VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA: A CASE FOR RESEARCH IN TACKLING THE MENACE Ravindra B.

Ghooi, Professor, Symbiosis School of Biomedical Sciences, Lavale, Pune 412115, Email: ravindra.ghooi@gmail.com Shailesh R. Deshpande, Associate Professor, Symbiosis School of Biomedical Sciences, Lavale, Pune 412 115, Email: proshade2002@gmail.com

Abstract Violence against women has long been a problem, in times of peace and war. This violence ranges from very mild teasing to rape and murder, and takes place at home, in the streets, at work places, jails, in short everywhere. Few crimes against women are reported, fewer still prosecuted, and a negligent number of accused are actually punished. In the absence of detailed studies on incidence, it is difficult to come up with suggestions to reduce if not abolish such violence. There is an urgent need for more studies on this violence so that the psychology of the violators is better understood. Instances of violence need to be thoroughly investigated, and ways and means devised to reduce their incidence. There is need for quick and severe punishment for the accused, which would act as a deterrent too. Any society, in which half the population is not assured of safety, needs to reconsider its claim to being civilised.

Key Words: Women, violence, rape, safety, crimes.

Introduction The year ending of 2012 brought home to many Indians the stark reality of crime against women in our country. The brutal rape of the 23 year old student in Delhi, and the anger that shook the country brought into focus such crimes, which had rarely touched the lives of common people. For over two weeks, the news took the centre space in the living rooms of most families in India, and shook the conscience of the people as never before. The government constituted the Justice Verma Commission, which submitted its report in a record time, giving recommendations on various aspects of crimes against women (Verma, Seth and Subramanium 2013).The government also ordered fast track courts to be set up to try these cases and some of the fast track courts have started functioning. The impact of these affirmative actions will hopefully lead to a reduction in crimes against women, which is yet to be seen. However it is time for all of us to examine various aspects of such crimes from a scientific perspective to learn more about them, so as to help reduce if not abolish them completely. Violence against women is a violation of human rights; it is neither unchanging nor inevitable and could be radically reduced, and eventually eliminated (Study of the Secretary General 2006). There are three aspects of this crime which the society needs to take care of, the first being prevention of rape. The second important responsibility of the society is sensitive management of victim after the crime (Azikiwe, Wright, Cheng and DAngelo 2005), and lastly punishment of the perpetrator of the crime. It is often argued that prevention of rape requires a change in the mindset of the society and cannot be brought about immediately; the second and third aspects are well within immediate reach. Specialists in different fields are actively studying various aspects of violence against women. One finds a large body of data being published annually which helps us understand what others

have learnt through long research. While collecting information on violence against women one point comes across very strongly, and that is there isnt enough research done on the subject. When one goes through the databases, one is struck by the paucity of data on violence against women, all over the world. Of the 19,708 journals listed by SCImago, only 81 are devoted to gender studies, while 114 are devoted to artificial intelligence and 113 to anthropology. Thus not only are womens issues relegated to an obscure place, not many are interested in studying these, including women themselves. In this paper, we have pieced together the various issues related to violence against women. We believe that a proper understanding of such issues is imperative in tackling this menace.

Violence against women In studying violence, we encounter numerous problems, the first being that we really do not know what should be counted as violence against women and what should not. Starting from simple appreciative glances, to the last most violent crime, we are not sure where to draw the line. What may appear to be simple teasing to a group of college boys loitering near their canteen may have profound effects on the victim. After all, not all girls can withstand teasing to the same extent. Molestation is the act of subjecting someone to unwanted or improper sexual advances or activity. This could be done with gestures, words or actions. Women from childhood onwards have learned to recognise these signals, which men may not comprehend at all. There are many studies on the effect of molestation on the psychology, behaviour, sexual orientation of victims, but hardly any on the effect of habitual molestation on the perpetrator himself.

A milder form of violence has been euphemistically called eve teasing, making what is essentially an offensive and hurting act, almost an acceptable form of entertainment. It is celebrated in books, films and songs and is most commonly seen on streets, public transport and college campuses. To what extent does habitual eve teasing pave the way for more serious crimes, like rape, one does not know - it has not been studied. Nonetheless it is clear that violence against women covers a very wide spectrum of activities ranging from eve teasing to rape and murder. There is an inverse relation of incidence of the act and impact on the victim. Thus eve teasing has high incidence and low impact, while rape has low incidence and high impact (see Fig.1)1. Figure 1: Representation of the severity of violence against women and its possible impact

Eve Teasing Incidence Impact

Rape

Eve teasing appears to be a common sport in India. Indian books, films and songs show such instances at alarming frequency. What impact it has on young minds is worth studying. When a young man sees a film star (who may be his idol) teasing the female lead, does he start believing that this is an acceptable practice? Secondly, would he graduate from this eve teasing to commit more serious crimes against women in future? During certain festivals in India (like Holi) eve
1

The authors do not agree with the use of the terminology eve teasing, however we are using it

since this is the term most readers will understand; additionally the words high and low are relative and not absolute.

teasing is the norm and is even encouraged. We believe that there is need to study its impact on young minds, both male and female. The Verma Committee too observes that sexual assault degenerates to its gravest form of rape beginning with sexual harassment in milder forms, which remain uncontrolled. It has, therefore, to be curbed at the initial stage (Verma et al 2013).

Incidence of violence Violence against women is extremely common. Kaur (2011) has commented that Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. It can include physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, and it cuts across boundaries of age, race, culture, wealth and geography a statement that is amply justified by the events taking place in India every day. It takes place everywhere in the home, on the streets, in schools, the workplace, in farm fields, refugee camps, and in some places such as red light areas and prisons it is extremely common (Golden 2004). Crime against women is grossly underreported, both in India (Jain, Mathur, Kothari and Mathur 2008, Mukhopadhyay, Partha, Karmakar, Sarkar, Chatterjee and Nigam 2010, Al-Azad, Raman, Ahmad, Wahab and Ali 2011) and elsewhere (Boyer and Dalton 1997, Green 2004). The correct figures are difficult to obtain and in their absence it is difficult to know whether the actual incidence is rising or falling. There are certainly more cases being reported to the police, but whether this reflects an increase in reporting or an increase in actual crimes, we know not. Communal rapes which take place in this part of the world are totally different and their occurrence confounds the analysis of any data that is at hand (Khanna 2008).

One study suggests that in cases of reported violence against women, charges are dropped in many cases and only more severe assaults are prosecuted more vigorously (Frazier and Haney1986). Reforms in Police procedures have certainly improved reporting of rape after 1990, but still the reporting is below 50% (Clay-Warner and Burt 2005). Reluctance on the part of women to approach the police is due to the fact that the police and rape victims remain seemingly worlds apart in their perspectives and needs (Jordan 2001). Underreporting is observed even in developed countries. Rennison (2002) studied 366,460 cases of attempted and completed rapes and sexual assaults on females in the US between 1992 and 2000, and found out that 63% of completed rapes, 65% of attempted rapes, and 74% of completed and attempted sexual assaults against females were not reported to the police. She concludes that closer the relationship between the victim and the offender, the greater the likelihood that the police would not be told about the rape or sexual assault. The National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) documented 24,206 cases of rape (Sec. 376 IPC) in India, i.e. a rate of 2.0 per 100,000 population in the year 2011(NCRB 2012).While there was a mixed trend in the incidence of rape during the periods 2008-2011, an increase of 9.2% in the year 2011 over the year 2010 was observed. There were 24,270 victims of rape out of 24,206 reported rape cases in the country. 10.6% of the total victims of rape were girls under 14 years of age, while 19.0% were teenage girls (14-18 years). It is important to note that offenders were known to the victims in as many as in 22,549 (94.2%) cases. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that a large number of sexual assaults go unreported. Though the annual rate of rape is around 20,000 in the country, Indian jails have only 7,027 convicted rapists and 12,853 under trials, a figure that adds up to one years figure. These figures bear testimony to the low rate of conviction in cases of sexual assault. Some cases of rape

gain notoriety (such as those in a moving car) and lead to police action (in this case banning of darkened windows of vehicles). However 87% of rapes take place in the house and not in the street (Sahu, Mohanty and Das 2005). Exhaustive work done on rape suggests that the incidence of rape varies cross-culturally; and, a high incidence of rape is embedded in a distinguishably different cultural configuration than a low incidence of rape (Report of the Secretary General 2006, Azikiwe et al 2005) Rape is known to occur all over the world, whether during peace or war, but it is more common in some countries than others (Sanday 1981). The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) classifies India as a state where Laws are generally consonant with CEDAW, with little effective enforcement; improving the situation of women appears to be a low priority for the government (Hudson and Brinton 2007). In the SOCIC (States of Concern to the International Community) Classification, India is rated at 3.08 on this 0 to 4 scale. Zero (0) represents a state whose conditions are not of concern and Four (4) a state whose conditions are a cause of high concern to the international community (SOCIC Scale 2011).

Cause of violence against women Following the rape and murder of the Delhi student on December 16, 2012, there have been debates and discussions on the causes, remedies and punishments for crimes against women. For weeks, news concerning the rape and agitations that followed reigned supreme on the countrys news channels. Active in these debates were law makers, lawyers, jurists, police officers, celebrities, and womens activists, but conspicuous by their absence were criminal psychologists who have studied rape as a phenomenon and examined the methods or modus operandi of

rapists. The debates were fuelled more by passion, emotion and law, but what was lacking was expertise on criminal behaviour or psychology. Rape of women by men has occurred throughout recorded history and across cultures. McKibbin, Shackelford, Goetz and Starratt (2007) have studied rape from an evolutionary psychological perspective. Evolutionary psychology is a powerful heuristic that allows researchers to develop and test novel hypotheses about complex behaviours such as rape. They propose that rapists be characterised as belonging to one of several types, distinguished by individual differences as well as by the circumstances in which they are predicted to commit rape such as: Disadvantaged men Specialised rapists Opportunistic rapists High-mating-effort rapists Partner rapists

A large number of workers have however proposed different causes for rampant crime and its underreporting. One report seems to suggest that the rise in population has led to a fall in values and hence crime has risen (Naidu and Nayak 2007). Criminalisation of politics is blamed by another for the rise in crime against women (Mukherjee, Rustagi and Krishnaji 2001). Blame has also been apportioned to the immensely popular film industry of India, which thrives on typecasting women and often glorifies crimes against them (Dasgupta 1996). Women are vulnerable members of the society, but all women are not equally vulnerable. Those women who are poor or widowed or belong to a particular caste or region are more vulnerable than others. In the recent decades, people from Northeast of India, particularly women have been

the target of attacks in different Indian cities. North-eastern women have been particularly targeted for sexual assault, for reasons that seem to defy logic. Chandra (2012) studied the fate of people of North-eastern origin in India, identified a number of causes as to why they are violently targeted, but failed to specify any remedial measures. Nepram (2010) made a detailed analysis of violence against women in the Northeast but concentrated more on the crimes committed by armed forces attempting to curb insurgency there. Human Rights Watch investigations in the former Yugoslavia, Peru, Rwanda and Somalia have revealed that rape and sexual assault of women are an integral part of conflict, whether internal or international in scope (Watts and Zimmerman 2002). Since biblical times, the incentive for the march of an advancing army has been the rape and loot of conquest. Rape as a weapon has been widely used in Bangladesh, the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (The Human Rights Watch Global Report 1995, Sharlach 2000). In times of peace too violence against women continues. Caprioli (2005) suggests gender roles change over time and are culturally dependent, gender is used as a benchmark to determine access and power, and is the rubric under which inequality is justified and maintained. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3, one of the most authoritative surveys in the country, surveyed several aspects of gender equality and womens empowerment in India. When the norm about mens right to beat their wives was explored, it was found that overall, more women aged 15-49 (54%) agree with one or more reasons for wife beating as compared to 51% of men in the same age group (Kishor and Gupta 2009). More than sex, rape is used to demonstrate power over women, to humiliate and break them. Not all rapes involve violence, nor do all rapists hurt their victim. The interaction between a rapist and the victim is very complex and any attempt to simplify it, goes wrong (Hauer and

Armentrout 1978). The classification of rape as sexual, aggressive and sex-aggressive diffusion, also tells us that the causes of rape could be very different from case to case (Cohen, Garofalo, Boucher and Seghorn 1971). A common belief among people (both men and women) is that women who are raped, asked for it by dressing, speaking or behaving in a particular way. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Rape begins with a thought process in the mind of the rapist, and has little to do with the attributes of the victim. Nonetheless men attribute some responsibility to the victim, while women do so much less (Workman and Freeburg 1999). While apportioning blame, even nurses tend to differentiate respectable from disrespectable women victims, and spare them of blame (Alexander 1980). The way a woman dresses or behaves has little to do with crimes against women, rather the way boys and men behave towards women has greater importance (Kanekar and Seksaria 2003). This phenomenon is worldwide, in most surveys the way the victim dresses, behaves, drinks, smokes or parties seem to influence the attribution of responsibility. Blaming the victim for rape or other crimes is a known phenomenon and its systematic study is known as victimology. In the United States and Canada, rape is unique in that it is the only crime in which there are statutory protections designed in favour of the accuser. These were enacted in response to the common defence tactic of putting the accuser on trial. Typical rape shield laws (in US and Canada) prohibit cross-examination of the accuser (alleged victim) with respect to certain issues, such as her or his prior sexual history, or the manner in which she or he was dressed at the time of the rape (Bachman R and Paternoster 1993). To our knowledge there is no study that shows that a woman dressed in a burqa is safer than one say dressed in a mini skirt, in the same setting.

10

During interaction, men and women send out signals to each other. Correct interpretations of these signals, helps the development of understanding each other. However people often do not read the signals correctly, and suggest that wrong signals were sent out. Incorrect decoding of signals by the male may result in men's overestimation of female sexual interest (Grammer, Kruck, Juette and Fink 2000). Rape takes place as a result of misinterpretations of the signals sent out by the victim, rather than the signals themselves (Muehlenhard 1988). Burt (1980)in her seminal work on rape myth, tested hypotheses derived from social psychological and feminist theory that acceptance of rape myths can be predicted from attitudes such as sex role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, sexual conservatism, and acceptance of interpersonal violence. Personality characteristics, background characteristics, and personal exposure to rape, rape victims, and rapists were other factors used in predictions. Results from regression analysis of interview data indicated that the higher the sex role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, and acceptance of interpersonal violence, the greater a respondent's acceptance of rape myths. In addition, younger and better educated people revealed less stereotypic, adversarial, and pro-violence attitudes and less rape myth acceptance. Scully and Marol (1985) interviewed 114 convicted, incarcerated rapists. Their analysis revealed that a number of rapists used sexual violence as a method of revenge and/or punishment while others used it as a means of gaining access to unwilling or unavailable women. In some cases, rape was just a bonus added to burglary or robbery. Rape was also a recreational activity and described as an adventure and an exciting form of impersonal sex which gained the offender power over his victim(s). Drieschner and Lange (1999)conclude that men with a high proclivity to rape have more rape supportive attitudes, are more likely to consider victims to be responsible for rape, and are less

11

knowledgeable about the negative impact of rape on the victims. These men tend to misperceive cues emitted by women in heterosocial interactions; fail to generate inhibitory self-verbalisations to suppress association of sex and aggression; and have more coercive, sexual fantasies. Furthermore, a high proclivity to rape is associated with a semantic network in which concepts of sex and power are closely linked in such a way that power cues are necessary precursors of sexual feelings. Multivariate studies suggest that rape-supportive attitudes interact with non cognitive factors in the aetiology of rape.

Punishment for Violence Worldwide there is clamour for enhancing the punishment for rape (MacDonald 2000). Womens Rights activists and others from cross-sections of the society are examining and suggesting ways and means of enhancing the punishment for rape, in the hope that such an enhancement will prove deterrence (Saumya 2012).Another group is equivocal in suggesting that enhancing the punishment for rape to death, will actually lead to the rapist killing his victim (since the punishment for murder is also death). There is however very little data to suggest that such an effect has been seen elsewhere in the world or is likely to be seen. It has often been overlooked that rapists have different psychological profiles, and not all are apt to kill their victims (Hazelwood and Warren 1989). On the other hand there is no evidence of death sentence being a deterrent for any crime (Baxi 2000). The public outcry over the rape in Delhi in December 2012, forced the government to push through a number of initiatives to improve womens safety in India. These have been more of knee jerk reactions. The Justice Verma Committee has already handed over its recommendations to the Government of India. It has made widespread recommendations for prevention and

12

management of rape cases and other incidents of violence against women. The ball is now literally in the court. However one point that comes strongly across is the need to systematically study the phenomenon of violence and come out with evidence based recommendations to contain it. The NCRB records that there were 128,592 convicted prisoners as against 241,200 under trials in Indian jails in 2011, of which 7,000 have been convicted of rape (Prison Statistics in India 2011).This is indeed a sizeable population and their psychological profiling will provide invaluable understanding in the psyche of the rapist. Harris and Hanson (2004) examined sexual recidivism, as expressed by new charges or convictions for sexual offences, using the data from 10 follow-up studies of adult male sexual offenders, with a combined sample of 4,724. Results indicated that most sexual offenders do not repeat the offense, and that first-time sexual offenders are significantly less likely to repeat them, than those with previous sexual convictions. Additionally offenders over the age of 50 are less likely to repeat the offense compared to younger offenders. It was also found that the longer offenders remained offence-free in the community, the less likely they are to re-offend sexually. It is urged that comprehensive studies should be undertaken at the earliest in India to provide a basis for measures taken to fight this problem. It is only through research that one can hope to get insight into the genesis of this and afford protection to women. It is essential to provide women with an environment, where they are mentally and physically safe. Safety of women is another parameter to be added to the index evaluating a countrys development. Any society, in which half the members live in perpetual fear, needs to re-examine its claim of being civilised.

13

References 1. Al-Azad MAS, Raman Z, Ahmad M, Wahab MA, Ali M & Khalil MI. (2011). Sociodemographic characteristics of alleged sexual assault (rape) cases in Dhaka city. Journal of Armed Forces Medical College, Bangladesh,7(2), 21-4. 2. Alexander CS. (1980). The responsible victim: nurses' perceptions of victims of rape. Journal of Health and Social Behavior,21(1), 22-33. 3. Azikiwe N, Wright J, Cheng T & DAngelo LJ. (2005). Management of rape victims (regarding STD treatment and pregnancy prevention): do academic emergency departments practice what they preach? Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(5), 446-8. 4. Bachman R & Paternoster RA. (1993).Contemporary look at the effects of rape law reform: how far have we really come? The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 84(3), 55474. 5. Baxi P. (2000). Rape, retribution, state. On whose bodies? Economic and Political Weekly, 35(14), 1-7. 6. Boyer L & Dalton ME. (1997). Female victims of rape and their genital injuries. BJOG. 104(5), 617-20. 7. Burt MR. (1980).Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(2), 217-30. 8. Caprioli, M. (2005). Primed for violence: the role of gender inequality in predicting internal conflict. International Studies Quarterly; 49, 161-78. 9. Chandra M. (2012).Social profiling: the root causes of racial discrimination against NE. Paper presented at a UGC Sponsored National Seminar on Gender and Racial

14

Discrimination: the Paradigm of Womens Vulnerability. Imphal, Manipur. Retrieved from: http://nehelpline.net/?p=702 10. Clay-Warner J & Burt CH. (2005).Rape reporting after reforms-have times really changed? Violence Against Women, 11(2), 150-76. 11. Cohen ML, Garofalo R, Boucher R &Seghorn T. (1971). The psychology of rapists. Seminars in Psychiatry, 3(3), 307-27. 12. Crime in India. New Delhi: National Crime Records Bureau; 2011 Retrieved from: http://ncrb.nic.in/ 13. Dasgupta SD. (1996). Feminist consciousness in women centreed Hindi films. The Journal of Popular Culture, 30(1), 173-89. 14. Drieschner K & Lange A. (1999). A review of cognitive factors in the etiology of rape: theories, empirical studies, and implications. Clinical Psychology Review, 19(1), 57-77. 15. Frazier PA & Haney B. (1986). Sexual assault cases in the legal system: police, prosecutor, and victim perspectives. Law and Human Behavior, 20(6), 607-28. 16. Golden DM. (2004). Its not all in my head. The harm of rape and Prison Litigation Reforms Act. Cardozo Womens Law Journal,11(37), 37-60. 17. Grammer K, Kruck K, Juette A & Fink B. (2000).Non-verbal behavior as courtship signals: the role of control and choice in selecting partners. Evolution & Human Behaviour, 21(6), 371-90. 18. Green JL. (2004).Uncovering collective rape: a comparative study of political sexual violence. International Journal of Sociology, 34(1), 97-116. 19. Harris A & Hanson R. (2004). Sex offender recidivism: A simple question 2004- 03. Retrieved from: http://www.static99.org/pdfdocs/harrisandhanson2004simpleq.pdf

15

20. Hauer Al &Armentrout JA. (1978). MMPIs of rapists of adults, rapists of children, and non-rapist sex offenders. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34 (2), 330-2. 21. Hazelwood RR & Warren J. (1989).Serial rapist: his characteristics and victims (conclusion). FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 58(2), 18-25. 22. Hudson VM & Brinton CH. (2007).Womens tears and international fears: is discrepant enforcement of national laws protecting women and girls related to discrepant enactment of international norms by Nation-States? Annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, August 29-September 1, 2007.Retrieved from: http://womanstats.org/APSA07HudsonBrinton.pdf 23. Jain R, Mathur PN, Kothari NS &Mathur P. (2008). Medicolegal evaluation of sex assault cases admitted at Sardar Patel Medical College & P.B.M. Hospital, Bikaner. India Medico Legal Update, 8(1), 1-6. 24. Jordan J. (2001).Worlds apart? Women, rape and the police reporting process. Br J Criminol, 41(4), 679-706. 25. Kanekar S &Seksaria V. (2003). Acquaintance versus stranger rape: testing the ambiguity reduction hypothesis. European Journal of Social Psychology,23(5), 485-94. 26. Kaur P.(2011). Crime, Gender and Society in India. Higher Education of Social Science, 1(1), 24-32. 27. Khanna R. (2008).Communal violence in Gujarat, India: impact of sexual violence and responsibilities of the health care system. Reproductive Health Matters, 16(31), 142-52. 28. Kishor S & Gupta K. (2009).Gender equality and womens empowerment in India. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), India, 2005-06. Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences.

16

29. MacDonald R. (2000). Time to talk about rape. If men remember that women are their mothers, daughters, and wives they may change their laws. BMJ, 321(7268), 1034-5. 30. McKibbin WF, Shackelford TK, Goetz AT & Starratt VG. (2008).Why do men rape? An evolutionary psychological perspective. Review of General Psychology, 12(1), 86-97. 31. Muehlenhard CL. (1988). Misinterpreted Dating Behaviours and the Risk of Date Rape. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 6(1), 20-37. 32. Mukherjee C, Rustagi P &Krishnaji N. (2001). Crime against women in India: analysis of official statistics. Economic and Political Weekly, 36(43), 4070-80. 33. Mukhopadhyay P, Partha P, Karmakar RN, Sarkar D, Chattrejee S & Nigam MK. (2010). Decadal change in pattern and demography of female victims of sex offence examined at Burdwan Medical College, Burdwan, West Bengal, India: myth versus reality. Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 4(1), 31-5. 34. Naidu TKK & Yadav M. (2007). Study of crime against women: role of forensic medicine. Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine, 29(1), 38-41. 35. Prison Statistics in India: National Crime Records Bureau, 2011 Retrieved from : http://ncrb.nic.in/PSI-2011/PrisonStat2011.htm 36. Nepram B. (2010). Gender-based violence in conflict zones -case study of impact of ongoing armed conflict, small arms proliferation and womens response in Indias northeast. Retrieved from:http://cequinindia.org/pdf/Special_Reports/GENDERBASED%20VIOLENCE%20IN%20CONFLICT%20ZONES%20by%20Binalakshmi_Nepra m.pdf

17

37. Rennison CA. (2002). Rape and sexual assault: Reporting to police and medical attention, 1992-2000 [NCJ 194530]. Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsarp00.pdf 38. Study of the Secretary General (2006) Ending Violence Against women UN Publications No. E.06.IV.8. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/VAW_Study/VAWstudyE.pdf 39. Sahu G, Mohanty S & Das JK. (2005). Vulnerable victims of sexual assault. Med. Sci. Law, 45(3), 256-60. 40. Sanday PR. (1981).The socio-cultural context of rape: a cross-cultural study. Journal of Social Issues, 37(4), 5-27. 41. Saumya U. (2012). Rights of adolescent girls in India: a critical look at laws and policies. Mumbai: Vacha Publications. 42. Scully D & Maroll J. (1985).Riding the bull at Gilley's: convicted rapists describe the rewards of rape. Social Problems, 32(3), 251-63. 43. Sharlach L. (2000). Rape as genocide: Bangladesh, the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. New Political Science, 22(1), 89-102. 44. SOCIC Scale (2011) Retrieved from: http://vmrhudson.org/socic.html 45. The Human Rights Watch Global Report on Womens Human Rights 1995. Human Rights Watch, Retrieved from http://www.wwda.org.au/hrwgolbalrept1.pdf 46. Verma JS, Seth L & Subramanium G. (2013). Report of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law. 47. Watts C & Zimmerman C. (2002). Violence against women: global scope and magnitude. Lancet, 359(9313), 1232-7.

18

48. Workman JE & Freeburg EW. (1999) An examination of date rape, victim dress, and perceiver variables within the context of attribution theory. Sex Roles, 41(3-4), 261-77.

19