Harshita Kushwah, National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad
Introduction
Mahatma Gandhi once pointed out, “Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacities. She has the right to participate in the minutest details in the activities of man, and she has an equal right of freedom and liberty with him. She is entitled to a supreme place in her own sphere of activity as man is in his. This ought to be the natural condition of things and not as a result only of learning to read and write. By sheer force of a vicious custom, even the most ignorant and worthless men have been enjoying a superiority over woman which they do not deserve and ought not to have. Many of our movements stop half way because of the condition of our women.”
The alarming rise in the incidents of sexual violence against women and children points at the failure of the existing law and justice system in prosecuting offenders of rape and ensuring justice for the victims. The sense of impunity among rape offenders seems so profound that even laws with the harshest punishments are not being able to create any fear in them. A timely and effective reform in the relevant legal framework is thus crucial.
This paper suggests certain legislative rape law reforms in order to extend protection to women. The suggested reforms include criminalising marital rapes and defining how consent plays a role while deciding rape cases.
