Is anyone trustworthy? This is the question many Indians have asked themselves over the past month when news broke out that a respected spiritual guru, Asaram Bapu, allegedly sexually assaulted a young child. The young girl was locked into a room, sexually assaulted, and threatened with her parents' death if she told. This is an immense problem in India, especially when young children do not speak up because they are used to being "seen, not heard."
Although the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act was passed in 2012, a report published shortly after in February of 2012 revealed that much more action needed to be taken to enforce this law. Despite this problem being "common knowledge," India's criminal justice system is ineffective in punishing the attackers because it is not prompt with its investigations and prosecutions.
The guru, Asarama, had an immense group of followers and was a very respected individual within India; however, his prosecution illustrates that those who commit crimes will be punished. Hopefully, this sends a message nationwide and wards off more attacks, but it will be up to the authorities to appropriately reform the criminal justice system in order to solve this problematic situation.
- Children, often seen as the most innocent creatures because of their lack of exposure to the harsh realities of the world, are being sexually abused in India, a clear violation of their human rights. Why do you think India’s court system is not taking a stronger stance on protesting human right violations?
- Even though this is common knowledge in most parts of India, why do you think more action isn’t being taken by communities to protect their youth?
This is a very frustrating article to read. There is no clear way to approach the issue, as children's lives and mental health are at stake. However, something must be done. The tragedy is that not enough action is actually being taken. I think that India's court system is not taking a stronger stance because of its taboo and dangerous nature. The truth is that a lot of people's lives are at risk, and such a violation is not one that is openly discussed. Thus, Indian officials may not be as open to discussing it. In the same way, I think fear is what also stops communities from taking a stance. There needs to be an openness in order to change anything. I also believe that people in this situation are stigmatized, and thus, coming forward would ensure their ostratization.
ReplyDeleteSexual assault against children is one of the most violating and terrible offenses known to man. I find it very disturbing, and this article shocked me. I would never think that a spiritual leader would perform such a gross injustice and violation of human rights. I feel that the part of this reflection which pointed out that these kids are being "seen and not heard" is very accurate. Children are very innocent and sometimes weak or timid by nature, and therefore are easy targets for injustices such as these. I feel that due to the social order in India regarding the caste and unimportant role of women, rape is somewhat overlooked by the community. As the weak people in Indian society are being targeted, it is the duty of the community to stand up for them. This relates to the Catholic Social Teaching of Option for the Poor, because it calls us to look out for the weak and vulnerable members of our society. Injustices such as these must not continue to be overlooked, and the community is responsible for this reversal.
ReplyDeleteI think that people are not taking action to save the innocence of the children of India because the problem is vast and hard to remedy. Many children are sexually or physically abused everyday and sometimes knowledge of this is never brought to light. Children fall victim to this and then maintain their silence due to a fear of being accused of lying or simply being punished for speaking up. Although children are the future and they are essentially innocent, they are still being exposed to horrifying realities each day. Many government official speak about how terrible this is and how it must be change but no action is being taken. It's hard to change the tradition and accepted reality of an entire country.
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