Join today’s protest organised by Southall Black Sisters against sexual violence in India
7th January 2013, 4-7pm
outside the Indian High Commission, London WC2B 4NA

Dear all,

We have all been shocked by the recent case of a young woman who was gang raped by a group of six men on a bus in Delhi. When she was taken to hospital, the doctor found ” that a rod was inserted into her and it was pulled out with so much force that the act brought out her intestines along. That is probably the only thing that explains such severe damage to her intestines.” She tragically died on 29th December 2012 in a hospital in Singapore.

Shocking as it is, this is only one of many acts of horrific sexual violence that take place every where and every day in India. The world’s largest democracy was named the worst country in the G20 countries for violence against women (after Saudi Arabia) in the recent Trust Law/Reuters Survey. This is the heart of darkness in ‘India shining’. By drawing world wide attention to this horror and solidarity for Indian women, we hope to shame the Indian government into acting now by making public spaces safe for women, starting with implementing the laws and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Southall Black Sisters invites you to stand in solidarity with Indian feminists who are demanding:

1. Increased patrolling and deployment of police, including police women in public places so that such incidents can be prevented, and women’s safety assured; improved infrastructure to make cities safer for women.
2. Fast track courts to deal with rape cases, hearings to be held on a day to day basis, so that sentence can be delivered within a period of 6 months. Police investigation to be conducted in a time bound manner.
3. Standardized investigation procedures to be circulated to all police stations, with action taken against police personnel who do not implement them properly;
4. Increased sensitization, effective investigation and accountability of the police in dealing with heinous crimes against women.
5. Immediate relief, legal and medical assistance, and long term rehabilitation measures to be provided to survivors of rape, without delays and hassles.

SAFE ACCESS TO PUBLIC PLACES IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE FOR WOMEN ALL OVER THE WORLD!

Please bring banners, placards, whistles, songs, slogans and all your friends and let the our anger echo from the Indian High Commission all the way to India.

We do NOT support the death penalty or chemical castration for the criminals.

Hope to see you there.

Southall Black Sisters

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4 Comments

  1. Should we even be asking why people rape? Would it not be better to have a legal system that investigates and prosecutes the crime, convicting the criminals and sentencing them to extremely long periods of jail time. My point is that there is no reason for rape at all, so if we as a society consider all rape to be a crime, then it should be deal as such.

    A rapist has no place in society, and I feel that society would be willing to bear the small burden of keeping them locked up for the rest of their natural life. Do this often and soon it will be understood that this is one crime that you do not get away with. But as we all know, there are people out there, some with the best intentions and others with the most vile, who are willing to subvert this type of law. If you are not willing to demand long prison terms for rape, then you are my enemy, weak as that may sound, remember there a lot of people who think like me.

  2. Goa scientist arms women with pepper spray
    Panaji, Jan 8, 2013, (IANS)

    Even as the country debates ways to rein in sex offenders, a pharmacology research scientist here has hit the streets of Goa equipping women with a weapon to beat perverts at their own game.

    Lanky Sudeep Dalvi has started a campaign in the state to sell cans of pepper spray to women at cost price. The cans, Dalvi says, will be made available at all bus stations and colleges across Goa and will be sold only to women and girls.

    “It’s not all about handing over pepper spray cans to women. If they cannot use it at the right time, the purpose will be defeated,” Dalvi said, adding that live demonstrations would also be conducted whenever a can of pepper spray is sold.

    The charged Dalvi has called this pepper spray campaign ‘Operation Dusht Daman’. And Dalvi takes “vanquishing the evil” seriously. “Along with pepper spray cans, the counter will also have video screening of precautions women and girls can take to handle potential molesters,” he said.
    …………………………………………..

    MORE: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/303777/goa-scientist-arms-women-pepper.html

  3. i am with you to save those ugly souls which brutally raped and murdered that innocent girl…

    because you don’t want those heinous criminals to be hanged to death….

    you are a great human being maryam….my rolling ( role?) model..

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