Campaigners welcomed a toughening of laws in India on Wednesday for sex crimes but said they were not enough to tackle a crisis underpinned by cultural attitudes, including from “sexist” lawmakers.
India’s lower house on Tuesday passed a bill increasing punishment for sex offenders, including the death penalty if a victim dies, three months after the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in Delhi sparked nationwide protests.
Women’s rights activists hailed the legislation for broadening the definition of sexual assault to include molestation of private parts and for doubling the minimum prison sentence for gang-rape to 20 years.
It also allows for the death sentence if a rape victim dies or is left in a persistent vegetative state. Under existing laws, rapists face a minimum seven-year jail term.
Ranjana Kumari, director of the non-profit Centre for Social Research, praised the decision to include a penalty for police officials who fail to register assault or harassment cases filed by women.
This will go a long way in ending the culture of shame that surrounds victims of sexual crimes, so they don’t feel afraid to approach police when they are attacked
“This will go a long way in ending the culture of shame that surrounds victims of sexual crimes, so they don’t feel afraid to approach police when they are attacked,” Kumari said.