JAIPUR: The rapes of three minors within days of each other have invoked a sense of anger in the people of Rajasthan, who have now taken to protest against the brutality. Locals in Churu district protested against rape of a 10-year-old girl and completely shut down the town on Wednesday, while villagers in Sikar continued their protest on Thursday.
Experts believe that unemployment, bad influence of social media, lack of education and a patriarchal society are the reasons due to which children are being assaulted.
The police claim that they are conducting awareness campaigns, but truth remains that they get involved only after the crime is committed.
Dr Prerna Puri, associate professor of psychology at Rajasthan University, analysing the present situation said, “The society as a whole has become more self-centric and everyone tends to only think about their own wants and needs. The value system has shattered and moral values are not taught anymore. While we tell our girls that they need to behave in a certain manner, the boys are not told how they have to behave.”
Experts also said that parents most of the time do not even report rape or molestation cases, which in turn increases the courage of the perpetrators to repeat these crimes.
Puri further added, “Lack of education is a big issue and the minds of the accused in these cases are limited. Pornographic material is easily available on internet now and such individuals have access to it, making them prone to execute crimes like these.”
The cops and experts seem to be in agreement when it comes to bad influence of social media.
Tejaswani Gautam, SP, Churu, where a 10-year-old girl was raped and left for the dead, said, “Social media has made everyone access content which was not possible earlier. This, added to the fact that in most cases, the accused are mentally unstable in some sense or the other and are likely to be unemployed because of which they have no outlet to take out their frustration and they find easy targets in children.”
Officials also lamented that the society has only changed superficially but the core values remain the same and Gautam added, “While we encourage girls to go to school, the ground reality is that the patriarchal system still exists. Men and boys still look at women as well as girls as someone who are only meant for certain things. The mindset is same as it was many years ago.”
Meanwhile police say that they try their best to expedite the investigation when they receive the reports. DGP Rajasthan, Bhupendra Singh told TOI, “We are organising outreach programmes to curtail such crimes and the investigation is also done swiftly. However, there has been no increase in these cases and they are reported every year and in these matters, police can do their job only after the crime has been reported.”
Experts believe that unemployment, bad influence of social media, lack of education and a patriarchal society are the reasons due to which children are being assaulted.
TimesView
The recent rapes of minors have shown that in most cases offenders were known to survivors/victims. While the police are expected to conduct a swift investigation and bring the accused to trial, the onus lies on parents to ensure the safety of their children. Parents need to be cautious and make sure that their children are not left unattended at any given point of time. This is especially important when there are family functions such as weddings, like the recent rape of a minor at a marriage function in Jaipur, where perpetrators find opportunities to target children.
The police claim that they are conducting awareness campaigns, but truth remains that they get involved only after the crime is committed.
Dr Prerna Puri, associate professor of psychology at Rajasthan University, analysing the present situation said, “The society as a whole has become more self-centric and everyone tends to only think about their own wants and needs. The value system has shattered and moral values are not taught anymore. While we tell our girls that they need to behave in a certain manner, the boys are not told how they have to behave.”
Experts also said that parents most of the time do not even report rape or molestation cases, which in turn increases the courage of the perpetrators to repeat these crimes.
Puri further added, “Lack of education is a big issue and the minds of the accused in these cases are limited. Pornographic material is easily available on internet now and such individuals have access to it, making them prone to execute crimes like these.”
The cops and experts seem to be in agreement when it comes to bad influence of social media.
Tejaswani Gautam, SP, Churu, where a 10-year-old girl was raped and left for the dead, said, “Social media has made everyone access content which was not possible earlier. This, added to the fact that in most cases, the accused are mentally unstable in some sense or the other and are likely to be unemployed because of which they have no outlet to take out their frustration and they find easy targets in children.”
Officials also lamented that the society has only changed superficially but the core values remain the same and Gautam added, “While we encourage girls to go to school, the ground reality is that the patriarchal system still exists. Men and boys still look at women as well as girls as someone who are only meant for certain things. The mindset is same as it was many years ago.”
Meanwhile police say that they try their best to expedite the investigation when they receive the reports. DGP Rajasthan, Bhupendra Singh told TOI, “We are organising outreach programmes to curtail such crimes and the investigation is also done swiftly. However, there has been no increase in these cases and they are reported every year and in these matters, police can do their job only after the crime has been reported.”
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