Hang the rapists – is not the justice we want!

“We want justice”, the slogan which we have read in the newspapers, heard on our television sets and updated on Facebook. I asked a protesting friend of mine, “What are you here for?”
He replied “we want justice”.
“What is justice for you?”
“Hang the rapists”
I looked at him with a smile and wished him good luck for his ‘justice’.

It is tragic that it took an episode as horrific as the rape of a young woman in a Delhi bus on December 19 to shake India out of its complacency over such crimes. I am thankful for the awakening, and ashamed that we didn’t wake sooner. Today, on 29^th December 2012, Patient X, lost the battle and was announced dead by the doctors at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth hospital.  All my condolences to the family and I hope she finally gets some peace in heaven.

The reason I am writing today is not just to applaud the fight put by the 23 year old, but also to explain why hanging the rapists is not the answer. Just after the terrorist Ajmal Kasab was hanged, some voices were heard saying that perhaps it was time for the death penalty to be abolished, even for someone like Kasab, who was responsible for the killing of 168 people. Yes, 168 people.

It is wrong to demand the death penalty for rape. Here are some of the primary reasons.

1.  “Death for rape” seriously endangers the life of victims. By removing the difference in punishment between rape and murder to zero, it encourages the rapist to kill – and thereby also eliminate evidence
   1.  “Death for rape” does not reduce the incidence of rape – as empirical evidence shows, for instance from the US states that allowed “death for rape” till the late twentieth century. And it’s because of the above point that death for rape was revoked from all those US states, even as capital punishment continues for murder.
   2. The death sentence is allowed in India for murder (IPC 302) – and it makes little difference. Murders and killings happen every day in India. The reason, of course, is the firm believe that “I won’t get caught”.
   3. The central issue – which encourages rapists to rape with impunity – is not the quantum of punishment. It’s the low conviction rate – as low as 10% if you count rapes that are not reported. It’s the knowledge: “I won’t get caught”.
   4. There is adequate punishment in the IPC. Rape is punishable with 7 years jail, or 10 years to life for gang-rape. But enforcement sucks. Think: if the perpetrators of this heinous crime knew that he would probably get arrested and jailed for 7 or 10 years, would he have done what he did?

Rape, no matter how horrendous, is not murder, and should not be equated with it. Only the taking of a life must deserve the death sentence. Here, I would want to explain that in the Delhi case, the girl has been killed due to the brutality she suffered at the hands of the rapists and this amounts to murder and should be treated as such.

Let us not be naive. Mere hanging will never stop rapes, or even bring down the number of cases. Haven’t we all been a witness to violence on women at every stage of our life? The husband hits the wife because ‘he had a really tiring day’. The brother hits his sister because ‘her clothes were too short’. Be frank, how many times have you looked at a girl and whispered to your friend “Dude, she is so hot!”

If hanging the rapists is really the answer then why don’t we announce death sentence for each and every crime. Then we would be a crime free nation, finally! Why not demand death sentence of the people who have deposited crores of rupees in Swiss banks which, I would like to inform you, has caused the death of many people, some by lack of medicine, by the poor transport facility and the corrupt doctors as well.

Merely saying “I hate India and this bloody so-called-democracy”, or updating “Hang the rapists” or calling for “chop that thing off” will not get you justice. And trust me guys, no matter how many pics you “like” and “share” on Facebook, it will not get the girl any kind of respect or peace. (For god sake, cut the Facebook crap). If I ever happen to meet patient X in heaven, I would like to tell her “After you were gone, we really changed a lot and made the country a lot safer for women” rather than “Hey, guess what, we bloody hanged them!”

What is needed is ensuring that the police take complaints seriously, that trials are held quickly, that the number of cops on the streets is increased sufficiently so that a girl walking alone at night has nothing to fear. Merely increasing the sentence won’t suffice. Things have to be fixed from the district level up, so that justice is available easily, quickly and cheaply to every Indian citizen. I hope the protest is more about getting women the equality they have deserved socially, politically and economically rather than just “Hang the rapists”. If you still think hanging the rapists is the answer, then maybe we just have different views. I know you want to ask me “What would you do if someone raped your daughter?” I will kill him, yes I will. But ask me and ask yourself “What would you rather have a raped daughter or a dead daughter?” My answer might be a bit contradictory, which might just be the epitome of the 950 words you just read.

RIP Patient X.