The flawed patriarchal justice system in India.

Holly Keeble.

Introduction

According to the National Crime Records Bureau in 2021 there were a recorded 31,677 cases of rape in India and by the end of 2022 there were 198,285 rape cases awaiting trial with only roughly 18,000 of them going to trial. The purpose of this blog is to discuss the prevalence of patriarchy in India’s justice system and how this leads to predominantly women, victims of sexual assault, being discriminated against and the injustice they face due to a flawed justice system that seems to poorly protect and even further humiliate these vulnerable women. This blog will break down the many reasons there seems to be a huge issue of sexual violence towards women in India and how the justice system leads to an increase of these cases.

Root causes

Firstly, why is the issue of sexual violence against women such a prevalent and increasing problem in India? From research it could be that the issue in general is firstly created and perpetuated by societal issues and systematic structures being inequal and unbalanced for men and women in India. A potential patriarchal system structurally and socially has essentially made a second-class system for women putting them below men disadvantaging them and making them see lesser than; basically, seen as easier to coerce and are possibly more subordinate. Experts also suggest that there is an upbringing of cultural violence, where men typically view women as objects or ‘asking for it’ based off what they may wear, rejecting and sexualising western culture and the style. So initially there is an issue of sexual violence where women in India experience rape, harassment because there may be a potential underlying cultural issue but why does this issue go unscathed? It could be the encouragement of knowing that any sexual crimes against women could go unnoticed or not disciplined by the justice system as the justice system itself reproduces these effects, and by not carrying out any discipline this makes crimes seem as though they are petty with no consequence.

Reproduction of inequality within the justice system

By addressing cultural issues, the structural inequalities within India’s systems suggest an overlap or effect into the justice system; the culture of inequality will be sure to make its way into the justice system, reflecting values and biases from those who work with court cases surrounding sexual violence against women. Thousands of cases a year do not make it to India’s court system, suggesting that evidence by police is not investigated more thoroughly or taken the right precautions as they should. But with the 18,000 cases that do go to court, a lot of these cases are met with dismissal, belittling and humiliation. Within the justice system the cases are not dealt with appropriately and instead victims are met with victim blaming and being told the issue is their fault. So instead of solving the case or the issue one at a time, a negative environment is made dismissing the issue of sexual violence as the count of rape or harassment is not taken seriously or often overlooks the perpetrator/ too lenient. How judges deal with these cases reflects rooted causes that need to be addressed, if the justice system does not fix how they deal with women’s cases, then the constant humiliation will not encourage women to come forward and encourage perpetrators to act over and over again as they know they may have a chance to get away with it. Therefore, the issue does not become solved but instead the justice system reproduces this issue.

Conclusion

Overall, this blog has looked at how cultural issues and systematic inequalities have led to the rising of sexual violence in India which is an issue in of itself. Then, when you start looking at institutions separately by themselves you start to realise that the social systems put in place to protect victims such as the justice system also carry out this culture and further reproduce the cycle of sexual violence. Women simply will not want to testify for their assault if the case is so easily dismissed by a patriarchal system and men will see this a reason to carry out the crime as their actions will not have further consequences. Based on the patriarchal systems, women will be left to suffer, and men will be protected by the structural values.

References:

CNN (2024). India’s rape crisis: How the country’s police, courts and culture are failing victims. [online] Cnn.com.

Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/asequals/india-rape-crisis-justice-failures-as-equals-intl-cmd/.

Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com (2019). What is behind India’s rape problem? | DW | 19.12.2019. [online] DW.COM. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/what-is-behind-indias-rape-problem/a-51739350.

Human Rights Watch. (2017a). ‘Everyone Blames Me’ | Barriers to Justice and Support Services for Sexual Assault Survivors in India. [online] Available at: https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/11/08/everyone-blames-me/barriers-justice-and-support-services-sexual-assault-survivors [Accessed 23 Nov. 2019].

Human Rights Watch. (2017b). India: Rape Victims Face Barriers to Justice. [online] Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/09/india-rape-victims-face-barriers-justice [Accessed 29 Nov. 2022].