How far can violence against women go and is there a legal recourse readily available for women in distress? Filip Strandberg Hassellind, a researcher in International criminal law at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, finds a ray of light emerging at the end of the tunnel in the form of growing awareness.
Mr. Hassellind recently came to Tirupati to study instances of violence against women, especially in rural India. Accompanied by Sri Venkateswara University College of Arts principal B.V. Muralidhar and sociology professor Stanley Jayakumar, he interacted with social activists, inmates of a women’s home, academics, public representatives and police officials to get diverse perspectives on the issue.
In a freewheeling chat with The Hindu, he explains the darker side of the term ‘gendercide’, coined to indicate gender-based selective genocide, and the need for women to raise their voice against violence of all forms and at all places, viz., home, workplace or the community at large.
“Women are discriminated against from the womb to the tomb. Selective genocide may have stopped with the ban on gender diagnosis of foetus or the ‘Beti Bachao’ programme, but a lot more has to be achieved,” he says.
‘Media should create awareness’
He calls upon the media to bring to light such instances of violence so that it is talked about with the stakeholders, debated by the society, redressed by the government and finally, a future course of action evolved by policymakers to thwart similar instances in future.
Mr. Hassellind finds a pressing need to impart moral education to children to make them respect the gender difference. Violence against women basically stems from men’s insensitivity and the general tendency to attack. It is hence pertinent to teach the adolescent boys the importance of handling women with honour. “An adolescent boy who teases, mocks at, harasses and physically assaults a girl may resort to the same to his spouse, daughter and even mother in future,” he cautions.
On the Disha app introduced by the State, he expresses surprise at its efficiency in rushing to the aid of women in trouble.