added that teachers "felt helpless" at how to deal with the problem, The Mercury reported.
"The students are talking about what they have done on the weekend, sexual experiences that they are having. It seems to be happening at earlier ages," News.com.au quoted her as saying.
She added: "They are talking about oral sex and saying they are doing it. Who knows if they are or are just boasting, I hope they are not.
"And the language as well, it's quite explicit, nothing is left to the imagination."
Also, Family Planning Tasmania's chief executive Sue Williams, said: "Oral sex has become the new kissing. It's easy and you don't get pregnant."
Family Planning, the AEU and other groups including Parents and Friends and Relationships Australia will voice for sex and relationship education to be part of the


DNA
1.2.2010

Beauty guru Leslie Kenton was raped at 11 by her dad, says memoir

London, Jan 31 (IANS) Beauty guru Leslie Kenton has revealed in her new memoir “Love Affair” for the first time that she was raped by her own father when she was 11 and that the secret incest lasted until she was 13.
It was June, four years ago, when Kenton first contemplated writing about her childhood and “Love Affair” gives full extent of the horrors and the secret incest at its heart, dailymial.co.uk reports.
“My friend Gail Rebuck, who was my first editor and is now the chairman of Random House, told me, ‘You need to write a memoir.’ I said, ‘Gail, I can’t. No one would believe it, and the tabloids would go wild.’ And Gail said, ‘Who cares? This book will be the bridge between what you have done before and the work you will do afterwards.’”
For decades, there have been hints that the woman known as the high priestess of the real beauty movement – she advocated high-raw, high-vegetable diets and detoxifying way back in the 70s, created the Origins range and imported the skincare tablet Imedeen to Britain – had built her luminous present from a murkier past.
Talking about the book, Kenton said: “It ripped me to shreds”.
The book reveals that during the summer of 1952, Kenton met her father Stanley on tour, sharing his hotel room, sleeping back to back. While touring with his dance band, he was drinking heavily and Kenton who was just 10 was trying to police her dad. He was, in many ways, treating her as a substitute for his wife Violet. One night the final boundary was crossed and he raped his daughter. It was the beginning of an incestuous relationship that lasted until she was 13.
During visits, the days were as sunny as ever. They shared a unique exhilaration when together. Some nights he left her alone.
“I believe he tried his best to resist touching me. Then, drowning in a sea of alcohol, he would come to my bed, only to deny the next morning that he’d been there. This was not cynical. Stanley had become so skilled in keeping secrets he could hide his guiltiest one even from himself.
“He was born into guilt. As a child, he was taught by his mother, ‘There’s something wrong with you, Stanley.’ From talking to relatives, Leslie has learnt of a highly dysfunctional family with a history of manipulation, neglect and bizarre cult-like rituals.
“I do not know how to express the damage that a family like this does. This is a disease that’s passed on. Some people survive it and others are deeply damaged.”
Kenton thinks her father experienced a condition known as dissociative identity disorder, involving selective amnesia, which she also developed as she blocked out the incest.
While working on the book, Kenton retreated to her rambling house perched atop an extinct volcano on New Zealand’s South Island.
“Love Affair” is dedicated to her father – ‘For Stanley, with all my love’ – a tribute as startling as it is sincere.

4.2.2010
DNA / Times of India

Victim of child porn goes after viewers for damages

When Amy was a little girl, her uncle made her famous in the worst way: as a star in the netherworld of child pornography. Photographs and videos
known as “the Misty series” depicting her abuse have circulated on the internet for more than 10 years, and often turn up in the collections of those arrested for possession of illegal images.

Now, with the help of an inventive lawyer, the young woman known as Amy — real name changed — is fighting back. She is demanding that everyone convicted of possessing even a single Misty image pay her damages until her total claim of $3.4 million has been met.

Some experts argue that forcing payment from people who do not produce such images but only possess them goes too far. The issue is part of a larger debate over fairness in sentencing sex offenders. For years, lawmakers have reasoned that virtually no punishment was too severe for such criminals; even statutory limits on sentencing were often exceeded.

Now some courts have begun to push back, saying these heavy sentences are improper, and a new emphasis has arisen on making sex offenders pay monetary damages for their crimes.

Amy’s uncle is now in prison, but she is regularly reminded of his abuse whenever the government notifies her that her photos have turned up in yet another prosecution. Over 800 of the notices have arrived at Amy’s home since 2005.

Those notices disturb Amy when they arrive, but Marsh saw an opportunity: he could demand restitution. He had Amy write a victim-impact statement and hired a psychologist to evaluate her. Economists developed a tally of damages and the total came to $3,367,854.

Lanny Breuer, assistant attorney general for the criminal division at the Justice Department urged judges not to let “practical and administrative challenges” to the restitution issue “drive a policy position that directly or indirectly suggests that possession of child porn is a victimless crime


DNA
2.2.2010

One in four kids sends or receives porn via email

One in four children receives or sends explicit material over the Internet, says a survey.

The research by broadband provider TalkTalk found that out of 500 kids quizzed, one in 20, aged between six and 15, had contacted a stranger via webcam and one in 50 had met a stranger they first contacted online.
More than six out of 10 said they misled their parents into believing they were doing something else online and over half said they deleted the history of their visited websites to keep their family in the dark, reports The Telegraph.
Prof Tanya Byron, child psychologist and broadcaster, oversaw the TalkTalk research which also discovered that one in nine children had either bullied someone online or been bullied themselves.


Prof Byron said: "It's crucial that parents educate themselves about what's going on online and what their kids are doing there

Jan 15, 2010

Times of India

We need a separate set of child laws
Pinki Virani (Ruchika Rathore case) - Winner of a national award for Bitter Chocolate, an eye-opener book on child sexual abuse, author-activist Pinki Virani tells Nandita Sengupta the nation has let down its children in the Ruchika Girhotra case.


You have said that government response to the Girhotra case is appalling.
In the national outrage on Ruchika, government has missed the woods for the trees. I'm appalled that the law minister says we will now strengthen the molestation law. He doesn't realise that a child is not an adult and it's not only girls who are abused. Boys are lost in the national discourse on molestation. For one, the molestation law does not cover boys. Cutting across all classes, 25 per cent boys are sexually abused at any point in time. That means one in four under-16 boys. The count is 40 per cent for girls, but don't ignore the boys. We need a separate set of child laws. The nation is in complete denial about child abuse. Statistics of missing children are staggering. Where do they go? Instead of looking at real reform, government is seized by this molestation law, playing adult games.

What would be the ambit of child laws?
Child protection laws would include any crime inflicted on a child by an adult: sexual and porn, physical and emotional, ragging, corporal punishment. Within this, you recognise differences: family abuse and outsider abuse. Right now, judges use their discretion to let off molesters from within family with shorter sentences. So merely increasing punishment on paper or increasing number of women in the force, as the minister has suggested, is no solution. New laws that recognise various issues around child abuse are need of the hour. International police is worried that India has become a paedophile hub. It is easy to pull our children into international porn racket because we have no laws. Even if the paedophilia racket hasn't reached middle and upper class homes yet, it has certainly reached every street kid.

But laws apart, to encourage reporting of abuse, we need a child protection court. That only means the child doesn't go to a kacheri. He goes to any normal room where there are toys, the judge sits casually, not behind a bench. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the child's testimony is taken down only once on video. The perpetrator is not present in the room. All this doesn't take any extra money. It takes political will and parental demand.

How can laws help if mindsets don't change?
Child sexual abuse is never going to cease, until the adult in a position of power realises that responsibility is not about abuse. We need adult awareness of boundaries especially when it comes to the child. Who puts these boundaries: families. Families protect their children. But the ignorance is such that you teach children to cross the road but you're not teaching them to protect themselves from anything else.

6th Jan, 2010

DNA


Airport scanners may break child porn laws

The new body scanners introduced at UK's airports threaten to breach child-protection laws, which ban the creation of indecent images of children . Images too graphic, say UK's privacy campaigners. Govt faces demands to exempt under-18s from scans.

However, Stephen Phispson, president of Smiths Detection, the world's largest maker of full-body scanners insists that the machines only show outlines - blurred images, and that they are far less intrusive than the traditional pat down of the body.

Jan 2nd, 2010

Times of India

Crimes against women rise fastest /
Ruchikas Abound Thanks To Tardy Investigation

Ruchika Girhotras case may be a particularly outrageous example, but things have been getting progressively worse for women in India. Official data shows that crimes against them are rising faster than any other crime. What is worse, investigation of anti-women offences is also tardier than most others.

In 2007, the year for which latest data is available from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), seven of the ten fastest rising crimes in India were against women. While the incidence of all cognizable crimes under the IPC rose by under 5% over the previous year, dowry deaths registered an increase of 15%, cruelty by husband and relatives of 14%, kidnapping and abduction of females by 13%, importation of girls by 12% and sexual harassment by 11%. Rape and molestation cases grew by a more modest 6-7 %, but even that was higher than the average rate.

Despite the rising cases of crimes against women, they would appear to be not in the priority list of the investigating agencies. The NCRB data shows that investigation starts within the same year in only one out of 10 sexual harassment cases and only two out of 10 cases of molestation or cruelty by husbands and relatives. Similarly, only 3 out of 10 rapes and dowry deaths are investigated within the same year.
Delayed investigation, it need hardly be emphasised, not only frustrates the victim but also provides an opportunity to the accused to use his clout in influencing the investigation, as evident in the Ruchika case.

With one in every two brought to trial getting convicted, sexual harassment might have the highest conviction rate among the 22 major crime heads tabulated in the NCRBs Crime in India 2007, but this may have something to do with the fact that sexual harassment is the least severe of all crimes committed against women with the maximum punishment being simple imprisonment for one year, or a fine, or both. For the other crimes against women, the conviction rates are lower than the 35.8% average conviction rate for all cognizable crimes under IPC.

Jan 2nd, 2010

Times of India

Delhi sheds rape capital tag in 09

From 466 Sexual Assault Cases In 08, Last Yr Saw 452

New Delhi: Women have a reason to cheer. Even as Delhi struggles hard to shed its rape capital tag, last year it actually recorded lesser number of rape and molestation cases.
Rape cases recorded a marginal decrease from 466 in 2008 to 452 in 2009. And in 97.35% of the cases, the accused were known to the victims. While 35 of the accused were relatives, 64 were friends, 212 neighbours and 129 other known persons. Around 83% of the accused were either illiterate or school dropouts, 67% were below 25 years of age and 68% belonged to economically weaker section . The police said that in 94.25% of the cases, the accused were arrested.
At least 35 of the 150 police stations did not get any reports of rape at all. Police stations in outer Delhis Bhalsawa Dairy recorded 11 cases, the highest among all police stations . When compared to other mega cities, Delhi recorded less number of rapes than Bhopal, Ludhiana and Indore.
The number of molestation cases also came down from 597 in 2008 to 532 in 2009. And like rape cases, most of the accused47 %were neighbours. Only 5% were strangers while 4% were friends and 6% were relatives.

Eve-teasers too had to think twice before making lewd gestures , for the women felt empowered by the anti-obscene helpline of the Delhi police. It received 12,108 calls out of which 11,625 call actions were taken. Special police arrangements were made around women colleges and hostels in coordination with university authorities.

The women helpline maintained by crime against women (CAW) cell also received 7,354 calls out of which 1,894 calls were related to domestic violence while 3916 calls were about missing girls, 402 were about sexual harassment .

The CAW cell also started a new police station which received nearly 8400 complaints of marital disputes out of which 3579 were settled with mediation and guidance.

Jan 2nd, 2010

Times of India

Sexual offence victims face social stigma -


Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows a sharp rise in crimes against women. It might be pertinent here to cite a recent study by the UK government of rape cases in the country, which shows that a majority of convictions in rapes are from admission of guilt and not because of successful trial as the delays in investigation and the social stigma related with sexual offences often force the victims to withdraw the case.

If that's true in the UK, we can imagine how much worse the social pressures in India would be and hence how crucial it is to minimise delays in prosecuting such cases.

Perhaps the Sexual Offences (Special Courts) Bill, 2010 seeking a maximum six months trial period for sexual offences might reduce the influence of the accused on the course of justice and hence provide a fairer trail for the victims of sexual offences.

Jan 2nd, 2010
DNA

One out of every three girls in Mumbai is molested:

It is a commendable fact that Ruchika’s family did not give up even after so many years,” said Pooja Taparia, founder and CEO of Arpan, an NGO working on the issue of child sexual abuse.

“Unfortunately, many such cases go unreported.”

“We find very few complaints being lodged, and hardly any action being taken against the perpetrators,” said Taparia, attributing this to the fact that there are “no specific and stringent laws” to tackle the issue of child sexual abuse or even molestation.

“On one end of the spectrum is section 509, which deals with outraging a woman’s modesty and on the other is section 376, which defines punishment for rape. However, there are several other issues ‘in-between’ which neither addresses,” said Taparia.

Pushpa Venkatraman, who has counselled several adult survivors of sexual abuse, agreed. “Issues like touching, non-contact offences like lewd glances, talking furtively, as well as sending obscene MMS clippings, which are happening more and more often now, are not addressed,” said Venkatraman.

“As far as molestation cases are concerned, people either get away on bail, or it takes years for the hearing to come up, or a person can do an out of court settlement very easily,” said Taparia. “Speedy justice, speedy trials, friendly environment for the victim are the need of the hour,” she said.

However, at the bottom of all this, said social activists, is the patriarchal Indian society.

“Many a times, the abuse is done by a known person. In such cases, protecting family honour becomes more important,” said therapist Rita D’Souza.

Urging mental health professionals to understand the subtler nuances of child sexual abuse cases….

When I say victims, I mean all players in the case related to the victim also. The parent, the family, in cases of incest- the non offending parent and their psyche all deserve equal mention and emphasis to be tackled in a therapy setting.

They need and deserve to gather their wits around them and reconstruct their violated boundaries, gather confidence and their self sense of self worth before tackling the reins of normal life. The family and caretakers require equal help on how to talk and behave with the survivors so that there is every chance he/she gets a chance to thrive and get on with their lives. Or else the gains of a therapy session are lost once the child is home.

While child sexual abuse is a definite scourge of human race, and it is ARPAN dream to make the world a safe place from sexual abuse for children, the alarming rate of reporting in the media today talks of a diametrically opposite reality that is staring at us in the face.
Like creepy nightmares you shudder when you read everyday of “yet another case of incest…” in our “culturally rich and diverse” INDIA….
But ask therapists who have worked in closed clinics how many cases come to them and always have since years ago where adult survivors talk of violated childhoods.

This is not new and happened even in the old joint family setups where more efforts were made at hushing up the matter rather than dealing with it; and helping to reassure that child that it was not his/her fault but the fault of the adult. And then the child who still has to get on with life and while s/he limps back to normalcy with a scar on their soul because they think they have done something wrong!! A paradox where the victim gets re victimised!

The intervention from an understanding professional would take the child victim far and help them thrive instead of living their life in the shadows for no fault of theirs. The intervention needs to be clear yet subtle in a climate of understanding and empathy for the child where efforts are made to win the trust of the child and build a firm rapport so the child feels safe. This can happen only when the intervention is consistent and supportive. When adults who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse are in psychotherapy, they realize the quality of life they have compromised on for no fault of their own. There is rage then and appropriate anger which is dealt with, through specific techniques. The therapeutic environment needs to become a firm ground which the child/adult can rely upon to help them elevate to a state where they can thrive and reclaim their selves..

Vision vs reality: Having said all this, the stark reality also is to keep up with this long procedure against the odds of time. There are enough issues that need mental health intervention in today’s life and this causes a dearth of professionals who feel capable to deal with such cases which needs huge chunks of time especially when there are investigative procedures to deal with, if it is under litigation.

Arpan is an Ngo which works on the issue of child sexual abuse by spreading awareness through programs for stakeholders in a child’s life and healing services too. A pioneer effort has been made to develop training sessions for social workers and counselors to understand the theory of trauma and get equipped to deal with cases when they arise.

Treating offenders, if they are open and receptive to getting counseling is another aspect of prevention of sexual abuse. To acknowledge that the offender also needs counseling help besides punitive procedures is still a novel concept and takes courage and thorough knowledge of its nuances to accept it, but we at ARPAN, believe it is an important step that holds the key to checking many cases of abuse although admittedly it is a monumental task and re offending is not ruled out. However attempts have to be made to understand their psyche better which ARPAN aims to do as another key area of work.

Understanding it in totality with all its nuances and working at it, is an uphill task a small handful of us are still valiantly trying against many odds to make the world a safer place for children….. we know we will make a dent, albeit through small steps.

Pushpa Venkatraman
For: ARPAN

2nd March 2009

Hindustan Times
Will kids in the state ever get sex ed?
The CURRENT SCENARIO
March 2007 - State government bans sex education
Arpil 2008 – Education minister at that time, Vasant Purke, does an about turn, announces compulsory sex education in Class 9 and Class 11. Next day there is a furore in the assembly and it is decided to set up a committee to look into the matter
November 17, 2008 - Government resolution names 21 Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad members, including Purke and assembly opposition leader Ramdas Kadam as members of the committee. It also names 15 ‘experts’ which includes educationists and social workers from across the state.
Feb 10, 2009 – The only meeting so far of the committee is held in Pune, of the ‘experts’ group. Only 8 members turn up. The committee has sexologist, Dr Vithal Prabhu, paediatrician Dr.Sandhya Khadse, Professor Chhaya Bakare of Ruia College and several ‘sex educators’ attached to NGOs in Kolhpaur, Vardha, Latur and other places.

6th March, 2009

Hindustan Times
Crime against women on the rise in the city
The year that started with the molestation of two NRI women outside a five-star hotel in Juhu went on to witness a steep rise in crime against women. Annual crime statistics of the Mumbai police, obtained by HT, shows that more incidents of rape, especially involving minors, and molestation were registered in the city in 2008 as compared to previous years.

Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor, however, said that the rise in figures has more to do with women reporting crimes rather than a rise in crime rate.
CRIME 2007 2008
Rape (minors) 124 147
Rape (adults) 48 69
Molestation 356 427
Raids on brothels 134 158
Girls rescued 293 295

13.3.09

Hindustan Times
Sex sells at India’s popular pilgrim sites
India’s popular pilgrimage sites like Puri in Orissa and Tirupati in AP are major attractions for sex tourism, especially involving young boys A year long study conducted in three major pilgrim sites – Puri, Tirupati and Guruvayoor in Kerala has found that young boys from poor families are being trafficked to these religious places for sexual gratification of visitors. Lured by money, victims find it difficult to leave the profession. 13 boys in Puri revealed that they preferred foreigners to domestic ones, since they got chocolate, toys, good clothes, besides being paid from Rs.50 – Rs.200 per day.

20th March, 2009

Times of India
Rural Thane sees rise in incest cases
Mumbai: Cases of incest have been increasingly reported from rural Thane over the past few years. Officials attribute this to more women coming out to lodge complaints against family members.

In August 2006, the Nala Sopara police arrested Satish Chaurasia (35) for sexually abusing his daughter and subsequently getting her pregnant.
The same year, the Tarapur police arrested Nitin Raul (46) for raping his foster daughter. The 13-yearold victim became pregnant but the abuse continued.
“Incest exists even among educated and well-to-do families. Alcoholism and borderline personality disorder can lead to incest,’’ said psychiatrist Harish Shetty. “There are instances where women do not support their daughters (victims) and stand by their husbands (accused) instead. A rise in such offences is caused by alienation and loneliness.’’
In August 2008, the Virar police arrested Rajendra Yadav (29) for molesting his 12-year-old niece during a game of “hideand-seek”. The girl had been living with Yadav after her father died in the 7/11 blasts.

29th March, 2009
Times of India
Rural sisterhood forms rings of steel for victims of rape
No institution assures them justice, no organization fights for their rights and no counsellor helps them pick up the pieces of their lives. But the initial findings of a nationwide study reveal that rural victims of sexual abuse are beginning to fight back in their own way. Call it the sisterhood of India Invisible. Mobilizing village communities, picketing police stations and ridiculing attackers are some of the ways rural women are using to take on their assailants, says an 11-state study conducted from October 2007 to December 2008 by a Delhi-based NGO Swanchetan. It used data collected by state police forces and NGOs working with rural victims of sexual violence.
Some say the change is a reflection of the growing awareness of rural women, especially Dalits. “In Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharshtra, women say that they will not tolerate (injustice). They have their constitutional rights and will protest,” says Ruth Manorama, who campaigns for Dalit women in Bangalore.
Mitra says that women are empowered when they form a collective.

JAN 2009
7th Jan, 2009 - Times of India

More rapes registered, but conviction rate dismal
Mumbai: While a higher number of rape cases were registered in Mumbai in 2008, and a large number of those cases were solved, the conviction rate in court continues to be a dismal 20%. The number of rapes against women registered in Greater Mumbai rose from 45 in 2007 to 68 in 2008. A whopping 61 of the 2008 cases were solved, but police sources said this was little reason for cheer. The biggest reason is that the victims don’t want to go through the trauma of a court hearing.
“While some feel guilty about being raped and prefer to isolate themselves from public view, others don’t want to face the embarassing queries of the defence counsel during the cross-questioning. For some, it’s a combination of both,’’ a Mumbai police officer said. “Also, some of the victims get married at a later stage and do not want to pursue the case.’’

The total number of rapes registered—including rapes of minors— was 212. Startlingly, rapes of minors rose from 125 in 2007 to 144 in 2008.
“Cases of rape, dowry harassment and molestation are accorded priority,’’ said an officer from the crime branch. In fact, there are counsellors working with the Mumbai police .When all options fail, they assist the victim legally and most of this is free of cost.

8th Jan, 2009 - Hindustan Times

Paedophilia case: State to crack down on unregistered homes
The state government is planning a crackdown on unregistered children’s shelters after a warden was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing children at an unauthorised hostel he had been running in Aurangabad. The arrest of Jaisingh Michael (45) for sexual offences, including rape of children at the missionary-run hostel, has sparked outrage.
Vijay Satbir Singh, secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Development in Maharashtra, said it was the second-highest-profile case of sexual abuse being alleged at an unauthorised institution in the state. The first, he said, was the Anchorage shelters in Mumbai set up by Briton Duncan Grant (64) to rehabilitate street children in 1995.
“My officers have told me it was never registered with us,” said Singh. “The Aurangabad shelter was not registered either. Both were running for some time before they came to our notice, so there could well be other similar cases out there.” The campaign to root out unathorised shelters will start this month, using local police intelligence and help from the public, he said.
About 108 homeless, poor or orphaned children had been staying at the Aurangabad hostel. “There were four complaints of rape, one of molestation against girls and three complaints of sexual harassment of boys,” said Singh. The home has now been shut and 16 of the children handed back to their parents. The other 44 girls and 48 boys have been rehabilitated in other shelters and offered counselling, Singh added.

Thursday, 15th Jan, 2009

Times of India - Students may get sex abuse cover / NCW Prods Centre As Research Scholars & Teachers Flood It With Complaints
DNA – Lewd remarks on campus will be crime
New Delhi: Faced with sexual harassment complaints from research scholars and university teachers, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has proposed that educational institutions be recognised as ‘workplace’ and brought under the ambit of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill.
The bill is currently with the women and child development ministry. The proposed legislation is expected to provide redressal for women plagued by sexual harassment not just in government and organised private sector companies but industries that have so far managed to stay out of the loop like hospitality industry including catering services, restaurants, professions like NGOs, health services and coaching centres, domestic helps, women working in tailoring, or beauty parlours.
The penalty, if harassment is proved, will be levied keeping in view the victim’s mental suffering and trauma, income and financial status of the woman, medical expenses incurred by the victim and loss in career opportunity because of the incident. The bill also prohibits publication or making contents of the inquiry or the aggrieved woman’s details available.

DNA
Adopted, Assaulted and Deported (Global trade in babies)
Nearly 20 years after she was adopted by an American national, 27 year old Jennifer Haynes is back in Mumbai, seeking action against the Americans for International Aid and Adoption (AIAA), the agency that had processed her adoption papers. She has said in her petition that under the guise of adoption, various voluntary agencies and social organizations are trafficking children to western countries and most end up being sexually abused at the foster homes.

Times of India dt.19th Dec, 2008
Law changes to aid rape victims
RS Nod to CrPC Bill Amendments To Ease Sexually Abused Victims’ Agony

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved much awaited amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), providing for a number of path-breaking measures in the existing law to lessen the agony of rape victims.

Completion of trial of rape cases within a period of two months from the date of commencement of the examination of witnesses, hearing of the cases by woman judges (as far as practicable) and questioning of rape victims in the presence of her parents or a social worker of the locality are some of the provisions of the CrPC (Amendment) Bill.

The Bill was passed by voice vote along with certain minor amendments pressed by CPM member Brinda Karat.

It also has povisions of commuting of capital punishment of a pregnant convict to life imprisonment, victim’s rights to appeal against acquittal, beginning of a “victim compensation scheme” (to compensate the victim or his dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of crime in any part of the country), audio-video recording of statement of witnesses and trial of cases through video-conferencing. Winding up the discussion before the Bill was passed, home minister P Chidambaram said: “The effort is to make the Bill more humane to law-abiding citizens and more difficult for those who try to violate the law.” The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha in August 2006 and subsequently referred to the Standing Committee of the Parliament. Chidambaram said that the Bill was brought to the House after giving due consideration to the recommendations of the Standing Committee.

As far as bringing changes in the law concerning rape victims is concerned, the Bill also provides for investigation of a case at the residence of the victim and as far as practicable by a woman police officer. These provisions will spare the victim of the agony of visiting the police station and answering inconvenient questions in front of unidentified persons. Certain changes have also been approved for the speedy disposal of such cases without leaving scope for postponement or adjournment of proceedings. The amendment provides that the trial, as far as possible, will be completed “within a period of two months” from the date of commencement of the examination of witnesses. Once the Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, the new legislation will provide for asking all the states to initiate a “victim compensation package” in coordination with the central government with a corpus of a fixed amount. The amendment also has provision of right to appeal for victims. Currently, the right to appeal lies with the state which directly fights the case with the accused. Under the proposed change, the victim can independently hire a lawyer and go in for an appeal in addition to what the state does.

DNA / Hindustan Times
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Every hour, 2 women raped in India : Report
CHILLING STATISTICS
Rape cases reported last year / 20,737
Cases registered in M.P alone, making it the rape capital / 3010
Cases in W.B / 2106
Cases in U.P / 1648
Cases in Bihar / 1555
Cases in Rajasthan / 1238
Cases in Delhi / 598
Sexual harassment cases registered in A.P, the highest for a state / 3316
Cases in which family members were involved / 405


DNA
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Grant, Waters are back with new Anchorage
British nationals ,Duncan Grant and Allan Waters, who were acquitted in a paedophilia case in July, are now running a hostel for “young working men” in Cuffe Parade. And like the shelter the duo previously used to run for street children, this too is called Anchorage.

Located in a slum opposite the Badhwar Park Railway Colony, the hostel comprises a small room (about 800 sq ft) with a mezzanine floor. There are 24 inmates, all aged between 18 and 25.
“Most of these youths had once lived in the Anchorage Shelter Home, Colaba, which has now shut down completely. The Cuffe Parade shelter was started in 1997. We have refurbished it after being acquitted in the case. This hostel has always housed older boys, while the younger ones stayed in the Colaba shelter,” Grant, 65, told DNA.

The appeal challenging the acquittal of both Grant and Waters by Bombay High Court is pending in the Supreme Court. The HC acquitted the duo on July 23, disbelieving the same set of evidence, which, in 2006, had led a sessions court to convict the Britons of sexually abusing young boys at the Colaba shelter.Grant has already sold the Colaba Anchorage for Rs50 lakh.

When asked where they got the funds from, Grant said that UK-based charitable institutions, like Rotary International and Siroptimists, had donated for the cause

Hindustan Times / DNA
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
India registers third most rape cases in the world
Ahead of India (with 18359 rape cases during the first quarter of this year , are the US and South Africa with 93394 and 54926 cases respectively. Least were in countries like Jordan, Latvia, Bulgaria and Finland.Germany, Thailand, Sweden and Argentina too registered a high humber of rape cases.

Hindustan Times
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Faith silences abuse victims
Strong religious beliefs make sex victims a helpless pawn in the hands of their abuser. eg. a child, sodomised by her father, felt she had to forgive him or burn in hell. The common thread is that religion is an important resilience factor in abused children. Jean - Guy Nadon, professor of theology and religious sciences at the Universite de Montreal, says, " A child's God can be kidnapped and exploited by an adult, often by the very adult who taught the child about God in the first place."

Arpan's office opening

Arpan office! : ' )

Pujya Bhaishri being greeted by Pushpa Venkatraman (Arpan's Trainer - Counselor) and Anita Kumar (Arpan's Admin. Asst.)

The samai is lighted by Pujya Bhaishri, Pooja Taparia's (Arpan's Founder - CEO) relatives, parents and Pushpa and Anita.

Pooja showing Pujya Bhaishri photos of Arpan's activities.

Pujya Bhaishri perfoming the puja

Pujya Bhaishri giving his blessings

Pujya Bhaishri seeing our articles published in the media

Pujya Bhaishri with Arpan Team - left to right (Pooja, Pujya Bhaishri, Harshal (Arpan volunteer), Anita, Pushpa and Natasha Agrawal (Arpan's Executive Asst.)

Pooja addressing all

Pujya Bhaishri addressing all of us

Pujya Bhaishri giving out prasad to all, Arpan team members, Famycare Ltd. staff, etc.



Pujya Bhaishri blessing Pushpa, Anita and myself

Saturday, 18th Oct, 2008
Times of India
Terrorists use child porn to stay in touch
Embed coded messages in sex abuse images
London: Paedophilia and terrorism seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. But a string of police raids across Britain and Europe has established the unlikely link between terror plots and hardcore child pornography.
§ Messages may be concealed within digital images and audio, video or other files, via a method called steganography, or ‘covered writing’.
§ The first link between child sex abuse and jihadists emerged in London in 2006 when antiterrorism police found images of hardcore child porn in two investigations.
§ Scotland Yard’s antiterrorism branch found over 40000 child porn images in one case and fewer than a dozen in another.
§ Experts say that the advancement in encryption technology is outpacing the authorities’ abilities to monitor suspected terrorists and paedophiles.

Monday, 11th Aug, 2008
Hindustan Times
A helpline to the rescue of abused children

Ten-year-old Mariam called NGO Childline’s Shillong branch and lodged a complaint saying her 35-year-old neighbour had sexually abused her. The neighbour had threatened he would kill her father if she told him. Mariam told her friends who asked her to call the helpline.

At the Childline Foundation-Mumbai, in 2006-7, there were 1,337 calls for help to 1098 — India’s first 24X7 distress outreach service that also caters to marginalised sections – with 571 calls for missing children, 434 for shelter, 535 for emotional support and 277 for protection from abuse.

The maximum calls were for physical abuse (86 per cent), as compared to sexual abuse cases (6 per cent), and an equal number of financial abuse cases (5 per cent) between 2005-6 and 2006-7. The NGO received more than 7.5 lakh silent calls – calls where the caller chose not to speak. The data also indicate 30 per cent of calls were made by children either for themselves or to refer a friend.

Why are these children not speaking about their problems to their families?
The answer to that may be that ‘family’ is itself a luxury for the marginalised. For them, it’s not a reliable support base. Kajol Menon, executive director, Childline India Foundation, says: “The Childline calls tell us that child protection needs to be backed by on-the-ground infrastructure covering healthcare support systems, shelters, child-friendly police stations and judicial procedures. Helplines find it easier to draw children out as the anonymity helps them speak freely”.