Selective actions (Soter D'Souza)

Article published in the Herald, 14th December 2013 SOTER D’SOUZA The feelings of shock, outrage, shame and betrayal over the alleged sexual assault of a young journalist by her employer who happened to be the Editor-in-Chief of one of India’s acclaimed news organizations, is understandable and perfectly natural. As for Goa, it is about one more ‘feather in its cap’ with a string of shameful incidents. Time and again there have been protests from civil society groups against the abuse of women at various public events in Goa. Several years ago, the Carnival parade came in for attack from the Church and civil society groups due to allegations about girls being drugged to dance on the streets and then sexually abused. Scarlett Keeling’s mysterious death was another such case that made international headlines. The death of another young girl during a music event in Candolim also caused a stir. The unsolved rape of a minor in a school at Vasco continues to anger Goans. We cannot forget the instances of pedophiles who set up shop in Goa. Several raids by the police on massage parlours in Calangute have also confirmed the fears of Goans about the thriving exploitation of women in Goa. With the type of tourism that has evolved in Goa, there is every possibility that festivals, parades, EDM events, casinos, massage parlours and such others provide a wonderful cover to promote alcohol, sex and drugs. Revelry, drunkenness and promiscuity seem to have become one of the prominent features for the popularity of Goa as a preferred holiday destination. Ultimately, the image of Goa has been so soiled with the promotion of such a perverse brand of tourism, that for many in this country, Goa has now become synonymous with wine, women and casinos. Such incidents of rapes, deaths from drug over dose and drug wars that occasionally spill over onto our national highways and get sensationalised to boost TRP ratings or for political distraction, only compounds the embarrassment that Goans face when they travel to other States. Goa has been branded for what it has never been and Goans are being portrayed in a manner which is absolutely degrading. Coming back to the public reactions over increasing violence against women in the country witnessed of late, including the recent alleged sexual assault incident of a journalist in Goa, there appears to be an underlying hypocrisy and a discriminatory approach in public responses to such incidents of violence. Particular categories of violence against women get hyped while other equally serious forms of violence are ignored. The political circuit and market forces prefer to discuss violence in a compartmentalized manner. Certain categories of violence are forced on the agenda for debate while others are just left to fester. Is sectarian violence any less traumatic for women than their exploitation at the workplace and attacks on the street? Is the violence unleashed in the name of development when women are uprooted from their land and driven into migrating to the pavements or slums in the metros any less violative and inhuman? Is the mental torture of women having to deal with husbands who get drunk and squander the meagre family earnings on legally promoted alcohol by the State any different from the sexual harassment of the modern working or socializing women? But the sufferings of such women do not become the point for hysterical debate in society. Particular incidents of violence against women cannot be treated in isolation from other forms of violence. Forms of violence which are spillovers from an unjust and unequal system need to be addressed holistically. The media, as usual, can be expected to titillate and also distract the public from the real issues. The corporates and politicians who are often behind the media would not like highlighting the violence against women that springs from the social fallouts of economic development, like the growing disparity between the rich and poor, displacement of people, migration to cities, and the cultural shock due to luxurious lifestyles. Both governments and corporates would like the truth about violence of a capitalist economy to remain under wraps as long as possible. The same elite class which protests against violence will cheer and defend this consumer economy for its extravagant lifestyles. The consumer mindset only knows the language of elimination, castration and CCTV cameras as a solution. This is why the debate on lifestyles, one among them being alcohol consumption as the potential trigger to violence in various forms, gets ignored or shouted down. Whether in the Nirbhaya incident in Delhi or the sexual assault of a young journo in Goa and the latest allegation of sexual harassment by a young law intern against a retired Supreme Court Judge, the use of alcohol does find mention but gets covered up. It is not our intention to argue that those resorting to violence or abuse under the influence of alcohol be looked upon more leniently. But we cannot deny that consumption of alcohol is known to lower inhibitions thereby triggering such actions that a person may not have committed if sober. Is alcohol abuse not rampant in red-light areas? We also have a whole lot of delinquent children coming from hostile homes caused by alcohol abuse or other lifestyles. Alcohol abuse is known to revolve around criminality. There are case studies of some villages in India which show that no sooner alcohol was banned there was a sharp decline in anti-social behaviour in the community. Yet, the role of alcohol in crimes against women is not given equal attention along with the potential abuse of laws by women in a highly opportunistic, ambitious, scheming, competitive and consumerist society. With such a skewed approach to violence, we could soon land up with jammed courts, and many innocent youth in the most productive age group cramped up and wasted in overcrowded jails for alleged offences ‘not injurious but violative of someone’s rights’ according to the law. The problem of violence against women does not start and end with the persons accused of crimes. It starts and ends with the political and economic system we have embraced after independence. Criminals are not born, they are created by circumstances. And this is the truth about violence that a materialist and consumerist society is hiding from with cosmetic and doctored responses. To understand the present crisis that we are facing in this country, we need to revisit the warnings of Mahatma Gandhi published in 1908 in his treatise titled ‘Hind Swaraj’. It is also said that, “Prevention is always better than cure.” Insensitive and stringent State laws that are born from a kneejerk reaction cannot be expected to curb criminality. Such laws can only be expected to benefit those with whom Gandhiji was disappointed with, the lawyers and the courts. It is the experience that laws in our country are usually set in motion to intimidate, harass or eliminate someone inconvenient to the exploitative political or economic system rather then for ensuring peace in society. Another greatest beneficiary from crimes against women is the market of security services, when what is actually needed is patience, compassion, care, understanding, dialogue, rationality and discernment from society to help arrive at long lasting and meaningful solutions. The fountainhead from which violence erupts has to be identified, acknowledged and plugged. There cannot be a preferential class treatment given to some forms of violence in society while continuing to hypocritically ignore others. Gender fascism will not take us far.