Another day, another (few) horrific case of sexual assault. A child, a woman with mental illness, an old lady—take your pick. In the aftermath of the Bengaluru New Year’s Eve incidents—as after the death of Jyothi Singh in 2012, or the murder of Swathi last year—there is a spurt in outrage against gender-based violence and anger.
There is a great deal of discourse that, ironically, turns to the dynamics of gender-based violence to give befitting responses to perpetrators of such violence. This outrage, as has happened before, will die down. And with it will our enhanced sensitivity. However, for things to change, there is a need for sustained introspection and effort on the part of the society.
More effective than thrashing offenders, or hanging them or castrating them, will be including gender sensitisation in school and college curricula. This will need to take an intersectional approach to examining privilege and disadvantages. At the very least, children should be taught to treat each other as equals regardless of sex and gender, as human beings deserving respect.
That is the only way respect can be ingrained in future generations. Similarly, every level of police and judiciary must be sensitised to the needs and realities of survivors of gender-based violence. Prisons must be sensitive to the escalations of gender-based violence—something that starts with ‘eve-teasing’ could end in murder if the offender is not properly sensitised and rehabilitated.
While these steps may sound too accommodative of the offenders, it is important that the goal is kept in mind: safety and security of all. An effective system that dispenses justice swiftly and fairly, that empowers victims and survivors to come forward and register cases, a society that supports such victims and survivors of every kind of gender-based violence without judgment—these will be more of a deterrent than any promise of violence to be visited upon offenders.