TIME after time, distraught daughters of Eve being paraded on the television screens, mutilated bodies of innocent kids found in garbage skips and frightened faces narrating loathsome ordeals are rampant in Pakistan. All these unfortunate episodes have one thing in common—being a rape victim. According to the latest report of the War Against Rape (WAR), on average 11 rape cases are reported daily to police in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan corroborates the rot. According to its data, in 2021 alone, 5,200 rape cases surfaced. The reported figure is just the tip of the iceberg as a large number go unreported owing to a host of societal pressures and coercion. Abysmally, the conviction rate for reported ones is not more than 0.3%, leading to further discouragement for active reporting.
Right after every shocking rape incident, the authorities, fuming in rage, clamour to make an example out of perpetrators. A host of legislations have been enacted, ranging from Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act 2019 to The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021. Nonetheless, the measures taken in haste and rage are always found wanting. Surging rape cases, subjecting blooming buds to octogenarians, is a harsh reality. While formulating counter-rape strategies, a basic flaw is seeing rape cases as only an open-shut crime problem sans incorporating its complex social nuances. Criminalizing alone cannot bring this menace to a logical conclusion.
The Social Process Theory of criminology delves deep into the social questions surrounding rape cases. It states that criminality is a product of interaction and processes within society. People from all walks of life have the same potential of becoming criminals if they come across destructive social relationships. Criminal tendencies can be controlled by a two-pronged approach; not learning negative behaviours (proactive measure) and maintaining negative labels (punitive measure).
In rape’s context, we somewhat progressed in the latter aspect by promulgating punitive laws and labelling culprits, though sometimes by floating absurd proposals of castration and public hanging. Nevertheless, we miss the former aspect in the first place, resultantly making our counter-rape strategy limp. So, how do people among us learn the grotesque behaviour of rape? From where do they import filthy fodder for this egregious criminal tendency? The answer lies in another Social Learning Theory that states children who are sexually abused grow into sexually abusive adults. These social vices need not teach explicitly instead the filth inoculates the budding minds inadvertently.
A recent confidential report of the Home Department, Punjab spills the beans, “During first five and a half months of this year, a total of 1,390 incidents of child abuse were reported in Punjab and of them 959 (69pc) victims were boys and 431 (31pc) girls.” Strangely, 55 per cent of perpetrators were neighbours, 13 pc relatives and only 32 pc were strangers to their victims. The report also hints that more boys are being assaulted than girls. The underlying currents are perpetuating a vicious cycle of victim to assaulter journey. The profiling of sexual offenders also suggests their history of being in an exploitative environment before turning themselves into offenders. The implicitly learned behaviour is the elephant in the room.
To bust the supply line of the rape epidemic, it is pertinent to take at least two steps on a war footing basis. Firstly, parents need to adopt an educate-cum-monitor policy for the safety of their wards, in or outside the abode. Predators wear different hats. Underage children must be educated about the good and bad touch as well as the decorum of social interactions. Parents often consider this heart-to-heart discussion as taboo and this flawed thinking later results in lifelong trauma. Having said that, there is a difference between keeping tabs on children and putting them in detention. Not every relative, neighbour, mentor or fellow deserves a pinch of salt, the majority of them are just nice souls and exhibit pure affection. The guardians should resort to individual profiling and off-and-on conversational interviews with children about their activities and interaction with others.
Secondly comes the state’s role, culturally, we have co-opted the despicable act of rape. The Jirga-sanctioned vendetta rapes, routine abuses in seminary-run dormitories, pedophilic dens operating in different hotspots and sexual exploitation of fringed segments do not send much chills down the spine. The transgression has become a new normal. These ingrained biases lay a breeding ground for the rape epidemic. We need to understand that rapists are not ordinary criminals but hydra-headed monsters who tear apart the social fabric of society for good. The state, in collaboration with stakeholders, must show zero tolerance against practices leading to sexual offences. Proper sensitization with a mix of punitive measures can do the trick. Let’s make a firm resolve to stem the rape epidemic. Otherwise, everyday, another Zainab will keep sacrificing at the altar of our languor. Wake up!
—The writer is a senior police officer.
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