Rape- a vicious crime

My heart aches every time I hear about the news of rape. Rape is one of the most heinous crimes all over the world. These rapists don’t spare anyone, be it a 5-month-old baby or a 90-year-old woman. No explanation or reason can justify rapes.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s annual report, 33,356 rape cases were reported across India in 2018. Out of these, more than 93% were committed by someone known by the victim.

Myths about Rapes.

•Rapes happen because of wearing short clothes.

If only rapes happened due to revealing clothes, a woman wearing a burqa or a salwar kameez wouldn’t have been raped. Did a 3-year-old girl wear revealing clothes that she was raped or an 80-year-old woman wear revealing clothes that she was raped? Rape has nothing to do with the clothes a woman wears but it has everything to do with the rapist. Clothes aren’t provocative, it’s the mindset of people that needs to change.

•If a woman is intoxicated when she got raped, it’s her fault.

So it’s okay for men to drink and if women drink then they’re to be blamed for anything that happens with them. This is what some people actually think. A woman who’s drunk isn’t an invitation for rape. It’s her choice to drink and party late at night. Stop blaming women and becoming a shield for rapists.

•It’s impossible to rape a woman unless she wants it.

To all the people who think so, no woman wants to get raped or forced. Not only women but babies are also raped. Did a 2-year-old baby who can’t even speak properly give her consent? No woman would’ve been killed after being raped if only she had given her consent to do so. How low will you people go in order to not blame the rapist?

•Being in a relationship or marriage is consent for sex.

Marital rapes aren’t uncommon. Marriage isn’t a consent to have sex and neither is being in a relationship. No one gets a right on the other person after getting married. No men can force their partner to have sex. No matter what, sex without consent is rape.

•It’s the fault of a woman if she is raped late at night.

Many people believe that women should not go out alone late at night. To all the people who think so, women do get raped in broad daylight and even inside their houses. So how come it’s a woman’s fault if she’s raped late at night?

•Men don’t get raped.

Most part of the world still believes that men aren’t raped but in reality, men are raped too. They’ve also become victims of this heinous crime. They are suffering too but it becomes difficult for them to even talk about rape. According to a survey, 1 out of every 5 males is assaulted or molested in India.

In many cases, I’ve read and heard people saying about some girl that she deserved to be raped. The reason they gave for saying it was that the girl wore short clothes, hung out with boys at night, drank and partied etc. No reason can justify raping someone.

Recently, I read about a female stand-up comedian who got rape and murder threats on the public platform from a guy because according to some people, in one of her shows, she insulted Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj but in reality, she had no intention of doing so yet she apologised for hurting the sentiments of people. I read a post about it on Instagram and saw people commenting that she deserves to be raped and she should be punished like that so that in future no one even dares to do such a thing again. What shocked me was that people were actually justifying why she should be raped. They had reasons and they argued on why she should be raped. Rape threats have become so casual now. No matter what, no one deserves to be raped.

Rape is the fourth most common crime against women. In India, every 15 minutes 1 rape case is reported yet there are many cases that go unreported. The cases are only rising and not decreasing. Even the justice system isn’t strong enough to severely punish the rapists. Much stricter laws are needed now to eradicate the rape culture.