India Gang Rape Case

This week, four men were sentenced to death in a gang rape case in New Delhi.  Last year, a 23 year old woman was raped and murdered by these four men when she and a male friend were coming home from a movie.  The woman and her friend were lured onto a bus where the man was beaten and the woman was raped repeatedly.  They were later left on the side of the road, and eventually the woman died in a hospital in Singapore.  The case became international news last year, which put pressure on India to deal with this situation.  The article argues that women are often treated as second class citizens in India, and they are usually blamed for rape.  Many people were happy to see this case move through the court system so quickly.

Questions for Discussion

• We have studied in class the Catholic Social Teaching theme of Dignity of the Human Person.  In what ways has the principle of dignity been violated here?  Is capital punishment a violation of the men's dignity?
• The article says that the Indian justice system is incredibly slow--right now, there are tens of thousands of rape cases waiting to be tried.  How is this a violation of people's rights?