Last week the madras high court gave bail to a rapist to find a happy conclusion and possibly marry his victim and then the chairperson of the state women's commission also called such a mediation a welcome possibility. This came in a case in which a 15 year old orphan was raped and impregnated in 2008 and is now a mother if a 6 year old daughter.
Rape is a crime that violates not just a woman's body but also her soul, her self respect and her status in the society. Rape is one of the most heinous crimes. By asking a victim to compromise with her rapist is adding insult to injury. It further violates a woman's honor. It brings back the memories of trauma to haunt her again. It is humiliating her all over again. The rapist escapes punishment for his crime but the victim continues to suffer all her life. It is like telling a woman that she is no good and should keep quiet and obey the man who violated her. It is an expression of male chauvinism. No victim wants to mediate with her rapist. No woman wants to even see the face of her rapist. Asking a woman to mediate and marry her rapist is like raping her again and humiliating her all over again.
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