Indian gang-rape-victim (23) dies, 6 rapists now charged with murder

[Tender Branson]

As Victim of Gang Rape Dies, 6 Men Are Charged With Murder



NEW DELHI — As protests grew in India on Saturday over the death of a young woman who was raped in New Delhi this month by several men in a moving bus, the police said six men accused of attacking her had been charged with murder.

A police spokesman, Rajan Bhagat, said that if convicted of murder, the men could face the death penalty in the Dec. 16 attack, which shocked India because of its savagery, led to violent protests and prompted demands for improved protection for women as well as calls for the death penalty in rape cases.

The country’s Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that the death penalty should be used only in the “rarest of rare” cases, and fewer than 50 people have been executed since India’s independence in 1947.

The woman, who has not been identified, has become a symbol for the treatment of women in India, where rape is common and conviction rates for the crime are low. She boarded a bus with a male friend after watching a movie at a mall, and was raped and attacked with an iron rod by the men, who the police later said had been drinking and were on a “joy ride.”

She died Saturday morning in Singapore, where she had been flown for treatment for the severe internal injuries caused by the assault. She had an infection in her lungs and abdomen, liver damage and a brain injury, the Singapore hospital said, and died from organ failure. Her body was flown back to India on Saturday.

As news of her death spread Saturday, India’s young, social-network-using population began to organize protests and candlelight vigils in places like the western city of Cochin in Kerala, the outsourcing hub of Bangalore and New Delhi, the capital. Just a tiny sliver of India’s population can afford a computer or has access to the Internet, but the young, educated subset of this group has become increasingly galvanized over the New Delhi rape case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/world/asia/india-rape-delhi.html

[Antonio the Sixth]

What a horrible story. I've also heard about another woman who committed suicide after the police refused to accept her charges and instead wanted her to marry one of her rapists. This one is even more heart-wrenching IMO.

Hopefully the government will start taking some serious action, but as we know mindsets take long to really change (and of course, even most western countries are far from doing enough to eradicate rape culture).

[Tender Branson]

What a horrible story. I've also heard about another woman who committed suicide after the police refused to accept her charges and instead wanted her to marry one of her rapists. This one is even more heart-wrenching IMO.

Hopefully the government will start taking some serious action, but as we know mindsets take long to really change (and of course, even most western countries are far from doing enough to eradicate rape culture).

Indeed. We also had a few rape cases in Vienna's subways in the past months. This is pretty weird, because most of those happened during rush-hour and the victim and the offender were alone in the subway for a few stations ...

http://austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2012-12-28/46253/CCTV_images_of_suspected_serial_rapist

http://austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2012-12-19/46132/Underground_rape_suspect_arrested_in_Graz

http://austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2012-11-07/45273/Rapist_picture_released_in_bid_to_catch_attacker

In 1 case, the suspect is a Turk, 1 is a Black and 1 is a homeless man from Vorarlberg living in Vienna.

[Antonio the Sixth]

In 1 case, the suspect is a Turk, 1 is a Black and 1 is a homeless man from Vorarlberg living in Vienna.

Oh dear.  I guess we can easily predict how a significant fraction of Austrians will react...

[AkSaber]

I like to tell myself I don't like the death penalty anymore.

But whenever a story like this comes across, my first reaction is always, these ers need to die.

I don't know. Maybe I don't really abhor the death penalty.

[Sbane]

I like to tell myself I don't like the death penalty anymore.

But whenever a story like this comes across, my first reaction is always, these ers need to die.

I don't know. Maybe I don't really abhor the death penalty.

Yeah, I am not a fan of the death penalty, but in some cases it may be necessary. This is one such case. There have been only 50 executions since Indian independence and it looks like that number needs to increase by 6.

[Antonio the Sixth]

If you guys think making an example of 6 rapists (which, of course, I wouldn't feel even remotely bad for if they died in whatever way) will change anything to the general condition of Indian women, I fear you're completely missing the point. The problem isn't the fact there are rapists in India (like in every other country), but the fact that an overwhelming majority of men silently tolerates it.

[afleitch]

If you guys think making an example of 6 rapists (which, of course, I wouldn't feel even remotely bad for if they died in whatever way) will change anything to the general condition of Indian women, I fear you're completely missing the point. The problem isn't the fact there are rapists in India (like in every other country), but the fact that an overwhelming majority of men silently tolerates it.

Essentially. 6 disgusting men get executed, India collectively believes 'justice' to be done, misogyny and rape continues, nothing changes.

[Tender Branson]

I agree with Antonio here: When despicable acts like this happen, it's always that people want the death penalty for the perpetrators immediately. But the death penalty doesn't solve anything here, except to satisfy the feeling for revenge for some people. But in this case it's better to kill/execute the sickness, not the sympthoms. Which means that the politicians have to act now and impose heavier punishments for rapists, enable possibilities for women to call a free anonymois hotline if they have been attacked or raped and set up a national dialogue about what else can be done so that the issue is not gone away after a few days and everything returns to "business-as-usual". As for the 6 men: They can rot in a cell for the rest of their lives.

[Tender Branson]

Death for the rapists and murderers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24078339

[Tender Branson]

As for the 6 men: They can rot in a cell for the rest of their lives.

It looks like 1 hanged himself in his cell.

The other was younger than 18 and was sentenced to only 3 years (!!!) in a juvenile prison.

According to trial reports, this juvenile was the most brutal of all 6 - attacking her vagina with a metal rod ...

[Sbane]

If you guys think making an example of 6 rapists (which, of course, I wouldn't feel even remotely bad for if they died in whatever way) will change anything to the general condition of Indian women, I fear you're completely missing the point. The problem isn't the fact there are rapists in India (like in every other country), but the fact that an overwhelming majority of men silently tolerates it.

I think that is a pretty bold statement to make. The overwhelming majority of men tolerate rape? That's a bunch of crap (though I am speaking from an upper class, upper caste perspective). Misogony on the other hand is a different issue.

[AkSaber]

The other was younger than 18 and was sentenced to only 3 years (!!!) in a juvenile prison.

According to trial reports, this juvenile was the most brutal of all 6 - attacking her vagina with a metal rod ...

And even if he were to have gotten a death sentence, it's not like it would have altered his behavior when he committed his crime.

This is the only language sociopaths speak.

[Antonio the Sixth]

If you guys think making an example of 6 rapists (which, of course, I wouldn't feel even remotely bad for if they died in whatever way) will change anything to the general condition of Indian women, I fear you're completely missing the point. The problem isn't the fact there are rapists in India (like in every other country), but the fact that an overwhelming majority of men silently tolerates it.

I think that is a pretty bold statement to make. The overwhelming majority of men tolerate rape? That's a bunch of crap (though I am speaking from an upper class, upper caste perspective). Misogony on the other hand is a different issue.

FTR, I did not mean "tolerate" as in "entirely accept it". But still, yes, there is an unbelievable number of men who will find excuses for rapes in some circumstances, lay some of the blame on the victim, be complacent toward the perpetrator or otherwise have an attitude which contributes to making rape more socially acceptable than it should be. And I should add, there also is a significant number of women who have these attitudes, since they are the result of internalized social norms rather than conscious thought. This is truer in traditional societies than it is in developed western ones, but it's far from absent even in the latter.