Rape is a heinous crime. We need the strictest and harshest punishment for convicted rapists. We need a legal system where a person thinks twice before even thinking of rape, let alone go through with it. The problem with focus on punishment though is that conviction is the final step in the process. There are many steps prior to conviction that we need to focus on and improve. Without it death penalty or even castrating with a cheese grater is pointless.
We need a revamping of the justice system. Rape trials need to swift and fair. We need an overhaul of the justice system that cuts red tape and ensures fast tracking rape trials.
In a trial the victim has to testify and often go over gory details of the crime several times. The defending lawyers will attack their character several times. We need trained legal prosecuting staff that can support a victim testifying emotionally, socially, economically and physically to endure the trauma of trial.
A rape kit is the single most important evidence in a rape trial. A rape kit identifies bodily fluids and DNA. It identifies bruising and injuries in conformation to forced sexual activity. It checks for skin, hair, blood that the victim may have drawn while fighting the attack. It checks for fibers and other materials that corroborates a victims story on where they were raped. It checks for bruising and rope burns that may prove forceful restraint. We need to overhaul the medical system so each and every medical facility is trained to prepare and process a rape kit accurately while handling the victim with sensitivity. We need to educate people on what a rape kit is and how to safely obtain one when they are raped. We need to educate people on how showering or changing clothes can damage the quality of a rape kit and to ensure they get the rape kit before dong so.
The most important step to a rape trial is reporting a rape. Society has to be trained to allow victims to safely report rape. Society should be trained to help victims live a normal functioning social life and not make reporting a rape shameful. A rape victim should not be seen as unchaste, violated, damaged or not fit for marriage. Cops need to be trained on the definition of rape. That rape is a matter of consent and even a prostitute can be a rape victim, that a girl can be raped by her husband or boyfriend, that socializing with men, drinking or having an active sex life does not mean a girl was asking for it, that rape can be a broad number of activities and not merely penile penetration, that someone of any gender or age can be a victim. Cops need to be trained to take allegations seriously, file paperwork diligently and handle victims sensitively. A rape charge should not be dismissed because the cop was incompetent or felt that the rape charge was not substantial. We need to eliminate corruption that may favor powerful or wealthy rapists.
In the end the primary focus should be to prevent rape. Our society is failing the men and boys in society. We are not giving them an opportunity to grow up to be good men. We are a society that raises men to be molestors and rapists. We cannot blame men if as a society we fail to raise good men. Girls are given the talk by society on how not to get raped. But boys rarely get a talk about not raping and treating girls with respect. Parents will closely monitor what their daughter does and whom she goes out with. Parents will rarely check on their sons in the same way. Our TV shows and movies tell men that stalking is romantic and adorable, that if you love her you will be persistent till she says yes, that she dresses up or reveals skin only to entice men, that if she flirts she is begging you for it, that women are objects for sexual pleasure, that eve teasing and harassment is normal and acceptable, that boys will be boys and its no big deal. But no one is sitting down and talking to boys that the media lies, that reality is different, that our stereotypes about men and women are wrong, that no one asks for it, that persistence and stalking is scary, being ogled creeps her out rather than be sexy. We also need a society that doesn't hold onto archaic notions about gender segregation and dating. Encouraging healthy gender socialization and dating can help men and women understand each other better from a young age, actually have healthy conversations about relationships, sex and expectations and grow up respecting each others needs rather than conforming to gender stereotypes.
I once had a very respectable Indian male confess to me that he and his friends used to tease girls a lot in college. It seemed something normal that everyone did. He teased/stalked a girl he liked because he thought he was complimenting her or letting her know she was special that way. He regretted many of his youth behaviors and wished that someone was there to tell him he was wrong. Many young boys don't even realize they are wrong. Even if girls object they view it has her playing coy or hard to get rather than taking it seriously. Our youth is seriously lost with no one telling them how to go about things. They learn about wooing women by watching movies or from their friends. No one in society is sitting down and teaching them right and wrong.
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