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Get cracking on preventing rape

The regular and unrelenting rape and murder of girls, some in their early childhood, is horrifying in as much as it is agonizing. On Wednesday we highlighted the case of an eight-year-old school girl in a hill country area who was raped and murdered on her way home from school. Reports also emerged of a twelve-year-old girl who was apparently raped by an army deserter.

We focus here on the age group of the rape victims to indicate the increasing magnitude of the horror of rape. It is in the same breath that we denounce the grave crime and the revolting indignity which is rape, in respect of other victims of the offense. It is our demand that the perpetrators of this shameful act against womankind be imposed the severest of punishments.

To the casual observer, it seems to be a case of the rapist nonchalantly having his own way while the law and order machinery remains paralysed and ineffective. We hope this presumption is wrong but the frequency with which rape and sexual crimes are committed in this country imposes this impression on the public.

Needless to say, it is practically impossible for law enforcers to be present at the potential scene of a rape and to take the necessary measures to prevent the offense. Admittedly, the Long Arm of the Law cannot be everywhere. However, why cannot the administration of justice in these offences, prove an effective deterrent against a recurrence of the crime? To express it in simple terms, why isn't the punishment which is meted out to the rapist effective enough to prevent others with the same intention from committing the offense?

We are certain that those charged with the administration of justice would have a lot to say on these questions. They are certain to have a long story to tell on the problems faced by them on delivering timely justice. We do not intend to dismiss their point of view as nonsense. But the writing on the wall must be read. While they try to get their act together, one of the most heinous and repulsive crimes against women is being committed brazenly. For how long can the authorities postpone the important undertaking of taking the rapist effectively to task?

What must be clearly understood is that all legal and other bottlenecks which stand in the way of delivering justice to rape victims, must be cleared without further delay. It is a matter of the authorities saying enough is enough and getting down to bringing in the legal reforms and eliminating the procedural bottlenecks which stymie the administration of justice, for example. Let's hope the officials concerned would alert themselves to this heartcry of the people.

We also find that civil society is not sufficiently cognizant of the gravity of the situation. We do not wish the pass the buck on to a particular species of organisation or NGO. The public as a whole needs to react sensitively to the steady rise in rape and sexual crimes. If they consistently bring pressure on the Justice authorities to get cracking on crimes of this nature, much could be achieved. As matters stand, positive action is not forthcoming from any relevant quarter, because a sense of complacency has set in. Rape is taken as an everyday occurrence which could be glossed over.

This attitude needs to be denounced. It is Sri Lanka which is immersing itself more steeply in moral degeneration and bestiality. These tendencies will be strengthened the more we dilly-dally.

Need for discipline

Those violent boys of Bandaranaike College in Gampaha are unfortunately not alone in our society today.

As we have pointed out in recent editorials, incidents of violence and criminal acts by school-going children are on the increase. Perhaps it is a reflection of the traumatised state we are in after two decades of civil war. Or maybe it is natural the children behave this way because they are following the example set by so many of our political leaders who use violence in the conduct of their affairs.

The causes for this violent behaviour are stuff for the sociologists and psychologists to analyse. In the meantime, the Education Department and the school concerned needs to take action. The school in question is one of the leading educational institutions in the Western Province.

Many parents hold it in high esteem and must be disappointed that such an incident has occurred. What is needed is quick and fair disciplinary action against violent behaviour.

The bigger, better known schools need to set an example in maintaining discipline. More importantly the students must realise that for whatever reason, they cannot resort to violence to solve disputes.

If this kind of incident is not dealt with in all seriousness at the school level, then it will be impossible to create a law-abiding society.

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