Respecting the privacy of all victims : Public protest against rape
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 13, 2014 -

There are reasons why the name Nirbhaya was coined.

Nearly two years after a young physiotherapy student was raped and brutalised inside a moving bus at Delhi, no one, save for her family members and close friends, seem to know the identity of the young girl.

This is even after the victim passed away some days after the incident.

There are also reasons why the identities of rape victims are never ever disclosed to the public mainly via the media and this is more so when the victims are minors.

More than protecting the identities of the victims but also respecting the privacy of the departed souls.

This is all that more important in a country like India or a place like Manipur where tongues wag and that too distastefully.

An important point which should have registered in the minds of everyone, especially in a place like Manipur where women are victimised and rape cases have seen a marked increase in the last few years.

The worrying point however is that no one seems to have learnt any lesson. More than a reflection of a people who have lost their sensitivity and sense of taste.

The anguish and trauma of the family too need to be kept in mind when dealing with anything as sensitive as the rape of a girl.

Absolutely important to keep this in mind in the face of the increasing cases of rape and murder of girls in the State.

The outpouring of public angst against the increasing cases of such incidents is understandable and welcome.

Time for the people as a whole to collectively stand up and say a big no to such incidents.

Time also to demonstrate that society as a whole cannot condone such despicable acts.

Rape and murder of girls or women is not only a crime against the law of the land but also a crime against humanity.

A lesson which should be drilled into the heads of everyone. However it is also equally important to keep in mind that in coming out against such crimes, there is the equivalent need to protect the privacy of the victims.

The widespread protest against the increasing cases of rape and murder of women on November 11 was a collective demonstration whose time had come.

More than right that people as a whole should come together but at the same time it would do good for all to question whether it made any sense in disclosing the name and identity of the rape victim.

As if this was not enough, some protesters went overboard and even carried the photograph of the victim.

The objective was no doubt noble for it conveyed the stand that rapists will not be tolerated but at the same time, the people as a whole too need to show that they have the sense to respect the privacy of the victim.