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Hulftsdorp Hill

13th December 1998

Rape and sex victims: publish and be doomed

By Mudliyar

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"All men are rapists and that all they are, they rape us with their eyes, their laws and their codes," said Marilyn French.

"Throughout history the greatest acts of heroism was when men defended their wives with their life, barbarous aliens tried to molest and rape their women," said Bertrand Russel.

Recently the rape and murder of Rita John Manoharan created such a sensational news that even tight-lipped men who mind their own business demonstrated and denounced the horrendous crime. Some tabloids questioned whether the public outcry would be directed with the same force and the media blitz would synthesize to the same feverish pitch if the victim was a domestic aide or a poor garment factory worker. What was so peculiar about the horrendous crime perpetrated on Rita John? Was it because she was a beautiful girl from India or was it because her father-in-law was a retired senior police officer. But be that as it may there was no one holding a brief for the suspects.

After this incident, newspapers carried accounts of similar incidents at Crows Island. The reports said some of the suspects were known to the police as rabid criminals and the police failed to take action due to political pressure.

A sociologist told me that it was the first time after a long time that the public was so outraged over a crime.

The public at their own expense had slogans and graffiti written on their neighbours walls. Effigies carrying the names of the suspects with tyres around their necks were placed at the scene of the crime. As if they drew a sadistic pleasure in witnessing the suspects burnt to death.

Some junior lawyers of the Magistrate's Court were appalled by the crime publicly demonstrated and appealed to their colleagues not to appear for such rapists. Others criticized them for forgetting the fundamental principle of etiquette that they have sworn to uphold as attorneys-at-law of the Supreme Court.

Few years ago there was a similar incident near a famous waterfall in Ratnapura district where a gang raped and killed some girls who were on a picnic. The then Government immediately published a Gazette proclamation under Emergency Regulations and made rape punishable with death and non-bailable. Though with the lapse of the emergency the regulations lapsed, they were renewed.

The sociologist brought to my attention the tremendous service the media did by publishing the Rita John rape and murder case, resulting in a public outcry against such heinous crimes. He brought to my notice some startling revelations that after the Rita John case, incidence of rape has become much less because the people supported the view that rapists should be ostracised from society.

It is alleged the suspects were assaulted in the remand jail by other inmates.

The electronic media, too, played a major role in bringing to the bedroom of millions of people the gruesome details of the murder. Indeed the conscience of the nation was shocked. The only silver lining was like in the case of the student ragged to death, this incident would have cautioned and restrained the would -be rapists, the sociologist concurred.

In other countries when a rape occurs, public demonstrations against such criminal activities take place spontaneously. The civic consciousness of the people is awakened. They demonstrate with vigour outside courthouses and the homes of the suspects.

In Sri Lanka this rarely happens. Sometimes the convicted rapists are given full media blitz. These cases have shocked the nation and made it realize that it is the duty of every citizen in this country to rally round against these drastic crimes and create and awareness which would make them revolt against such incidents.

For years after the opening of the economy and the developing of the tourist trade, some NGOs claim that the biggest attraction Sri Lanka offers to the tourists are not sandy beaches, the balmy climate or the archaeological ruins but children readily available for sex. I do not agree that there are 30,000 boys in this sex trade, but certainly the numbers are not small.

In the Victor Baumann's case as in the Rita John case, there were demonstrations against lawyers who appeared for the paeodophile. A section of the Catholic Church in charge of the rehabilitation of the Negombo beach boys was in the forefront in these demonstrations. The last government appointed a technical committee to amend the archaic laws with reference to various aspects of child sex.. Far reaching recommendations were made by this committee. But the final draft took a somewhat different form from the recommendations and it was presented in Parliament as an amendment to the Penal Code.

Quite rightly the committee was of the view that the proposal should not form a separate enactment but must be published as an amendment to the Penal Code. The ordinary law enforcement officer is a policeman and to him the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code are like the Old and the New Testament. Generally he has no knowledge and has no time to acquire any knowledge of any other Act.

The amendment to the Penal Code strove to tackle the growing problem of child abuse, paedophilia, incest and recommended deterrent punishment and took away the discretion vested in Judges. What is most important is that to this amendment some new provisions have been added. I do not know whether these provisions were the recommendations of the committee or it took a different shape at the hands of the legislature.

Minister G. L. Peiris told parliament during the second reading of the bill: "There is another important point. Very considerable damage is done to a child by the publication or the revelation of the identity of the child against whom a sexual offence has been committed.

To be continued to Next Week


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