Paid Leave Beneficial to Women in the Workforce

By Sabrina Willard

The United States is the only developed country in the world that doesn’t federally-mandate paid maternity leave, and this oversight has been linked to a slow, yet steady, across-the-board decline of women in this country’s workforce. Economists are attributing the drop to decisions by some post-partum workers to remain at home, or not begin a career at all, knowing that they might eventually have to take a significant amount of time off for childrearing. While a woman choosing to stay at home is by no means a new phenomenon, there is this sense that we are somehow backpedaling from the victories that laid the foundation for women entering the workforce during the last several decades.

In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, Claire Cain Miller points out that “stalled policy goes a long way toward explaining why women stop working, and new approaches could help women complete the decades-long transition into the labor force.” She cited a report published this month by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, which encourages the government to adopt policies that will foster more female participation in the workforce. According to the council, over the last decade, European countries enacted various family-friendly policies like paid leave, subsidized childcare and support for part-time work, explaining why the US has fallen behind these countries in female labor force participation.

The theory is that women will be more likely to go back to work after having children if their employer has policies in place to support childcare. This idea is supported in studies like the one conducted in California in 2011, the first state to mandate paid parental leave, by Maya Rossin-Slater and Jane Waldfogel of Columbia University and Christopher J. Ruhm of the University of Virginia. It not only found that new mothers were more likely to return to work when they were offered this incentive, but that they were working more and being paid a higher income one to three years after heading back to the office.

“When people have paid leave, it just gives them a path back to work, whereas when they drop out of the labor force and stop working in order to take a leave with a young child, they come back slower,” said Betsey Stevenson, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Declining participation in the workforce doesn’t just cast a shadow on the efforts of women like my mother who paved the way for us to enter the workforce in historical proportions. It may have economic implications for the US as well.

In the upfront to a 2013 study, Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn of Cornell University reported that the US had the sixth-highest female labor participation rate among 22 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 1990, yet its ranking had fallen to 17^th by 2010. Blau and Kahn stated that “the expansion of ‘family-friendly’ policies, including parental leave and part-time work… explains 28-29% of the decrease in US women’s labor force participation relative to these other countries.”

So much in the latter half of the last century has contributed to women’s success outside of the home. But, now that we’ve moved past the mere initiation and acceptance of females in this country’s labor force, it is time to explore how our policies can better encourage their long-term professional contributions to the economy. We need all employers to stand united behind family-friendly policies like paid leave, which has already proven to be beneficial in the individual states and countries where it has been implemented.

Hundreds of Nigerian Women Abducted… Again

By Sabrina Willard

While scrolling through my Twitter feed yesterday, a headline caught my eye:

In Nigeria, the mass abduction of schoolgirls isn't shocking

It incited my interest not only because I blog for Delta Women, an organization that spreads awareness and provides inspiration to women throughout Nigeria, but also because the headline almost reeked of boredom.

You’d think that, stacked up against life’s most yawn-inducing events, a mass kidnapping would be the furthest from unsurprising. Yet, the article’s authors somehow managed to make the abduction of 230 school girls sound falsely commonplace. My initial thought was, “That’s a little messed up.”

Reading along, the article further explained that a midnight raid, during which armed militants stormed the Government Girls Secondary School dormitory, “herding more than 200 students on to vehicles and burning down nearby buildings as they made their escape,” nearly a week and a half ago wasn’t that shocking to the people who live in this poor section of Nigeria (CNN.com, 4/21/14).

                                         

Borno, a province bordering Cameroon, is characterized as being lawless and violent. Travel is discouraged, phone service is non-existent, and the area has been under a state of emergency for the last 11 months. Stirring up trouble is an Islamist militant group called Boko Haram that regularly storms residences to kidnap, rape and murder.

“The group has gone about its misguided mission with such depressing regularity that residents have become somewhat numb.”

The most recent surge of abductions began in 2013 following a video released by the group where they announced their intention to start mass kidnappings in retaliation for previous actions by the Nigerian military during which they apprehended some of the group members’ wives and children.

This headline speaks plainly about dangers that people living in the Borno province of Nigeria have come to accept as a fact of life. The whereabouts of 190 out of 230 girls from this secondary school are still unknown, and community members are so desensitized that they find it unsurprising? No wonder I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

It goes without saying that what is considered shocking in one part of the world may be considered ordinary in another. It’s just unfortunate (note: understatement) that what the residents of this Nigerian province have come to view as “run-of-the-mill” involves families being torn apart, death and the disempowerment of women.

Mexico’s poor and pregnant give birth in the streets

By Sabrina Willard

The international community cried foul this month after women’s rights advocates working in Mexico revealed that many women from the country’s poorest southern villages have been forced to give birth outside – on lawns, in backyards and even in the streets – after being denied proper medical care from rural hospitals. At least 20 recent cases suggest that pregnant women are often already in labor before being turned away by hospital staff. Advocates believe that this pattern of injustice is due to long-standing prejudices against Mexico’s indigenous population, although health officials blame overcrowding and limited resources as causes.

This issue largely rose to social consciousness by way of social media last year when an image surfaced of a woman squatting in pain after giving birth just outside a rural health center in her village. The 29-year-old of Mazatec ethnicity survived, along with her son, but those who came across it saw something they couldn’t un-see. As this image made the rounds on Twitter and Facebook, it sparked disgust and outrage, especially among other Mexicans.  

Two women have since decided to go public with their stories of giving birth outside of the same hospital. An increasing amount of photos and videos have been shared on the internet depicting women in labor, and even in the act of giving birth, within sight of a hospital. Additionally, television broadcasts have started bringing these stories to the forefront of the discussion, suggesting that there is still a desperate need for reform within Mexico’s rural healthcare system.

Regina Tames, Director of the Reproductive Choice Information Group, a non-governmental organization based in Mexico City, stated the following in an interview with Huffington Post: "These are not isolated cases. We have a pattern. We are not talking about one woman. There are many and nothing is being done to solve the problem” (Huffington Post, 3/28/14).

Activists from organizations such as the Reproductive Choice Information Group have reportedly reached out to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protest the conditions these women have had to endure without relief from their government. With the evidence being increasingly difficult to ignore, and added pressure from their constituents, officials have only recently begun to respond.

Earlier this month, the President of Mexico made a statement urging hospitals not to refuse medical care to women in labor. The Governor of Oaxaca, the state with the highest number of reported cases, also announced a $550,000 grant for the development of 50 new delivery rooms in hospitals throughout the state.

While the government drags its feet, delaying the decisive action necessary in order to solve this problem, Tames reminds us that this injustice has probably been going on for longer than we know: “What's new is that people are outraged and want to do something about it.”

Sochi: A Benchmark for Gender Equality

By Sabrina Willard

As we reach (roughly) the halfway point in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, it seems timely to reflect on the significance of what is always an exhilarating and highly-anticipated event for the international community. Sochi, as it is with all Olympic Games, is a moment in time when people of various backgrounds are tossed together on the world stage and hyper-analyzed by seven billion pairs of eyeballs. It can therefore be a telling benchmark for how the world is progressing in terms of social acceptance and equality, revealing fascinating (and sometimes ugly) insights into how much further we still need to go on these fronts. Importantly for us, the limelight also magnifies the current treatment of women in the sports arena and calls into question any glaring mistreatment or oversight.

The Olympic Charter is the principle document that sets the terms and conditions by which the Olympic Games are governed. One such condition declares that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is “to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures, with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women.” But are the IOC’s efforts to uphold this particular provision falling short?

Yes, we are progressing in the world of sports. Women were first allowed to compete four years after the inaugural Olympic Games were held (despite push-back from the man credited with the revival of the modern Games, Pierre de Coubertin). During that first year, women comprised 22 out of the 997 total athletes competing in tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrian and golf. Just two of the five sports offered in 1900 included women-only events compared to the London Games in 2012, which was the first year in history that women have competed in every sport offered and accounted for more than 44 percent of the participants. In fact, the participation of women in the Olympics at all levels has steadily, if not dramatically, increased over the last 20 years. This is thanks in part to the IOC, which has set various equalizing precedents, such as the 1991 rule that all new events to be included in the Games must have complimentary women’s events, adding more women-only events to events already offered, as well as hosting an international conference every four years that strategizes on ways to promote gender equality in sports. But, as the IOC calls-out in its own “Women in the Olympic Movement” document, “the percentage of women in the governing and administrative bodies of the Olympics has remained low” (Women in the Olympic Movement, October 2013).

To address this issue, the IOC previously “set the objective of reserving at least 20% of decision-making positions for women (particularly in all executive and legislative bodies) within their structures by the end of 2005,” but this goal was not met. (Note: the document did not specify what year the objective was set.) However, it has stated that it is “aware that such an objective can be attained only in successive stages,” adding that “a first objective (having at least 10% of women in decision-making positions by December 2000) was met.”

Slate recently posted an article providing context on women at the Winter Games, and the headline “Smaller Hill, Shorter Sled: How the Olympics Infantilize Women Athletes” leaves no doubt as to the author’s particular take on the IOC’s efforts to promote gender equality thus far. She uses ski jumping as an example of how “in 2014, many women’s Olympics sports are still stuck in that protracted transitional period between basic entry and complete participation” (Slate, February 2014). Most notably, she reported that it took women 90 years (and a lawsuit five years ago during the Vancouver Games) to finally be allowed to compete in this event. Yet, even now, men are allowed the option of jumping from a higher hill and on teams of four while women aren’t. This is true for events across the board at Sochi, she notes, where “women are still skiing shorter distances, launching from more diminutive hills, and competing on teams of smaller sizes.”

So, assuming that the IOC’s programs to promote gender equality are doing what it says they are doing, why are women’s Olympic events still being “half-assed”? (As the Slate journalist put it.) One theory suggests that the continued pervasiveness of male chauvinism in the sports world has a lot to do with it. 

Gian-Franco Kasper, President of the International Ski Federation, was reported saying in 2005 that ski jumping “seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view.” Further, Alexander Arefyev, the Russian men’s ski jumping coach at Sochi, has recently claimed that the sport requires “too much hard labor” for a woman’s body.

Why is this sort of talk acceptable, and why aren’t we hearing more uproar from the very people who are the supposed protectors of gender equality at the Games? Dr. Amy Bass, a professor of history at The College of New Rochelle who led NBC’s research team during the 2012 London Games, explained that the International Olympic Committee “is a very elitist and very male organization.” She also stated that “the abbreviation of women’s competition is a testament to the lingering belief that female bodies are physically incapable of going as long, hard, or high as male ones.”

Whether or not this is actually true of the IOC, I am becoming increasingly convinced that the only way women have a shot at clearing the hurdle of sexism in Olympic sports is to infiltrate the system at the executive level. We need to get in there and offer much-needed perspective and guidance on how future Games can be organized to better provide for the rising number of female athletes. Ironically, we need to do exactly what the IOC claims it has been trying to do for years: increase the percentage of women in the governing and administrative bodies of the Olympics.

This is our call-to-action. This top-down approach is the best chance we have of achieving gender equality at the Olympics. 

The Rise of Corrective Rape

By Sabrina Willard

A violent trend sweeping across South Africa has human rights activists and the LGBTQ community in this country scrambling to put an end to this senseless evil. While South Africa is known by many as the rape capital of the world, reports show that there is a growing subset of victims who are targeted specifically because of their sexual orientation. An act of this nature, as I recently learned in an article posted by The Independent, is known as “corrective rape.” This type of sexual violence typically manifests in the form of a man, or group of men, seeking to convert lesbians to heterosexuality by way of rape.

The term “corrective rape” was coined in the early 2000s by charity workers in the region who started noticing an increase in such attacks. Since then, at least 31 women over the past 15 years have died as a result of this hate crime. Consider these facts, along with the overall rape statistics (500,000 reported each year; one every 17 seconds; one out of every two women will be raped in their lifetime), and it should be clear to anyone why it is so frightening to be a woman in this country right now (The Independent, 1/3/14).

A comprehensive article recently featured by this UK-based news outlet delved into the gritty specifics of a handful of personal stories from South African women. Horrifyingly enough, many of the victims’ accounts followed a trend of being set-up by someone close to them – a friend or family member – prior to the rape.

It would make sense to conclude that the unwillingness of South Africa’s majority to openly accept homosexual members into society has a lot to do with its deep patriarchal roots and belief in traditional gender roles. This is a concept that many might prefer to blindly stick to, rather than accept the fact that the global community is beginning to move (albeit slowly) on from this outdated idea and into realm of inclusiveness. In short, an unwillingness to face the modernizing world where more men and women are openly gay, coupled with the high unemployment rate, restlessness as a result, and widespread abuse of drugs and alcohol, becomes a recipe for disaster.

Despite the conservative views of many of its people, South Africa’s 1997 constitution was the first in the world to provide equal rights for LGBTQ members of society. In 2005, a law passed allowing gay marriage – something that even some of the most powerful countries in the world cannot equal. As the Independent put it, “of all the countries in the continent, South Africa should be the least likely to be tarnished by homophobic hate crimes.” Yet, the numbers continue to rise. In 2009, one support group in Cape Town reported that “they deal with 10 new cases every week.”

Clare Carter, the woman who left her home in New York City to document this growing crime and whose research was featured in The Independent, observed: “Even in the two years I was there the stories I was hearing were getting worse. Corrective rape is getting more violent.”

By Sabrina Willard

Nelson Mandela’s Role in Women’s Rights

December 6, 2013

By Sabrina Willard

“Let us join hands, in response to the call of the women, for Unity, Peace and Development. Let us enter the new century with concrete results to measure our beautiful words.

Equal power and glory to the Women of South Africa!”

In this excerpt from his 1996 Women’s Day speech, Nelson Mandela acknowledged women’s role in society and urged for more female representation in South African government. In light of his recent passing, Jezebel posted an article highlighting what the apartheid activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and first black president of South Africa has done for women throughout his long and distinguished career as a humanitarian.

Mandela was instrumental in the ratification of the United Nation’s Convention to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a pact “often described as an international bill of rights for women” (UN website, accessed December 6, 2013). The document was groundbreaking in that it attempted to establish an international definition for what is considered gender discrimination and set “an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.” The then-President of South Africa signed-on to CEDAW in 1995, setting a precedent for the various political decisions concerning women to follow.

As the article further notes, Nelson Mandela kept the welfare of women in mind throughout his tenure as the first president of a democratically-elected South African parliament. In 1997, Mandela ensured that the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa contained passages prohibiting all types of discrimination and promoting gender equality.

His belief that women should lean into positions of power was reflected in the make-up of his own administration, where cabinet members were appointed regardless of sex. Global Fund for Women board member Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka recently commented on the legacy he left in an article posted to the organization’s website. Born and raised in South Africa, Mlambo-Ngcuka witnessed Nelson Mandela’s push for gender equality first-hand while serving as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry during his administration.

“Some of the key policies enacted during his presidency were free prenatal care postnatal care to mothers in the public health system and free health care to children up to the age of six. He also introduced a social wage in the form of a child grant paid to children of poor and unemployed mothers, as well pensions for older persons and a social grants paid to for disabled unable to work" (Global Fund for Women website, accessed December 7, 2013).

While descriptions such as “civil rights activist”, “humanitarian”, and “peace keeper” may all come to mind when describing Nelson Mandela’s many accomplishments, I think many would be surprised to hear “feminist” thrown into the mix. As we mourn the loss of this incredible man who spent his life fighting for peace and justice, we would do good to note the things he did to make everyday life better for the women of South Africa. 

Chinese students’ act of sexual liberation met with misogyny

By Sabrina Willard

Earlier this month, a group of female Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) students attempting to speak openly and honestly about their sexuality were met with fierce backlash on social media.

On November 7, an upcoming performance of The Vagina Monologues prompted 17 women of the BFSU Gender Activism Clubto start an online discussion about what their vaginas would say if they could talk. While the students’ posted pictures, featuring them proudly standing next to their written answers, demonstrates a daring act of feminism, the reaction on social media demonstrates just how much is misunderstood about it. Not to mention the wrongs of slut-shaming and cyberbullying.

“We want to talk about our vagina, to rediscover the power within our bodies and spirit,” the students wrote.

In one such photo, a student is seen standing beside a whiteboard that reads: “My vagina says: You need to be invited to get in.” Many of the photos feature women, assumedly at the college campus, holding up a whiteboard with other answers like, “Don’t disturb unless you are sincere” and “Please don’t use love as an excuse…” Even, “I want freedom.”

Yet, the message of this project was seemingly lost on many.

Foreign Policy and BuzzFeedrecentlyreported on the explosive rhetoricspurred by this project – most of itspewing hate and judgment, stating that it “generated thousands of comments — most evincing an ugly strain of misogyny” from the mostly-male commentators.

One such comment read, “May I ask who is prepared to marry these feminists?”

And another: “As expected, they are all ugly.”

Even this bewildering response: “What does female empowerment have to do with their vaginas?!”

First of all, who says a woman isn’t “marriageable” if she’s a feminist?

What these ignorant cyberbullies failed to understand is that this project wasn’t about whether or not they were attractive or appealing to other people. It was about getting rid of the notion, once and for all, that a vagina is some sort of symbol of a woman’s worthiness. It was also a great discussion starter about the concept of virginity being a sacred. These women were calling bullshit, and rightly so.

Women Play Pivotal Role in U.S. Government Shutdown Negotiations

Unless you have been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the recent crisis Americans faced with a 16-day partial government shutdown due to internal strife between two opposing political parties. A few days before the president signed the bill that would avert a catastrophic treasury default, The New York Times reported that a bi-partisan group of women was leading the charge in negotiation between the Republican and Democratic factions to end this crisis. 

The Huffington Post reported in an article, titled "Men Got Us Into the Shutdown, Women Got Us Out", that six out of the 14 senators on the bipartisan committee who laid the framework for the debt deal were women.

“Before I went to the Senate floor, no one was presenting any way out,” Senator Susan Collins of Maine said. “I think what our group did was pave the way, and I’m really happy about that.”

This group of women, who are credited with essentially bringing America back from the brink of destruction (not to be dramatic or anything, but it would have been BAD), were able to overcome their differences when the men in their parties couldn't. Even as our society and many parts of the world continue to scoff at women who make their way in this male dominated profession, I think this most recent accomplishment proves why women are necessary in political positions of power if a country- any country- hopes to be able to effectively resolve internal differences. Meeting aggression with aggression oftentimes only exacerbates an already precarious situation, as seen by the attempts during the shutdown of certain male leaders to bring forth plans that would unfairly compromise and humiliate the other side. In scenarios as delicate as this (and it isn't over for us yet!) one cannot stress enough the importance of having leaders who are capable of both compassion and objective thinking.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that women were so heavily involved in trying to end this stalemate,” Collins added. “Although we span the ideological spectrum, we are used to working together in a collaborative way.” 

I think this example of women banding together to get the work done when others couldn't because of stubbornness, or sheer incompetency, is inspiring. Women around the world who hope to be politicians should look to these six for courage in the face of the doubters who say that women can't do the same job that a man can in politics. 

Actually, I take that back. 

You can tell the haters that they are right. Because in this case, and in many other cases, we have actually done it better.

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/us/senate-women-lead-in-effort-to-find-accord.html?_r=0

The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/shutdown-women_n_4110268.html?utm_hp_ref=women&ir=Women

By Sabrina Willard

NGO: Higher Rates of Gender Violence in Kenya

A non-governmental organization that advocates for African women in Germany is saying that rates of gender violence are accelerating in both Kenya and the general Diaspora. According to Kenya-based news outlet Capitol News, the activists are concerned that more women are “suffering in silence due to the stigmatization,” and the result is only exacerbated by the lack of accessible legal support. The group is attempting to remedy this situation by arranging to open legal help centers in Kenya for these women.

The article also offered a perspective on one of the many negative results of an experience with violence – the mental health complications. German representative Lars Wilke announced at a conference on the subject that some women are more prone to stress-related illnesses following a violent incident, like high blood pressure. During the conference, titled “Impact of Violence on Women’s Health”, she continued to implore the attendees to use the revelation of this upward trend as a call to action, commenting that “it is imperative that the police and medical practitioners have the know-how to take care of the victims and get them the much-needed help. Furthermore engaging boys and men in the training is to be considered in the prevention of the acts of violence.”

Incidences of violence toward women are not only accelerating in Kenya, but in many countries known for equally poor treatment of women. According to a report from the World Health Organization earlier this year, Africa is first among all other regions of the world in lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence/non-partner sexual violence among women 15 years and older (The Guardian, June 20). Also, seven of the top ten countries “where the risk of sexual violence in conflict was highest” are in Africa.

To read the full World Health Organization report click here.

Contributed by Sabrina Willard

Mixed Identities

I can no longer count how many times I’ve been asked this question, which comes from long-time acquaintances and strangers alike. I hear it awkwardly phrased by colleagues months into a new job and approached sheepishly by new boyfriends, whom have all wondered the same thing but don’t quite know how to bring it up.

“So what are you?” they’ll ask.

“What do you mean? As in, what ethnicity am I?” I’ll reply.

“Well, yeah. Just, like, where exactly does your family come from, or whatever,” they’ll repeat, looking anywhere but at me.

“Oh. I’m a lot of things,” I’ll reply if I don’t feel like getting into it that day.

Thanks to a history of interracial couples on both sides of my family, and especially my parents’ marriage, I suppose I’m an amalgam of anywhere between six and nine ethnicities; a one-stop-shop for half a dozen cultures all rolled into one human being. But what I usually tell people is, “my mom is Puerto Rican and Black, and my dad is white.” It’s simple, if a tad inaccurate.

Growing up, my siblings and I had experiences that only people of mixed race can relate to – like, never looking like any of our cousins or knowing which box to check on the racial identification section of standardized tests. I wasn’t really able to share beauty products with my mom because her hair was more textured and her skin darker than mine. And she has told me stories about how people used to think that she was the nanny when she would take me to the grocery store as a baby. Initially, we had no idea that we were different, but as we reached an age of consciousness about those types of things (and as people began pointing it out) it became increasingly clear.

Many children of mixed heritage can relate to the confusing process of trying to figure out which crowd to run with. If I felt like I had one foot on either side of the divide in my own family, I certainly felt that way in social settings. The white kids would gather around me in awe as I explained my background and the black kids would parade me around like, “This is Sabrina. Can you believe she’s black?!” Now that I have this perspective, I can tell that it led me to feeling like all I ever wanted to do growing up was blend in. People just didn’t know where I fit in or what to do with me, and neither did I.  

I think, in a way, the confusion that I am sometimes met with due to my race is similar to the type of treatment women still experience in societies that have only recently begun a conversation about female empowerment and gender equality. For women who don’t fit into traditional gender roles – those who dare to start their own businesses, thrive as single, working mothers, or become active in politics – it can feel as if they are constantly being asked to validate their purpose and position in life. It isn’t uncommon to stand beside relatives and strangers alike and still feel alone.

While, thankfully, I have never been subjected to outright discrimination due to my racial background, I have felt as if I was upsetting the status quo on multiple occasions as a woman, even from where I stand in western society. Whether we are deemed different because of our actions or simply because we were born that way, women and people of mixed race know all too well the feeling that you don’t quite belong with a particular set of people or blend seamlessly into a particular profession.

Maybe it’s a conscious effort on your part to do things differently. Or, maybe, like my brothers and I, you look around one day and suddenly come to this realization that your very essence speaks volumes about how far we have come as a society.
By Sabrina Willard

Following-through with Justice in India

 Considering that India is the second most populous country in the world (poised to overtake China by 2028, according to the UN) and yet ranks in the top five most dangerous for women, the safety of females living, working and traveling here cannot be taken seriously enough. If the frequent news stories reporting the brutal mistreatment of women are any indication, we all sense this need for true leadership to end these patterns of injustice.

While the international spotlight continues to shine on this country and its handling of multiple high-profile rape cases over the past year, it is just as important to scrutinize how authorities are bringing these criminals to justice as how often it’s happening.

As exciting as that moment is when a sex abuser has been caught, the only effective and sustainable way for the justice system to deter these criminals from further acts of aggression is to ensure that the person is justly tried for their crime. India must follow-through in its determination to end violent acts against women at all stages of the legal process in order to bring responsible parties to justice.

The Arrest

A well-known Indian guru was recently arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. The situation made international headlines after family members of the victim vowed to go on a hunger strike until police apprehended the 72-year-old man. The father and a few other relatives ended up fasting for nearly two days.

This incident marks the latest in a surge of sexual assault cases being brought to light thanks to highly-publicized public pressure for India to increase protects for women. It would seem that the captivating street protests, passionate pleas from victims’ families, and suspenseful coverage of the manhunts for suspects are serving their purpose of keeping the Indian law enforcement on their toes.

India’s newfound determination to convict sexual assault criminals is an encouraging sign of progress for a country that might have turned a blind eye not too long ago, yet the arrest is just the beginning of a complicated legal process for all involved. While parliament has established fast-track courts and other provisions for dealing with these crimes more efficiently, there remains a significant amount of red tape to endure before criminals can be brought to justice.  

Custody

When the man who allegedly drove the bus on the night of the oft-cited New Delhi gang rape was found dead in his prison cell last March, it prompted fierce criticism of prison authorities and outrage from his lawyer and family, who claimed that he had been murdered. There continue to be doubts about the true cause of death, but many have expressed the need for India’s prison system to better protect suspects as they await trial and sentencing.

The tragedy last December marks among the first in a series of events that led to the emergence of a movement for gender equality in India. With that in mind, it is to be expected that this case would expose numerous flaws in a legal system that previously provided little for women.  Part of its significance is that it paved the way for justice to potentially be served in future cases of sexual violence.

As similar situations emerge, the symbolic role of the New Delhi case in prompting increased scrutiny of the treatment of women becomes more and more apparent. Following a recent gang rape incident in Mumbai, authorities at once promised they would do their “best to collect all the evidence - clinching evidence, scientific evidence - so that a fool-proof case is made out in the court, and they get maximum punishment.” Four out of the five suspects are currently being detained while the evidence from the investigation continues to pile up against them. (Huffington Post, Aug 28)

Sentencing

When a criminal’s day in court has finally come, it is also time for India to be tested on its newfound vow to provide better protections for the treatment of women in Indian society.

At the beginning of September, the youngest man involved in the December 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman was sentenced to three years of reform education and house arrest. The victim’s family and many of their supporters expressed outrage at the verdict, demanding that the teenager be hanged to reflect the punishment he could have faced had he not been a minor at the time of the attack.

“There is no justice for my sister,” said the victim’s brother. “This kind of punishment sends out a message that you can commit rape and you won’t be punished.” (Bloomberg, Sept 1)

Now, the other four men found guilty of the crime await their sentences. Prosecutors have already suggested the death penalty.

The handling of a few sexual assault cases may not end the longstanding cycle of violence against women, but it’s a start. In the future, India will need to do much more in terms of large-scale education reform and awareness programs to prevent the country from undoing the progress it has achieved on this front thus far.

By establishing a protocol to arrest sex abusers and properly detaining suspects until they can be tried quickly and fairly under a just legal system, India is paving the way for society to finally accept gender equality as a way of life. Not to mention, granting peace of mind for countless women.

By Sabrina Willard