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Now Modi trains his guns on Harsh Mander

June 12, 2013 Team FI News
Harsh Mander

Narendra Modi’s accusations against noted human rights activist Harsh Mander condemned as being an attempt to distort facts and spread hate

By Team FI

Human rights activists and individuals issued a statement today condemning the verbal attack unleashed by controversial Hindu right wing politician Narendra Modi on social activist Harsh Mander.

The statement signed by eminent activists including Medha Patkar, Shabnam Hashmi and Kavita Srivastava accused the Gujarat Chief Minister for trying to “belittle Mander’s work, raising doubts about him and villifying his name in public.”

Harsh Mander, an ardent opponent of capital punishment, is a well known social activist and writer. He heads Aman Biradari which works for communal harmony and runs residential homes for some 4000 homeless children across India.

Modi, whose rule saw the 2002 Gujarat carnage which killed over 2500 people mostly belonging to the minority community, accused Mander of being a Maoist sympathizer last week. The verbal attack from one of Indian’s most divisive right wing politician began when a care giver at one of 45 institutions run by Aman Biradari – Padma – was arrested for having links with Maoists (banned members of radical left groups). Harsh Mander in his letter to the press last week had expressed his organisation’s innocence, stating that the organisation was not aware of the “true identity” of Padma and they chose to hire her as she was a dedicated worker and she hailed from a poor family. She was employed as a manager at one of their institutions in Hyderabad.

Activists allege that the news of the woman’s arrest is being twisted and used by Narendra Modi to brand Harsh Mander, who has consistently voiced his outrage against Gujarat violence, as a Maoist sympathizer.

Publishing here is the copy of the petition;

Statement condemning the Targeting and Vilification of Harsh Mander by Narendra Modi

New Delhi,12th, June, 2013

With great pride we would like to put on record that the work of our colleague and friend Harsh Mander, for the last several years, both inside the Government as a civil servant, as well as outside the Government as a policy maker, researcher and activist has been, that of promoting in the most ethical way, non-violent ways of ensuring justice to survivors of violence due to their gender, class, caste, religious group, ethnicity or nationality. The most prominent violence which Harsh’s work has highlighted has been the one committed on the vulnerable by both the State and Society due to their invisibility, whether they be the homeless, the destitute, the old or street people.

It is shocking that the “aspirant PM” Narendra Modi has been targeting Harsh for the last week calling him a Maoist. Thus trying to belittle his work, raising doubts about him and villifying his name in public. This targeting of individuals and organisations and vilifying them is not new, earlier too he had spewed venom against Syeda Hammed, Teesta Setalvad and Shabnam Hashmi amongst the several and now the new whipping boys are Harsh Mander and Dr. Binayak Sen.

The hiring of Padma, a single poor woman, estranged from her husband, as a care giver in one of the 45 Institutions for street and abandoned children run by Aman Biradari, is being twisted and used by Modi to prove that Harsh is a Maoist sympathizer. The latest spin that Harsh Mander is in any way involved with the Maoists and that he may have had anything to do at all with the abduction of Vineel Krishna, the then District Collector of Malkangiri is patently false, concocted and the figment of a very perverted imagination.

This absolutely absurd claim and false connection being made by Modi only exposes his brand of politics which is seeped, in his parent organisation the RSS from where Mr. Modi has learnt to distort facts and spread hate. His anger against Harsh also clearly goes back to the latter’s work in Gujarat struggling over ten years to ensure justice to those affected by the 2002 communal genocide. It may be recalled that Harsh had left the prestigious civil services in 2002 and plunged himself in Gujarat and other parts of India in order to quell communal fire from spreading and working towards justice and rehabilitation of the survivors.

It goes without saying that this vilification of Harsh for partisan electoral politics be stopped. It is vital for all to understand that the perils of allowing such politics to take centre stage where democratic rights of people are attacked, impacting their right to work as they choose, and amounts to an attack on the very basis of our country’s plural existence. We hope that such politics will not be promoted by political parties and the media so that people can continue to work freely for public good.

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Tackle root causes of violence against women, UN rapporteur

May 3, 2013 Team FI News
Rashida Manjoo

Report of Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur for the United Nations urges India to end the culture of impunity and the inequality and discrimination so as to eliminate violence against women in India

By Team FI

Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur for the United Nation for violence against women, its causes and consequences, in the conclusive statement of her fact-finding mission in India, stated that violence against women was both a cause and consequence of de facto inequality and discrimination.

Mandated by the Human Rights Council to gather information on the causes and consequences of violence against women and recommend measures to eliminate the same, Manjoo urged the Government of India to link the violence against women with the “other systems of oppression and discrimination prevalent within societies.” In her statement delivered on May 1st 2013, Manjoo pointed out that creating legislations and policies alone will not bring about the needed change, “if it is not implemented within a holistic approach that simultaneously targets the empowerment of women, social transformation, and the provision of remedies that ultimately address the continuum of discrimination and violence, and also the pervasive culture of impunity.”

In her mission in India, Manjoo held meetings in New Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Manipur, and gathered information from other states, including Tamil Nadu. She met with civil and human rights activists, representatives of state and centre authorities, human rights institutions and United Nation agencies and shared the experiences of individual women who suffered from the loss of their human rights.
Manifestations of Violence.

Manjoo described the various manifestations of violence against women as per the information gathered as sexual violence, domestic violence, caste-based discrimination and violence, dowry related deaths, crimes in the name of honour, witch-hunting, sati, sexual harassment, violence against lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, forced and/or early marriages, deprivation of access to water and basic sanitation, violence against women with disabilities, sexual and reproductive rights violations, sex selection practices, violence in custodial settings and violence in conflict situations, among others.

The statement also recognised information about the forms of violence experienced by women with disabilities “including sexual violence, forced sterilization and/or abortions and forced medication without their consent. In addition, their experience of discrimination, exclusion and marginalisation reinforces the need for greater attention and specificity.”

“One interlocutor described violence against women and girls as functioning on a continuum that spans the life-cycle from the womb to the tomb,” said Manjoo. She stated that these manifestations are strongly linked to women’s social and economic situation, and the deeply entrenched norms of patriarchy and cultural practices linked to notions of male superiority and female inferiority. “The current focus by state actors on preserving the unity of the family is manifested in the welfare/social approach and not in the human rights based approach. It does not take into consideration the nature of relationships based on power and powerlessness; of economic and emotional dependency; and also the use of culture, tradition and religion as a defence for abusive behaviour,” informed the statement.

While she welcomed the Centre’s speedy response after the Delhi rape incident in the appointment of the late Justice Verma committee, she regretted that the new amendments did not fully reflect the Verma Committee’s recommendations. Describing it as unfortunate, she stated that this was an opportunity was lost that could have addressed the de facto inequality and discrimination of women. “This development foreclosed the opportunity to establish a holistic and remedial framework which is underpinned by transformative norms and standards, including those relating to sexual and bodily integrity rights. Furthermore, the approach adopted fails to address the structural and root causes and consequences of violence against women,” said the statement.

Though the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act is a positive development, Manjoo pointed out that one of the recurring complaints availed to her was the discrepancy between the provisions of the laws and its effective implementation. “Despite provisions intended to offer legal, social and financial assistance to victims, many women are unable to register their complaints. Furthermore, prevention of violence, as a core due diligence obligation of the State, does not feature in the implementation of this law,” the statement said.

She reiterated that despite the recent amendments, “the unfortunate reality is that the rights of many women in India continue to be violated, with impunity as the norm, according to many submissions received.” Manjoo stated that women experience violence not just in situations of conflict, post-conflict, and displacement but also in situations of peace. “The denial of constitutional rights in general, and the violation of the rights of equality, dignity, bodily integrity, life and access to justice in particular, was a theme that was common in many testimonies,” she said.
Conflict-related Sexual Violence.

The statement also said that it in relation to conflict- related sexual violence, it was crucial to acknowledge that violations are perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. She pointed out that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has mostly resulted in impunity for human rights violations broadly. “In the testimonies received, it was clear that the interpretation and implementation of this act, is eroding fundamental rights and freedoms – including freedom of movement, association and peaceful assembly, safety and security, dignity and bodily integrity rights, for women, in Jammu & Kashmir and in the North-Eastern States.” She said that it was unfortunate that peaceful and legitimate protests often elicited a military response.

The statement recognized that the victimization of women from the Dalit, Adivasi, other Scheduled castes, tribal and indigenous minorities. “Their reality is one where they exist at the bottom of the political, economic and social systems, and they experience some of the worst forms of discrimination and oppression – thereby perpetuating their socio-economic vulnerability across generations.”

Manjoo heard anguished stories of young women disappearing without a trace in Manipur. The police she was informed are generally apathetic and are likely to put the cause as elopement. However Manjoo expressed concern that these disappearances could be linked to sexual abuse, exploitation or trafficking.

“Generally tribal and indigenous women in the region are subjected to continued abuse, ill-treatment and acts of physical and sexual violence. They are denied access to healthcare and other necessary resources, due to the frequency of curfews and blockades imposed on citizens,” the statement informed.

Testimonies also highlighted child marriages and dowry-related practices, sorcery, honour killings, witch-hunting of women, and communal violence perpetrated against cultural and religious minorities. On the issue of communal violence, the statement remembered the women “who were beaten, stripped naked, burnt, raped and killed because of their religious identity, in the Gujarat massacre of 2002.”
Manjoo also expressed concern over the declining female sex ratio in India. “The implementation of (government) interventions is resulting in the policing of pregnancies through tracking/surveillance systems and is resulting in some cases in the denial of legal abortion rights, thereby violating the sexual and reproductive rights of women,” she said.

Workplace violence
The Special Rapporteur’s statement also marked the widespread sexual violence and harassment “perpetuated in public spaces, in the family or in the workplace. There is a generalized sense of insecurity in public spaces/amenities/transport facilities in particular, and women are often victims of different forms of sexual harassment and assault.”

The statement expressed dismay at the numerous violations faced by female domestic workers including sexual harassment by their employers. “Many of them, often migrant and unregistered women, work in servitude and even bondage, in frequently hostile environments; performing work that is undervalued, poorly regulated and low-paid,” said Manjoo.

Conclusion
The statement concluded with several recommendations which included the ones from human rights organisations.

The negative effect of personal status laws on the achievement of overall gender equality (CRC, CCPR, and CEDAW) was noted with the statement that such laws need to be reformed to ensure equality in law (CEDAW).
The statement has asked the government to ensure that all victims of domestic violence are able to benefit from the legislation on domestic violence. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code must be enforced effectively (CESCR).

The statement recommended the repealing of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, the Public Safety Act and the National Security Act, and the Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act should be repealed, as it perpetuates impunity, and is widely used against Human Rights Defenders, .
The statement noted with grave concern the culture of impunity for violations of the rights of Dalit women, the failure to properly register and investigate complaints of violations against scheduled castes and tribes, the high rate of acquittals, the low conviction rates, and the alarming backlog of cases related to such atrocities. The statement expressed that the impact of mega-projects on the rights of women should be thoroughly studied, including their impact on tribal and rural communities, and safeguards instituted.

The statement exhorted the government to expedite the proposed Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005 “with the incorporation of: sexual and gender-based crimes, including mass crimes against women perpetrated during communal violence; a comprehensive system of reparations for victims of such crimes; and gender-sensitive victim-centred procedural and evidentiary rules, and to ensure that inaction or complicity of State officials in communal violence be urgently addressed under this legislation.”

The comprehensive findings from Rashida Manjoo’s mission in India will be discussed in the report that will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2014.

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Activist gets rape threat while discussing anti-rape protest online

April 26, 2013 Team FI News
online rape threat

Activist abused and threatened with rape on Rediff.com live chat that was organised to discuss anti-rape protest

By Team FI

Social activist Kavita Krishnan has demanded a public apology from the website Rediff.com in regard to the degrading and violent messages addressed to her during a chat organised by the news portal. Krishnan, Secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association, was contacted by Rediff.com to participate in a live chat on April 23, 2013, which invited participants to interact with an activist involved in the anti-rape protests.

The chat took place in her office from 2 pm to 3 pm when at one point, one of the participants with the handle RAPIST began to post offending and malicious threats. “In one ‘question’ he said, “Kavita tell women not to wear revealing clothes then we will not rape them.” The same man then posted another question several times: “Kavita tell me where I should come and rape you using condom.” Both questions were in block capitals and very visible,” said Krishnan.

Rediff.com’s Ganesh Nadar, responded at first saying that live chats cannot be screened. “This I know for a fact is not true since I have been in such chats with other media groups. Later Mr Nadar said that the man in the Rediff Mumbai office monitoring the chat failed to spot the ‘RAPIST’ because there were ‘so many questions.’ I find this difficult to believe since this was the only handle in capital letters and the questions were also in capitals. Yet, no one from Rediff did anything to screen such offensive questions, or to block someone with a handle of ‘RAPIST’ from the chat!” said Krishnan.

Krishnan has demanded a public apology from Rediff.com. “Condoning and allowing such intimidating behaviour against women keeps women out of the online space just as rape keeps women off the streets. I resent this intimidation, and in this instance, hold Rediff squarely responsible for failing to keep ‘RAPIST’ out of the chat,” accused Krishnan.

Krishnan has also asked Rediff.com file an FIR and help to investigate the identity of the offender. She was informed that Rediff has taken a screenshot of the chat and are filing an FIR with the screenshot being sent to cyber crime labs in Worli, Mumbai. Though she has not received the screenshot as yet, she informs that Rediff.com has posted the transcript of the chat with a “(non) apology of sorts.”

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Justice J.S.Verma: In memoriam

April 25, 2013 Team FI News
Justice Verma

To pay tribute to the man who left a legacy of justice is to promise to keep the fight ongoing

By Farah Naqvi

On April 22, 2013, India lost a man who stood taller than others. In a lifetime of work he unwaveringly upheld the values of our Constitution and deployed them to uphold rights of those most weakened, most marginalized – whether by the deliberate tragedies created by vicious state politics or by the ubiquitous hierarchies of a patriarchal social order. He stood up for the rights of women, for justice in Gujarat, and for so much more.

Justice J. S. Verma led from the front. He led with integrity, honesty and a fearless ability to hold accountable the State, even the Judiciary and certainly society as a whole. Both as Judge and as citizen he spoke boldly a language of justice on the many complex issues that define our times. He dug into the depth of the horrors in Gujarat to craft the NHRC report in 2002. And 10 years later he pierced through the resilient patriarchy of Indian society to craft the Justice Verma Committee report in 2013. Both with the same deep intellect and instinctive clarity on what was right and what was just.

Way back in 1997 he headed the three member Supreme Court bench that gave us the Vishakha Judgment, a time when ‘sexual harassment in the workplace’ was little more than a collection of meaningless words to most Indians, and he lived to see that judgment translate itself into an Act.

Most recently, on January 19-20, 2013, at the hearing of the Justice Verma Committee, the stamina of seasoned women’s rights activists, to sit for endless hours, to speak for endless hours, was more than tested by the stamina of the committee members, including Justice Verma, Justice Leila Seth and Gopal Subramanium who sat without break, and listened and absorbed till late into the evenings.

The JVC report shall remain a historic report, because it sliced through the layers of patriarchy, not by peeling one layer at a time, but in dealing sharp, clear blows to its very core

Justice Verma turned 80 just before he formally handed the JVC report to the government. This gift – not for himself but for the women of India – shall remain a historic report, because it sliced through the layers of patriarchy, not by peeling one layer at a time, but in dealing sharp, clear blows to its very core. Parts of the JVC Report have found their way into the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013. Other parts remain an unfinished agenda. And the lasting tribute of the women’s movement, to this extraordinary Jurist and human being, can only be to stay the course on this long journey on which he joined us, leaving a milestone in his wake.

At his funeral there were several of us, women’s rights activists of many different hues standing together, joined in a moment of respect and gratitude, silently owning his legacy, silently promising to take it forward.

Farah Naqvi is a Delhi based activist and writer

Justice Verma: A judge who fought for women’s rights

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Justice Verma: A judge who fought for women’s rights

April 24, 2013 Team FI News
Justice Verma

With the sad demise of Justice Verma, the Indian women’s movement has lost one of its most noble defenders

By Team FI

Justice J S Verma, the much respected jurist who died of multiple organ failure on Monday at the age of 80, was cremated yesterday with state honour in New Delhi. He was the former Chief Justice of India and ex-Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

On behalf of the women’s movement, Vrinda Grover (lawyer), Suneeta Dhar, Madhu Mehra and others attended the funeral at the Lodhi Road crematorium and paid tribute to the great human rights defender.

Noted women’s rights lawyer Flavia Agnes told FeministsIndia that she is honoured to have interacted with Justice Verma. “Justice Verma will always be remembered for his humility, dedication and commitment towards women. Three landmark decisions in his career paved the way for women’s legal rights. His Vishaka Judgment ensured security to women at the workplace in the absence of a law. As Chairperson of the NHRC, he ordered the retrial and transfer of the Bilkis Banu case and lastly and most significantly he prepared the progressive and practical Verma Committee Report post the Delhi rape.”

Justice Verma began his legal career in 1955. He was responsible for several landmark judgments that made him the face of judicial activism in the country. In May 1997, during his term as the Chief Justice of India the Supreme Court of India adopted the Charter “Restatement of Values of Judicial Life”. This charter, served as a code of conduct, a guide for the judiciary of India to be strong, independent and impartial.

In 1997, as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he passed a landmark judgement in the case of Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan. It gave the country its first definition and framework for sexual harassment at the work place, recognizing sexual violence as an abuse of a woman’s constitutional and human rights.

Three landmark decisions in his career paved the way for women’s legal rights

After retiring from the Supreme Court, Justice Verma served as the chairperson of the NHRC from November 1999 to January 2003. In the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, he led an NHRC team that visited Gujarat from March 19 to 22, 2002. The team submitted a report on April 1, 2002 which was welcomed by human rights groups in the country. In an interview to Tehelka magazine in 2008, Justice Verma unequivocally stated that NHRC had passed two orders on April 1 and May 31, 2002, which had “indicted the state government of Gujarat. In the April order, the NHRC clearly stated that the government is doing little to stop the violation of fundamental rights to life and dignity of the people in Gujarat.”

Renowned feminist economist Devaki Jain stated that India has lost “a great luminary and the noblest of human beings.” She described his tenure as the Chairperson of NHRC as one of the glorious periods for those who were working in the field of human rights in India. “He was always accessible and willing to respond to ideas and positions which were not ‘associated with important people’. Justice Verma opened his mind and the doors of NHRC, with what can be called ‘immediate effect’ to a proposal I made for what at that time we called ‘Indigenizing Human Rights Education’,” said Devaki Jain.

Activist Sheba George commented, “He will be remembered for his landmark NHRC report on the 2002 violence in Gujarat and also for the work he did to end violence against women after the gruesome gang rape in Delhi last December.”

Last year, in December, the brutal gang rape of a young woman and her subsequent death as a result of her injuries had the country and its capital engulfed in protest and anger. The government appointed a three member panel headed by Justice Verma to formulate recommendations to create stronger laws against sexual violence. The Verma Commission took in suggestions and opinions not only from women and human rights groups in the country but also individuals across the nation. Within 29 days, a 630 page report was submitted to the government. The report went above and beyond the call of duty by not just recommending changes to the current laws but framing a comprehensive gender policy.

Though the report was applauded by women’s and human rights groups in the country, the government response with the Criminal Law Amendment 2013 came as a letdown by ignoring some of the key points made in the Verma Commission report.

Justice Verma is survived by his wife and two daughters.

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Report to UN calls Indian juvenile homes “hell holes”

April 23, 2013 Team FI News
Child abuse report India

Report on child rape says sexual offences against children in India have reached an epidemic proportion with 336% increase in past decade

By Team FI

India saw an alarming increase of 336% in child rape cases from 2001 to 2011 – from 2,113 recorded cases in 2001, to a startling figure of 7,112 cases in 2011, says Asian Center for Human Rights in its report titled India’s Hell Holes: Child Sexual Assault in Juvenile Justice Homes.

Though a total of 48,338 cases were recorded in the said time period, the report warns that these are only the tip of the iceberg as the majority of child rape cases are not reported and that children regularly become victims of other forms of sexual assault too. The report pinpointed the juvenile justice homes run and aided by the Government of India as “hell holes where inmates are subjected to sexual assault and exploitation, torture and ill treatment apart from being forced to live in inhuman conditions. The girls remain the most vulnerable,” stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights.

Juvenile justice homes were established under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (JJ(C&PC) Act), 2000. By the end of financial year 2011-2012, about 733 juvenile justice homes were fully supported by the Government of India under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The 56-page report highlights 39 emblematic cases of systematic and often repeated sexual assault on children in these homes. Out of the 39 cases, 11 cases were reported from government-run juvenile justice homes such as observation homes, children homes, shelter homes and orphanages, while in one case a CWC member was accused of sexual harassment during counseling sessions. The remaining 27 cases were reported from privately/NGO run juvenile justice homes such as shelter homes, orphanages, children homes, destitute homes, etc. Majority of privately/NGO run homes are not registered under Section 34(3) of the JJ(C&PC) Act (as amended in 2006).

“In most cases, sexual assault in the juvenile justice homes continues for a long period as the victims are not able to protest and suffer silently in the absence of any inspection by the authorities under the JJ(C&PC) Act,” informed Mr Chakma. In the case of government-run juvenile justice homes, the perpetrators were staffs including the caretakers, security guards, cooks and other Class IV employees, and the senior inmates. In two cases, the sexual abuses were committed by the senior inmates in collusion with the staff.

With respect to the privately/NGO-run juvenile justice homes, the perpetrators include managers/ directors / owners/founders and their relatives and friends, staff members such as caretakers, wardens, cooks, drivers, security guards, gatekeepers, senior inmates and outsiders including security forces.

Out of the 27 cases in privately/NGO-run homes, inmates were responsible for the offences in five cases and out of these, in one case, the offence was committed in collusion with the staff.
No Inspection

The Asian Centre for Human Rights holds the Government of India i.e. the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the State Governments responsible, pointing out the absence of preventive mechanisms or regular inspections as one of the four major reasons for the continuing deplorable situation. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights and the Child Welfare Committees intervene only after crimes are reported.

Most State governments do not have Inspection Committees which are mandated to inspect the juvenile justice homes and report at least once in every three months. The Ministry of Women and Child Development which approves projects for all the States and Union Territories under ICPS since 2010, has never raised the issue of Inspection Committees with the Governments of Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland despite having yearly meetings for the last three years.

In fact, no separate budgetary allocation has been made under ICPS for the functioning of the Inspection Committees. The report alleges that there is a conscious effort on the part of the Ministry to avoid the issue of the Inspection Committees.

There are 462 District Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in 23 States mandated to verify fit institutions, majority of them exist only on paper. The State Government of Karnataka in October 2010 put the conditions that “members of the CWCs cannot visit child care institutions, when they are not holding a sitting, without prior permission of the heads of these institutions”, thereby prohibiting random and surprise inspections.

Unregistered Homes
There are hundreds of unregistered child care homes across the country despite the requirement to register the same within six months under JJ(C& PC) Act, 2006. In many cases funds are given by the State Governments even if institutions are not registered.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development had raised the issue of non-registration of children’s home with Jharkhand in 2013, and with Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Karnataka and Kerala in 2012, among others, but unregistered children’s homes exists across the country.

There is no punitive provision per se for non-registration of the institutions but Section 23 of the JJ(C&PC) Act allows the authorities to take action against willful neglect, mental or physical suffering of children but little action is taken. Inspection is seldom carried out in these unregistered homes and children remain extremely vulnerable to sexual abuse in these homes.

Lack of segregation on the basis of gender
Though Rule 40 of the JJ(C&PC) Rules, 2007, provides for separate facilities between for boys and girls as well as according to age i.e. for boys and girls up to 12 years, 13-15 years and 16 years and above, this provision has not been complied with. “While authorities of the juvenile justice homes are the main predators, the absence of separate facilities facilitates sexual assaults on the minor inmates by the senior inmates,” stated Mr. Chakma.

Recommendations
According to the report, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) will not address the menace of child sexual abuse unless the Government of India creates a Special Fund under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme to provide financial assistance for prosecution of the offenders under the POCSO.

Asian Centre for Human Rights also, among others, has recommended immediate establishment of the Inspection Committees in all the districts with mandatory inspection of the juvenile justice homes every three months; stopping funds to any home unless inspection reports are submitted; separate budgetary allocations for the functioning of the Inspection Committees, ban on posting of male staff in girls’ homes, separation of residential facilities based on the nature of offences, gender and age, completion of inspection of all unregistered homes within six months and registration of cases against the authorities of the unregistered juvenile justice homes.

The report has been submitted in advance to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Ms Rashida Manjoo who is conducting an official visit to India from 22 April to 1 May 2013. ACHR is scheduled to meet the Rapporteur on 23 April 2013.

State wise statistics of child rape (2001-2011)
Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of child rape cases with 9,465 cases
Maharashtra – 6,868 cases
Uttar Pradesh 5,949 cases
Andhra Pradesh 3,977 cases
Chhattisgarh 3,688 cases
Delhi 2,909 cases
Rajasthan 2,776 cases
Kerala 2,101 cases
Tamil Nadu 1,486 cases
Haryana 1,081 cases
Punjab 1,068 cases
Gujarat 999 cases
West Bengal 744 cases
Odisha 736 cases
Karnataka 719 cases
Himachal Pradesh 571 cases
Bihar 519 cases
Tripura 457 cases
Meghalaya 452 cases
Assam 316 cases
Jharkhand 218 cases
Mizoram 217 cases
Goa 194 cases
Uttarakhand 152 cases
Chandigarh 135 cases
Sikkim 113 cases
Manipur 98 cases
Arunachal Pradesh 93 cases
Jammu and Kashmir 69 cases
Andanam and Nicobar Island 65 cases
Puducherry 41 cases
Nagaland 38 cases
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 15 cases
Daman and Diu 9 cases.

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Delhi rape case: Women’s groups organise morcha

April 22, 2013 Team FI News
child rape

Women’s and progressive groups will take out a morcha today in New Delhi to protest against the increasing violence against women and the inaction of the police personnel in the reported cases of violence

By Team FI

In a collective action, women’s and progressive groups in Delhi have organised a protest march against the increasing violence against women and the apathy and inaction of the police as seen in the case of the brutal rapes of a five year old in Delhi and the six year old girl in Aligarh. The protest action called by groups, including Citizens’ Collective against Sexual Assault, Nirantar, Saheli, Jagori, AIDWA, AIPWA, Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression and others is to be held today afternoon at 12.30 pm at the Jantar Mantar.

The press statement calls attention to the fact that in the first three months of 2013, 393 cases of rape were reported in Delhi. The recent cases of brutalization of the five year old girl in Delhi and the rape and murder of the six year old in Aligarh have witnessed the police failing discharge their duties and proving themselves to be corrupt, ineffective, prejudiced and often violent, said the statement.

The statement protested the delay in “filing an FIR and attempts at bribing the family and the audacity in assaulting a woman protester.” Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bani Singh Ahlawat was caught on camera slapping a woman protestor during the recent protest action in Delhi. The statement also brought to notice the physical violence perpetrated by the police in Aligarh on women protesters, as well as the insensitive remarks of the SSP (Aligarh), Amit Pathak who had reportedly said, “How can we decide whether the girl was raped or not? Did someone see it happen?”

The protest action calls for the offending police personnel to be charge sheeted and dismissed, to be held accountable under the various provisions of the newly promulgated Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013.

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Protest mount in Delhi over child rape

April 21, 2013 Team FI News
Anti-rape protest delhi

By Team FI

Protests and anger are mounting in Delhi over the brutal rape of 5- year- old girl in Delhi last week.

Anti-rape protesters stormed the barricades outside the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The police had to forcefully remove protesters from outside the police headquarters.

The anger was also directed against Delhi police’s alleged negligent and callous attitude in refusing to file FIR when the parents reported the rape. The child’s father has alleged that police officials told him to be grateful that the child was alive and offered a bribe to hush up the case.

The five-year-old girl was abducted on April 15 and was sexually assaulted for two days without food and water in a room in which the accused lived. She was rescued Wednesday when her family, who lived in the same building, heard her feeble cries.

The Delhi police arrested the accused, Manoj Kumar, a garment factory worker, from his in-law’s house in Bihar. The 22-year-old accused was produced in a Delhi court and has been sent to judicial custody till May 4. A jittery Delhi administration, to avoid a repeat of the massive protests after the rape and murder of young student in December last year, on Sunday stopped protesters from marching to India Gate and distributed pamphlets requesting the public to remain calm.

The doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where the child was admitted stated that the girls’ condition is stable and she is responding to treatment. Doctors earlier removed pieces of candle and a plastic bottle from the child’s vagina. One of the doctors treating her is reported to have admitted that he had never before witnessed such brutality committed on a child.

Featured photo courtesy: PTI

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Breaking the Binary: Questioning assigned gender identities

April 21, 2013 Team FI News
Trans people

Mumbai group to release report of its study that challenges assumed notions of gender, sexuality and sex in five cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Thrissur

By Team FI

LABIA, a queer feminist lesbian bi-sexual transgender collective in Mumbai is all set to release its much waited research project – Breaking the Binary – Understanding concerns and realities of queer persons assigned gender female at birth across a spectrum of lived gender identities.

The research initiative, which started in 2009, primarily focuses on the voices and stories of 50 people interviewed across the country. The study explores the circumstances of queer persons who were assigned the gender female at birth and were made to, or expected to, fit into society’s norms around gender and sexuality. It looks at their experiences with natal families and in school and their journeys through intimate relationships and jobs. The study also attempts to understand what happens to these identities in public spaces, and how they are treated by various state agencies. It also examines how and where they seek and find support, community, and a refuge from the violence and discrimination. The findings of this study, according to the group, question and challenge society’s basic assumptions about gender, sexuality and sex.

LABIA states that this research has given them “new insights into gender itself, which we feel are crucial additions to the current discourse in both queer and feminist spaces”. The study also “flags areas of particular concern, and highlights some necessary interventions”.

The dates and venues for the different cities are as follows:

Mumbai Saturday, 27th April
3:30 to 7:30 pm Mini Auditorium; SNDT Juhu Campus, Santacruz; Bombay

Kolkata Wednesday, 1st May
3:00 to 7:00 pm WBVHA Tower, 1stFlr, 580 Anandapur, Kolkata, Local host: Sappho for Equality

Delhi Saturday, 4th May
3:00 to 7:00 pm The Attic, 1st Floor, 36, Regal Building, New Delhi, Local hosts: Saheli, Qashti LBT

Bangalore Tuesday, 7th May
3:30 to 7:30 pm Vishranti Neelayam, Opp Hindu Office; Infantry Road, Bangalore, Local hosts: LesBiT, WHAQ. Alternative Law Forum

Thrissur, Thursday, 9th May To be confirmed Sahayatrika

Chennai Saturday, 11th May
5:00 pm to 9:00 pm Dhyanasram, Santhome, Chennai, Local hosts: The Shakthi Resource Center, East-West Center for Counseling Orinam, Nirangal, RIOV

For more details contact: stree.sangam@gmail.com

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