One arrested on charges of outraging a woman’s modesty

GANGTOK, 16 Sept: A case of outraging a woman’s modesty has been registered at the Melli Police Station on 14 September against Chongklay Sharma alias Umesh Sharma [26], resident of upper Ramabong. The complaint states that the accused entered the house of the victim and outraged her modesty using criminal force.
The accused has been arrested and a case under section 447/354 [punishment for criminal trespass and assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty] of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against him at the Melli Police Station.

CS chairs meeting to discuss containment of crimes against women and weaker sections

GANGTOK, 10 Jan [IPR]: A meeting on crime against women and weaker sections of the society was held here at Chintan Bhawan, Gangtok today. The meeting was chaired by Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim, Karma Gyatso and was participated by Chairpersons of State Commission for Protection of Child Right, State Commission for Backward Classes, State Commission for Women, State Social Welfare Board, OBC Welfare Board, Juvenile Welfare Board, Additional Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Secretary Labour , Secretary, Welfare Department, District Collectors, Superintendents of Police of all the four districts, representative from State Legal Services Authority, HRDD and public prosecutors.
At the outset, the Chief Secretary while welcoming the members in the meeting informed the gathering about the meeting held on 04 January in New Delhi between the Home Ministry and the Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of all the states wherein the participants suggested that punishment for gangrape should be stronger and there should be an amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act to lower the age to 16 years and grading should be based on the magnitude of offence.
He informed that the participating states also suggested that crime prevention is very important and there should be zero tolerance for petty offences as the offender can escalate in crime ladder and especially for cases under section 509 of IPC, which deals with sexual harassment of women.
Further detailing the meeting held at in New Delhi, the Chief Secretary added that the states have also suggested that cases need to be registered as and when women reach a police station. Recording of information should be only by women and if necessary by audio/video recording. Medical practitioner who examines a rape victim must be a woman. Police protection for the victim till the trial ends should be given.
The participating states have also suggested that fast track courts are necessary and court procedure should prevent humiliation of the victims and character assassination must be stopped. There should be no adjournments once trial starts with day-to-day hearing and the rights of the victims should be defined. Judges and prosecutors should be women. Discretion in grant of bail for heinous offences should be removed and prosecutor should be of the victim’s choice.
The Chief Secretary said that the Centre has pointed out that accountability of police is essential and gender sensitization needs to be made a part of the curriculum, if not done in police training schools and colleges. Awareness programmes are necessary. Expansion of civil police is necessary and reluctance of women to join should be reduced by reserving posts for them in police. Deputy Superintendent of Police should be the nodal officer for crime against women in every district. One additional Director General of Police should be designated as nodal officer in every state.
The CS during the meeting urged everyone to be very serious on this issue and cooperate with each other to prevent such types of crimes in the state. The meeting which was actively participated discussed threadbare the crimes committed against women and strategies to eliminate Crime against women/children in the state. The meeting also outlined the necessity of awareness programmes and councelling from the village level. The Chairpersons of various commissions also suggested the identification of vulnerable areas and sensitization of the people of such areas. Establishment of one all women Police Station, posting of at least one lady cop in every police station were also suggested during the meeting.
The meeting also suggested that as almost all labourers in the state are coming from outside the state proper registration of labourers should be done by the labour department. The meeting also discussed substance abuse and alcoholism as the main reasons behind such crimes therefore proper mechanism and legal procedure has to be adopted to prevent substance abuse and alcoholism. Engaging the children in a positive way through various extracurricular activities will also keep them occupied thereby preventing negative thoughts in their mind, it was suggested.
The Chairpersons of various commissions and boards while appreciating the cooperation rendered by the state police in combating such crimes suggested that people-friendly policing plays a pivotal role in encouraging the victims to be more open with the police whenever such crimes occur. Establishment of Forensic Lab in the state will also help in speeding up the trial process it was suggested in which the Director General of Police informed the meeting that the Regional Forensic Lab will be functional by February 2013.
Representative from State Legal Services Authority, Matilda Rai, informed the meeting that the SLSA is clearing all the cases speedily with regard to the victims’ compensation scheme and also conducting various awareness programmes with welfare officials, commissions and police officials. She further informed that free legal aid is also being provided to the victims of such crimes.
The Additional Chief Secretary, R. Ongmu during the meeting said that the government is fully aware of the problem and has taken steps for welfare and protection of the women and children and the weaker sections of the society. In this regard she sought report from the District Collectors about the activities of the various committees set up by the government to look into matters relating to crimes against women and children.
The District Collectors and the Superintendent of Police also highlighted about the activities taken up at the district level on this issue.
The Chief Secretary while concluding the meeting appreciated the manner in which every participant registered concern against such crimes in the society. He said that substantial and concrete opinion came out in the meeting which shows the commitment of the society towards this issue. He further thanked all the participants for attending the meeting which he said is a step taken by the state administration to prevent such crimes in our society.

The threat is not just from strangers

...CLOSER ACQUAINTANCES TEND TO EXPLOIT WOMEN MORE OFTEN

TSHERING EDEN
On 28 December, while the 25-yr-old gangrape victim of Delhi was breathing her last in a Singapore hospital, a 14-yr-old here in Sikkim was gangraped. The first day of the New Year brought news of a 25-yr-old woman who died while giving birth to her child unassisted near a kholcha in Pakyong. The newborn male child was also found dead, having succumbed to the cold.
As Delhi burned with its public taking to the streets in protest of the numerous crimes committed against its women everyday, demanded better policing, more effective laws and stricter punishment, Sikkim also sought to borrow some of this heat. Prodded by its own shameful share of tragic incidents, condemnations and demands have also started pouring in. Demands that echo what the public are shouting in the streets of Delhi. This is where one needs to hit the pause button and ruminate a while.
While the rape case is clearly recognisable as an act of violence, the case of the young mother and her newborn is one that baffles. That the case has confounded many is evident by the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights urging the police to nab the “culprits” as soon as possible. Who would these culprits be? and accused of what charges? The Commission’s reaction is also indicative of the inability of a system, a society and a people to first of all comprehend the two cases and then address such issues.
Although the lack of details of the case incapacitates the making of a fair analysis, fact is that both the mother and child were victims of violence; a violence for which the society and the state are to blame. It is time to turn the mirror upon ourselves. It is time to sort through the threads that make the social fabric of the state and mend its fraying edges.
Comparisons can mislead in various ways. Both, the similarities and dissimilarities that any comparison throws up, need to be noted. Delhi and Sikkim are two very different places, especially in terms of the socio-cultural make up that is of particular concern here. The demands voiced in Delhi cannot be echoed verbatim here. Agreed that in the national context, stringent laws and legislations free of any loopholes are imperative. However, one cannot but also agree that the laws already in place are underutilized in this small state of ours. The number of cases of domestic violence or sexual abuse of a minor that are reported in Sikkim cannot in anyway be taken to be representative of the actual numbers.
In the case of Delhi, women feel threatened in public spaces, in buses, in cinema halls, on deserted roads. The fear of the unknown dominates there, whether of unknown places or of unknown persons. In the case of Sikkim, the threat more often than not is of the known. Most cases of sexual assault on women and children are by those who are known to the victims. Last year, a neighbourhood pandit was arrested for sexually abusing a child while another child was molested in an ICDS centre! A woman is not safe in her own home, at risk of domestic violence or abuse by a ‘daju’ or an ‘uncle’. A group of women I spoke to, all had instances to recall where their father’s friend, a distant relative or a cousin had touched them in the wrong way and none of these were addressed. Some could not even complain while those who did were told off.
This threat of the known is what is extremely disturbing because ironically it also means that the possibility of catching and punishing the perpetrator becomes that much more difficult. A vicious circle, so to speak, of power is involved. The known by that very fact enjoys an upper hand. The mother always warns her child not to talk to ‘strangers’. In this day and age awareness on such issues cannot be said to be so poor amongst the Sikkimese. What then makes us turn a blind eye?
What is tolerable and what is not? Small advances that go unnoticed only embolden perverted minds to commit what is not tolerable at all.
The same circle of power is played out at the workplace. How many cases of sexual harassment at the workplace does one hear of? Many. But how many are actually reported? Almost none. Thus, while Delhi can demand better laws and better policing, we, here in Sikkim, need first to look within and recognise the violence being committed inside our own homes or in our own locality before demanding anything else.
Domestic violence is widespread and remains unaddressed. ‘Telay buri lai pura pitdai raicha’ or ‘buri pani pitnu layak ko cha’ are common refrains one hears and are passed off in casual conversation. That it is a punishable offence is a myth. Even agencies supposed to provide security and courage to battered women to walk out of a dangerous marriage coax and cajole the woman to put up with her violent and abusive husband. Legislation has failed to deter perpetrators or encourage victims to make use of it. Efforts at encouraging victims and the public in general to report such cases have to be doubled. Most of all, it must be acknowledged as a crime and not as a cultural or traditionally sanctioned practise.
Comparisons cannot define. A direct outcome of comparisons is to define something by what it is not, which is a very shallow approach. When it comes to the issue of women’s empowerment in Sikkim, an oft heard line is ‘as compared to women in other states women here are empowered’. It is ridiculous to think that women in Sikkim are defined on the basis of women in some other state of the country. Women and their status in the state have to have intrinsic characteristics from which to derive and build on.
I also asked this group of women if they think Sikkimese women are empowered? And the answer in chorus was a no. One would think financial independence would play a pertinent role in women’s empowerment. But all these women and the 25-year-old young mother who is no more were all working women. We perhaps need to then look at the cultural aspects where much remains to be done.
However, it cannot be denied that women’s empowerment cannot happen in a day. Sikkim is growing, transforming and so are its women. But change entails its own set of casualties. The march towards development also demands a society that can filter what it needs and what it does not. Let the casualties be redundant traditional practices that discriminate against women or the western sense of immorality that has crept in along with the illuminating light of education it brought. The longer we feign ignorance and turn away from what is ugly for the sake of abstractions like honour and social standing, the stronger will be the forces gnawing away underneath, the harder it will get to truly lay claim to being developed as a people and a state.

Sikkim Women’s Council condemns crimes against women

GANGTOK, 04 Jan: Sikkim Women’s Council has strongly condemned atrocities against women both within and outside the state.
A press release informs that the Council discussed various issues during its monthly meeting held on 02 January at its office at Pani House, Deorali. The Council has stated that such incidents of crime against women in the state would not be tolerated and strong laws should be enforced to prevent such heinous crimes from being committed in Sikkim in future.