XBoom News Roundup: Week 2 of February 2019
Chasing the heels of the Me Too movement, the Supreme Court of India made strides towards closing loopholes in the laws that have allowed the filing of false rape claims.
In a case heard before it last month, wherein a woman alleged rape after a live-in relationship ended, the Court has made important distinctions that can not only ultimately be interpreted to more clearly outline what constitutes “rape” legally; but also help keep the focus of movements such as these on the actual victims of such horrific crimes, and their perpetrators. {Link: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/consensual-sex-of-live-in-partners-not-rape-if-man-fails-to-marry-supreme-court/articleshow/67352884.cms}
The ruling is being lauded positively as from a total of 38,947 cases of rape being reported in India in 2016 {Link: http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2016/pdfs/NEWPDFs/Crime%20in%20India%20-%202016%20Complete%20PDF%20291117.pdf}, it was reported that in about a quarter of these cases, the reports were filed on the claim that false promises of marriage were the basis for the sexual encounter. {Insert Link: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/11/spare-innocent-men-anguish-india-ruling-aims-to-end-false-claims}
As we at XBoom attempt to raise more awareness about the importance of self-defence products to prevent the rise of crimes like sexual assault against women, we too welcome this ruling aiming at ensuring that more women are actual victims of such crimes can come forward and find justice.
Marching ahead on this path for justice, thousands of survivors of sexual violence who have been on a nation-wide Dignity March have arrived in Jaipur on Sunday – the 54th day of its proposed 65-day journey – having travelled through Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. {Link: https://www.dnaindia.com/jaipur/report-jaipur-dignity-march-creates-awareness-to-end-sexual-offence-2718561}
Started in Mumbai on December 20, 2018, the Dignity March will culminate in New Delhi on February 22, 2019. The organizing initiative Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan has been conducting workshops and discussions along the way to increase awareness of sexual offences perpetrated against women and children across the country – ranging from sexual assault and violence to human trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau report of 2016, New Delhi was reported to have the worst crime rate against women in the country. While the same report placed Mumbai at 12th on the list with a crime rate of 60.2, a new report in 2019 has claimed a drastic increase in the rate of sexual crimes against women and children in the city, with an increase of over 20% recorded in 2018 from a previous valuation in 2017. {Insert Link: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/crime/21-per-cent-rise-in-rape-murder-cases-in-mumbai-in-one-year/articleshow/67637343.cms}
Equally shocking, a dangerous increase was reported in the number of cases registered of sexual harassment of women in the workplace. As many as 965 cases were reported nationwide in a single year (2018), which presents a sharp incline from an earlier reported number of 570 cases recorded in 2017.{Link: https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/crime/article/shocking-965-cases-of-sexual-harassment-of-women-at-workplaces-reported-in-2018/362578}
As a redressal mechanism, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has developed an online complaint mechanism titled “Sexual Harassment electronic Box” or “SHe-Box” to be made available to all employees, including those in government-private employees. They have also issued directives to State Government and Union Territory Administrations to increase awareness of the same through workshops and awareness programs.
This brings us to XBoom’s workshop partner initiative with the Karnataka State Commission for Women. We’re currently in talks with corporate, governmental, and educational institutions across the state to increase awareness of redressal mechanisms and self-defence systems and products.
While the governmental institutions take measures on a state and national scale to reduce the alarming rates of crimes against women and children (among others), it is crucial that every individual woman and child – especially those residing in this metropolitan cities-can protect them themselves. Our goal is to provide easy to use, highly effective self-defence weapons and mechanisms that provide the user and their loved ones with a sense of security as they go about their lives.
Check out our full range of products!
