Is Sexual Abuse of Minors Worse in India? Ink Readers Debate

Associated Press Relatives mourning the death of the four-year-old rape victim in Ghansor, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday.

The recent death of a 4-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh, who succumbed to her injuries days after she was raped and dumped near a crematorium in her hometown of Ghansor, has evoked an overwhelming response from India Ink readers.

Some readers are outraged by the brutality of the crime and attribute it to the skewed sex ratio, which they say is causing this unnatural behavior among men. A few others feel that arrests made in this case show that authorities are taking some action toward perpetrators of crimes against women; noting the reporting of such cases has been on the rise.

“Renata2021,” a reader from Massachusetts, wrote, “As horrific as this story is, the only reason it is ‘news’ is that authorities are investigating and have made an arrest. This reflects fairly recent improvements in civil rights for women, children and the poor in India.” The reader added, “When authorities begin to take these events seriously, citizens feel more confident about reporting criminal and anti-social behavior and communities demand more of their citizens.”

The same reader, who did not give his or her name, said that change could be ushered into Indian society through “education and other reforms long needed but long ignored.”

“APS” from California argued that, according to an Indian religious leader, “increased consumption of meat and alcohol” is the reason for the rising occurrence of rape in India, but “nowhere do they note that there is a steady rise in female feticide/infanticide in India.” This reader also wrote that, “the gender ratio is unnatural, causing too much of testosterone in the society,” which “gets exhibited through violent acts.”

Echoing a similar view, Alison West from New York wrote that, aborting female fetuses, a practice that she says should be banned, is “creating a growing and serious imbalance between men and women.” She contends, “As heterosexual young men are less and less able to find wives, they will be less and less able to enjoy normal and open emotional and sexual relations.”

Ms. West also states that, “Female feticide will lead to the disenfranchisement of women, who will be made to feel that their only value is in marriage and breeding children,” and they will lose their “voice in the public arena as their numbers fall in relation to men.”

“Proud American” from Minnesota weighs in by saying that, “There are no easy causes of this malaise affecting India.” But is quick to add, that the “girl child is undesirable due to prevalence of fat weddings and practice of dowry which can break the backs of middle/lower middle-class people.”

According to this reader, children of migrant workers become easy targets of sexual violence. When these families travel to cities in search for work, they are often unable to afford secure accommodation, or properly care for their children, who are then left more exposed to “depraved persons.”

Proud American offers some suggestions to tackle this problem, including punishing perpetrators of female infanticide, subsidizing education, and “making a college degree mandatory for a political career.” As the reader argues, “Uneducated leaders don’t make sound policies necessarily.”

Improving the quality of programming on cable network that “shows uninhibited levels of filth” could also help, according to the Proud American.

Romy from New York City offers a more stringent approach to deal with rising crimes against women in India. “Don’t spend one penny in that country or purchasing exports from there until true enforcement and country-wide policies are in place to protect women and female children,” she wrote in referring to India.

Urging people to “stand up for change,” and put an end to the recent spate of sexual assaults on women and children in India, she asks:  Are there any Indian movie stars, sports players, intellectuals out there who are willing to put a face on needed change?

“Notable Skeptic” from Cambridge, Mass., throws open a question to fellow readers and people who oppose the death penalty even for the most heinous crimes. “What’s the appropriate punishment for this crime? I’d love to hear specifically from people who are against the death penalty and torture.”

This reader also wrote that Indian society is to be blamed for “not properly assimilating” the man who raped the 4-year-old girl.

Send us your thoughts on ways to protect children from sexual violence? Write to us in the comments section below.