Erosion of family values to blame for rise in rape incidents, Madras high court judge says

CHENNAI: The incidents of rape have doubled in the past decade mainly due to erosion of family values, said Madras high court judge Justice N Kirubakaran on Sunday.

Ruing that a situation has come when events and functions should be organised to spread awareness about rape and violence against women and children, Justice Kirubakaran said domestic unrest was the root cause of many a social ill. He was speaking at a book release function here.

The judge said joint family system offered a mix of all human feeling and experiences and prepared youngsters for challenges in open society. A family busy with machines and social media platforms deprived children of fundamental values, said Justice Kirubakaran.

Touching upon issues ranging from domestic violence to sexual harassment, as found in the book authored by lawyer A P Suryaprakasam, Justice Kirubakaran pointed out that involvement of women in crimes against women, particularly on issues involving dowry, was rampant.

"I'm pained when women battling domestic issues tell me that the parents of their husband were the problem. Violence against women and children have gone up mainly because we lack love, affection and supervision of elders in families," he said.

Instances of domestic and sexual harassment reflected personality disorder and psychological disorder, he said, adding that though India had the dubious distinction of having maximum number of persons with psychological disorders, the nation did not have enough counsellors and psychiatrists.

“Only by making offenders suffer the pain by due process of law, we could deter such people from targeting children and women,” said Justice Kirubakaran.

Criticising the state liquor policy, he said many families had been ruined by fresh availability of alcohol, which has damaged individual families as well as the society.

Earlier, Justice (retd) K N Basha said he would get outraged at news of sexual harassment of children by people trusted by them, like teachers and relatives.

Senior Congress leader and seasoned lawmaker Peter Alphonse said the functioning of the democracy was revolving around judiciary. “Judicial activism is an accepted reality now, and its role in moderating democratic institutions can't be undermined,” he said.