‘Dissociate shame from sexual violence to address issue’

The importance of dissociating shame from sexual violence, implementing the relevant laws already in place and a more informed media were some of the solutions a panel discussion on Thursday underlined in order to address the issue.

Titled ‘Save Our Children’ and moderated by Bolo Bhi Director Farieha Aziz, the talk at the Centre for Excellence in Journalism also explored the emotional trauma that comes with every episode, which can be distressing for the survivor as well as the family.

Execution of laws

Advocate Maliha Zia Lari, who is also associated with the Legal Aid Society, said the existing laws, especially in Sindh where a law against incest had been formulated as well, were enough to address the problem, but their implementation was, as always, seldom seen.

Referring to the idea of shame associated with sexual assault or rape, she said there was a case when a baby girl was raped but her parents avoided the word “rape” because of the stigma attached to it.

“Kneejerk reactions such as demanding death penalty will not solve anything until the stigma is not removed, but such demands are rather counterproductive. Severe punishments are given to make public spaces safer and to let a community know the grave consequences of a crime.

“However, in cases of sexual violence, it is difficult to get evidence. When a punishment such as death penalty is involved, the judges are reluctant in awarding it because of lack of evidence, hence the severity of the punishment in such cases leads to fewer convictions.”

Mentioning DNA samples used as proof, she said DNA samples were useful for the first 72 hours and had to be kept in a cool environment, but police stations often did not have the resources, leading to the loss of crucial evidence.

“We often tend to forget that due to the attitude of society as a whole, it is very traumatic for a victim to narrate the episode over and over again. “Often there are flashbacks affecting the statement given earlier, and the discrepancy when cross-examination is carried out leads to the allegations of the victim lying, which adds insult to injury and then justice is delayed.”  

Ill-informed media

Clinical psychologist Asha Bedar felt that media representatives were still quite ill-informed about child sexual abuse, and attempted to debunk some of the myths surrounding the subject.

“I was taken aback when I saw someone on TV saying that children must be kept away from strangers, when most victims are already related to their abusers. Also, some think it is due to sexual frustration when it’s not.”

She said that in most cases the victims’ trauma lay in society’s reaction towards their abuse, because rape apology made the victim feel like a culprit. “When the media do lazy reporting and perpetuate myths and the element of shame surrounding abuse, they are doing more harm than good.”

Selective condemnation

Speaking about the response of the media after the perpetrators in Mukhtaran Mai’s rape case were acquitted, National Commission for Human Rights Sindh Member Anis Haroon said she was baffled on seeing them grinning and celebrating the release.

She felt that the recent rape and murder case of a minor in Kasur had now been deeply politicised. “When more than 300 children were abused in Kasur, we did not see an outcry. This selective condemnation is worrisome.

“But as far as the 2015 Kasur pornography case is concerned, we demanded a report and were told by the prosecutor general that it would be filed fortnightly, but so far we haven’t seen any progress.”

She said that according to the priority list of the police forces, violence against women and children were at the bottom, preceded by law and order, security of VIP and political figures and ethnic clashes.  

Body autonomy

Sarah Zaman, who has worked with survivors of sexual violence and is part of Shirkat Gah, a resource centre for women, emphasised that in order to address the crux of the problem, the spectrum of violence needed to be understood.

“The idea of controlling women sexually, along with their reproductive health, is the root cause of all these incidents.

“Body autonomy is a concept that challenges men because it hampers their domination over women. Sexually assaulting a minor is just sadism.

“The problem does not lie in administrative issues. We need to focus on the structural barriers that stem from speaking out on assault, as the victim is often blamed instead of being trusted. It needs to start at grassroots level, because without it no administrative changes can be expected.”