'Cluttered system' delays justice to survivors of sexual violence: Panel

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: At a panel discussion on survivors of sexual violence, the participants discussed whether death sentence for perpetrators is a viable and ethical means of redemption for the victims of sexual violence or supporting efforts to improve the lives of survivors.

The discussion was held at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) recently. Anup Surendranath, the executive director of project 39 A moderated the discussion focusing on the needs of the survivors of sexual violence.

Project 39A is an offspring project of article 39 of the Indian Constitution that promotes and encourages the integrated values of equal justice and equal opportunity by removing economic and social barriers.

Diverse panelists who took part in the discussion included Kushi Kushalappa, head of Support and Rehabilitation; Corrine Kumar, founder of NGO Vimochana; R Sri Kumar, former DGP of Karnataka Police Former Karnataka DGP Sri Kumar spoke on whether the death sentence for perpetrators is a viable and ethical means of redemption for the victims of sexual violence. He also discussed the role of the justice system in supporting and improving the lives of survivors.

The discussion veered around perceptions of who is worthy of receiving support and what degree of punishment the perpetrators deserve. Kushi Kushalappa, having years of experience in counselling children and adults, pointed to the factors responsible for such crimes in the country.

“The conservative cultural practices in India such as the inability to seriously discuss matters of sexual nature, reproduction and even our bodies is a significant issue today. The discomfort and awkwardness (more among men than women) is the issue that needs to be addressed first,” she said.

Corrine Kumar the founder of Vimochana, an NGO formed to protect women against violence and thus empowering them, said that one significant reason for the arbitrary justice system is the seeping, dominant or stark hyper masculinity.

“Additionally, our justice system lacks ‘ethical care’ – which has to navigate the correct route for perpetrators, also including if right to life is permissible based on their crime,” she said Kumar further underlined that justice system should seek reparation and healing for life wherein “if one has killed somebody in an act of crime, they deserve to be put under the death penalty” – to compensate for the grief of victims of sexual violence, LGBTQ community etc.

R Sri Kumar set the tone for discussion with narratives. The present status of the justice system and its inability to deliver timely justice resulting in a piling of cases also came up at the panel discussion. This further sparked a conversation on if the accused deserve the legal rights that they currently enjoy.

The panel concluded that handling crimes is more reactive than preventive in the society and left the audience with the question: In such a clouded and cluttered system with the number of unresolved cases on the rise, what can criminal law achieve to reflect change in our sociological system?