In Rape Cases, Even Filing an FIR is Difficult: Dalit Women

Madurai: Many of the 30-odd dalit women who attended a public hearing meeting in Arasaradi in the city said they had been subjected to sexual harassment, including rape, but had been unable to take the legal path for justice due to pressure and discrimination.

The meeting was held by Madurai-based NGO Evidence so as to provide legal assistance to dalit women who had faced atrocities. Director of Evidence A Kathir presided over the meeting, called ‘Dalit Women Speak Out’.  Saradha (name changed), a 47-year-old mid-day meal worker from Thirupuvanam, said she was raped by a 24-year-old man while she was returning home from the school. “Everyone asked me to settle the issue without registering a police complaint to protect the honour of the village,” she said.

“On February1 2014, my 17-year-old daughter was raped by a gang of four men, who later dumped her in a garbage site in our village. It has been a year since we last went to the village, because the villagers accused my daughter of being in love with a boy outside our caste. The accused were also later released on bail,”said another dalit woman from Ottanagampatti. According to statistics given by Evidence, around 923 rape cases were registered in Tamil Nadu in 2013 and a whopping 10,565 cases were registered in 2014, of which 1,110 were cases of rape of minor girls. Of these, one of the most vulnerable groups was dalit women, who face several hindrances right from the time of filing a complaint in the police station to getting medical checkups done, they said.

Source: The Time of India