Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code defines rape as "sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud or at a time when she has been intoxicated or duped, or is of unsound mental health and in any case if she is under 18 years of age."

The word rape came originally from the latin word ‘Rapere’ which means to take some one’s property or damage some one’s property to punish him or for revenge. So the act of rape also his this another dimension to it. Which is beyond sexual gratification, woman as an object, as a property, to teach her owner a lesson, to send him a message.

A rape goes against victim’s most fundamental right – Article 21(8) – Right to life. An act of rape does not end with it, it is a beginning of a nightmare.

Mathura was a 15-year-old tribal girl. She was raped by two policemen from Chandrapur district, Maharashtra. Celebrity lawyer Ram Jethmalani defended the accused, pleading that the consent can be of 2 types. Expressed and Implied. Since the girl was ‘habituated to sex’ and did not raise an alarm, this was an implied consent. Court failed to understand that this was helpless resignation and acquitted them. Indian citizens broke into massive protests and this case led to the law amendment in 1983.

1973, Aruna Shanbaug – A nurse was raped by a ward boy, this resulted in her living rest of her life in vegetative state until her death in 2015.

1992, Ajmer rape case: religious sexual exploitation of not one but many young girls by the priest

2002, Bilkis Bano rape case: 11 men raped a pregnant Bilkis, smashed her 3 year old child to death, while the communal riots flared, houses burnt

2012, Nirbhaya gang rape case: the sheer barbarism of the case shook the nation and led to further amendments by Verma Committee

2013, Shaktimill gang rape case: A journalist was raped in Shakti mills compounds in Mumbai, the rapists got death penalty under section 376 E

2015, Ranaghat rape case: A 71-year-old nun was brutally gang raped, the gang also rummaged the church and the act was recorded in cctv

2017, Unnao rape case: 17 year old girl was raped, the accused is a son of BJP MLA, Kuldeep Sengar, multiple attacks on victim and her family, father and few family members died

2018, Kathua J&K rape case: 8 year old Asifa was raped by 8 men and one of a temple priests, 2 BJP ministers supported the accused

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was passed in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya case wherein a female student was gang-raped in December 2012. The Act amended several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, and the Criminal Procedure Code. By way of this amendment, several new offenses have been recognized and incorporated into the Indian Penal Code, including acid attack (Section 326 A & B), voyeurism (Section 354C), stalking (Section 354D), attempt to disrobe a woman (Section 354B), sexual harassment (Section 354A), and sexual assault which causes death or injury causing a person to be in persistent vegetative state (Section 376A). The Act also amended the already existing offenses to make them more stringent. Notably, the definition of rape in Section 375 was broadened to include acts in addition to penetration. Also, Section 370 was replaced with Section 370 and 370A. The amended section incorporated the definition of trafficking as provided in the UN Trafficking Protocol while excluding “forced labour.”

The Criminal amendment act, 2018 The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act replaced the Ordinance of the same name which was promulgated in the aftermath of the Kathua Rape case in Jammu & Kashmir region of India in 2018, which involved the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl. The Act amended various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, and The Code of Criminal Procedure. Notably, the Act increased the minimum punishment for rape from seven years to ten years of rigorous imprisonment which is extendable to life imprisonment. The penalty for rape of a girl under 16 years of age has also been increased to 20 years of imprisonment extendable to life, a significant increase from the original term of 10 years. Rape of a girl under 12 years of age has been made punishable with imprisonment of minimum 20 years extendable to life or with capital punishment. Lastly, the gang rape of a girl under 12 years of age has been made punishable with life imprisonment or capital punishment. The Act includes measures related to bail restrictions, speedy trial, and strengthening prosecution.

JUSTICE VERMA COMMITTEE REPORT

The national level demonstration and massive public outrage after the Nirbhaya case led the government to act quickly and as a result Justice J.S. Verma committee was set-up to suggest amendments to criminal laws. The committee made recommendations on a wide range of issues dealing with all kinds of sexual crimes.

The Committee recommended that the exception for marital rape should be removed and stated, "the relationship between the accused and the complainant is not relevant to the inquiry into whether the complainant consented to the sexual activity". It made recommendations to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012 and criticized the existing mechanism of Internal Complaints Committees stating that it defeated the purpose of the Bill and recommended setting up of an employment tribunal.

With respect to the punishments for rape, the committee was of the view that such offences need to be graded. The committee stated that "There are instances where the victim/survivor is still in a position from which she can, with some support from society, overcome the trauma and lead a normal life. In other words, we do not say that such a situation is less morally depraved, but the degree of injury to the person may be much less and does not warrant punishment with death." It took into consideration the view of the Working Group on Human Rights which suggested that "the murder rate has declined consistently in India over the last 20 years despite the slowdown in the execution of death sentences since 1980." Hence, the committee was of the opinion that the introduction of death penalty for rape may not have a deterrent effect. The committee also took into account the views of majority of scholars, leaders of women's' organizations, and other stakeholders who strongly submitted that "the seeking of death penalty would be a regressive step in the field of sentencing and reformation" However, they enhanced the punishment to mean the remainder of life.

The Committee further recommended the insertion of certain offences such as Voyeurism, Stalking and Intentional Touching in the Penal code. It also reviewed the practice of the "two-finger test" during the medical examination of the victim and suggested the scrapping of the test by stating that "the size of the vaginal introitus has no bearing on a case of sexual assault, and therefore a test to ascertain the laxity of the vaginal muscles which is commonly referred to as the two-finger test must not be conducted. On the basis of this test observations/ conclusions such as 'habituated to sexual intercourse' should not be made and this is forbidden by law". The committee emphasized on the importance of gender equality and also drafted a separate Bill of Rights for women stating "Every woman shall be entitled to respect for her life and the integrity and security of her person. All forms of violence, exploitation, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment targeting women are prohibited".

An Evolving Law Since the word ‘rape’ was first mentioned in the Indian Penal Code, the way our legal system deals with the crime of rape has changed repeatedly. Our legal system tirelessly tries to adapt to the changing time. On time to time, as needed the laws are made stricter and punishments are increased. Ensuring that the legal process does not become punishment for victims. 1. 1860 – when for the first time the world rape was mentioned in our legal structure. The definition of rape was extremely limiting at that time. 2. 1983 – second amendment after the Mathura case 3. 2002 – The amendment to Indian evidence act – cross examination of rape victims was prohibited 4. 2012 – POSCO – protection of children from sexual offences 5. 2013 – Criminal law amendment act 6. 2018 – Criminal law amendment ordinance

Solutions
• Social change through educational reforms, more gender neutral, gender inclusive experiences.
• Studying and understanding psychological motivation of a rapist. Rapists are victims too.
• Educating and empowering women.
• Sex offenders Registry like in U.S.
• Art of living – prison programs – to break the cycle of violence, reduce stress, heal trauma, learn to handle negative emotions in most challenging situations and contribute to the society