INTRODUCTION
India is largest democracy of the world and still one of the most unsafe places for women. In India instances of rapes are increasing every year and it also been noted that especially the rape on minors is also increasing every year and if we will look at the report of National Crime Records Bureau titled “Crime in India 2016 & 2018”[1] .
Then it can be seen very clearly that every year large number of new cases related to child rapes are being registered. This particular article focuses on increasing number of rapes on minor and makes an effort to understand the psychology of criminals who are committing crime of rape.
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF TOPIC
Till the year 2012, a case of rape, irrespective of what is the age of victim was initially registered under the Section 375 & 376 of Indian Penal Code, 1860. But On 14th November, 2012, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO ACT) came into force with the aim to deal with offences like sexual abuse of child and rape against a minor.
After POSCO Act came into force, rape cases against a child can be registered under both the Indian Penal Code and the POSCO Act.[2]
As not all rapists have same psychology for committing rape and therefore in order to give them punishment, understanding their psychology becomes very important.
RAPE ON MINORS IN INDIA
Abusing a child sexually is one the biggest problem which is largely left unaddressed by criminal justice system of India and rape on minors or child rape is the main problem among them.
United Nations always promote democracy as they believe that democracy is really necessary to make sure that a everyone’s dignity and rights are being protected, especially of a women and child as they are still sometimes vulnerable.
In India Rape has been one of the most common form of violence against women and it’s considered as a big violation of bodily integrity of women and it can be a form of torture also. Indian Penal Code under section 375 defines Rape and makes it a punishable offence, in simple terms it is a sexual act by a man with a woman which is done against her will or without her consent.
The definition also includes a sexual act in which her consent is obtained by putting her or any person of her interest in danger or fear of death or of hurt.
When it comes to child rape, the definition provides that when any sexual act is done with or without her consent, when she is under the age of 18 years then it amounts to rape.[3]
In India specific legislation which deals with child sexual abuse, especially child rape was absent up until 2012. The on 14th November, 2012, the new act called Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO ACT) was introduced in India in order to protect the rights of children.
This act provides for punishment for variety of offences under which an accused can be punished. This act defines a child as a person who is under the age of 18 years but it only takes biological aspect of age and is completely silent on consideration of mental age. This act also identifies forms of penetration other than the penal-vaginal penetration.[4]
Another very important aspect of this act is that this act is gender neutral. This act also talks about pornography including children; the act criminalizes even watching or collecting pornographic content which involves children[5]. This act also makes tiring process of trial in India easy for children as it provides various procedural reforms.
However this act is criticized on a point that it criminalizes the sexual intercourse between two people who are below the age of 18 years.
SOME CASES RELATED TO RAPE ON MINORS
Mathura Rape Case[6]: it all started from an infamous case known as Mathura Rape case, which created uproar on a national scale and sparked off uncurbed and strong conflicts nationwide, which lead to some major changes in the scope of law governing rape in India.
In this case a young girl named Mathura was abducted by some policemen and raped in the custody. The judgment of this case in which convicted accused were acquitted, was highly condemned and criticized on the grounds being flawed logically, legally and linguistically along with its ambiguous and sexist tone.
This case resulted in rousing up passion and anger amongst people in the society. That is why a more sensitive law was needed to be drafted in order to protect human rights and dignity of victims.
This case was the main reason behind Criminal Law Amendment, 1983. In addition to this section 376 of IPC was also amended, making custodial rape an offence punishable with imprisonment of not less than 7 years.
Independent Thought v. Union of India[7]: this was the landmark case in which a two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court on 11th October 2017 gave its judgment and unanimously read down the Exception 2 to the Section 375 of Indian Penal Code.
The Supreme Court held that the age of consent must be 18 years of age and not 15 years. This means that now exception would read as “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being under the age of 18 years, is not rape”, therefore this means that if a man forces his minor wife for sexual intercourse then it would amount as an offence of rape.
Kathua Rape Case[8]: this is another popular case in which an eight year old girl was murdered after being brutally raped in Kathua village of Jammu and Kashmir.
The main accused in this case was the head of Village and some policemen were also involved. This news was a very big shock to the nation and lead to protests nationwide demanding for harsher punishment.
After this case Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was passed which was the first time when a death penalty was put as a possible punishment for raping a girl who is under 12 years of age.
Another new provision was added in IPC which specifically deals with rape of a girl less than 16 years of age and makes it a punishable offence with minimum punishment of 20 years of imprisonment and this punishment can be extended to lifetime imprisonment. And for first time after 1860 the minimum term of jail time was changed under IPC, taking it to 10 years from 7 years.
WHY CHILD RAPES ARE LESS REPORTED?
In most of the cases which involves rape of a child, the main accused is not a stranger but some family member or close relative of that child and that is why large number of child rapes go unreported as fear of social stigma is attached to it.
The report of National Crime Records Bureau titled “Crime in India 2016” reported that the 94% of the cases which was registered under POSCO Act where those were the accused was some family member or close relative of that child.[9]
Therefore even in certain situations where the family of victim reports such case, they fear of social exclusion and then victim doesn’t only go through psychological stigma but also faces stigma of being excluded socially. That is why child rapes are less reported.
PSYCHOLOGY OF RAPISTS
Rape is one of most heinous crime which one can commit and it does not only affect the victim physically but also damages them emotionally. When we think about why someone will commit such a horrible crime, we sometimes end up blaming women only and associate various myths with it.
Some of these myths are like; women ask for sex as the way they dress or behave, or that women enjoy being raped, or they could have avoided or stopped the person from raping them if they really wanted to, or rapist was not mentally stable, etc.
None of these myths are true and that’s why it’s really important to understand that why someone commits rape and especially rape on minors.[10]
The offence of rape may be committed by someone for variety of reasons like due to anger, lust, hatred, revenge, etc. but is the psychology behind committing such terrible crime. There are various psychological reasons which may force someone to commit crime like rape.
A person who may be suffering from some emotional trauma or abnormalities in their personality may commit such crime.
For example, a sex addict is a person who are obsessed with sexual thoughts and fantasies and that’s why they are sometimes unable to control their urge of being satisfied, and thus commits an act like rape.[11]
Another important aspect of the psychology of rapist is the mental health of the rapist. Many researches over the time have shown that sometimes mental health issues also become the reason behind sexual violence, and especially rape.
Mental illness like neurobiological impairment, psychiatric disorders, intimacy problems, cognitive disorders in which offenders rationalize and minimize their perception and judgments, are some of the biggest mental health issues which lead them to commit such crime.
Along with this there can be some other psychological reasons like dementia, experiences from past like being child abuse or sexual inadequacy, which leads someone to commit rape.[12]
CONCLUSION
Despite all these amendments and reformation of rape laws in India, rape on minors are still occurring and even increasing every year. As mentioned in this article there are several psychological reasons for different offender that why they omitted the offence of rape on minors, that is why even after such reforms in law it is really difficult sometimes to implement it.
In order to implement law effectively we should take consideration of both, the victim’s suffering and the offender’s psychology while delivering judgments.
Another effective way to deliver justice to a minor who has been raped is to establish fast track courts for speedy relief and also encourage the victims to report the crime. In India mentality of our society still requires reformation as we have to understand that when a minor is raped then they don’t only suffer from physical injury but they also suffer from tremendous psychological effects like PTSD, depression and much more.
Reference-
- Crime in India – 2016, The National Crime Records Bureau ↑
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, § 19(1). ↑
- The Indian Penal Code, 1860, § 375. ↑
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, § 2(d). ↑
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, § 13. ↑
- Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra, (1979) 2 SCC 143 ↑
- AIR 2017 SC 4904 ↑
- Mohd. Akhtar v. State of J&K, (2018) 5 SCC 336 ↑
- Supra Note 1. ↑
- Jaydip Sarkar, Mental Health Assessment of Rape Offenders ↑
- Sharma, Radha & Pardasani, Rupali & Nandram, Sharda. (2014). The Problem of Rape in India: A Multi-dimensional Analysis. ↑
- Supra Note 10. ↑
