The Neglected Curse of Sexual Assault

Safety in its essence is a fundamental concept. Human history is riddled with societies valuing the assurance of being safe and secure above all else, and that attribute of our collective nature is what evidently brought us from hunting and gathering in the great depths of the forests to a world of civilization where life became about more than just trying to survive in the harsh wilderness of nature. By the merepromises of safety and security by a number of influential personalities, we were all brought together into building a life that both ourselves and our future generations could be proud of. There’s no doubt towards the statement that we have come a long way from the brutal realities of the historic past of our species, but a society riddled with complexity can only progress so far before being apocalyptically burdened by the provocation and the continued growth of the very issues it thought it could ignore. For India, the consequences of that neglect are the ridiculously quantifiable occurrences of sexual assault all across the regions of the country. A problem that remains relatively unaddressed and buried under the issues our society considers to be more pressing, such as unemployment, international relations, poverty or just petty politics of unconcerned politicians and overhyped celebrities.

We have all heard about the problem in one way or the other. It is easy to open a news article and read up on the endless number of stories about sexual assault incidents happening almost everywhere in the country. In the slums of Maharashtra, in the markets of Calcutta, in the villages of Bihar, and most prevalently in the streets of the very capital where only a few generations ago our forefathers fought for the freedom and liberty we so desperately deserved and needed after suffering through more than a century of relentless oppression. What we are witnessing on this day and age is the gradual return of that same level of oppression our ancestors fought so rigorously to eradicate. This time, instead of the entire population being at the receiving end of the sword drawn by a tyrannical empire, we are observing our women being at that same dreaded position, with the oppressor being the vicious parasites residing within the borders of the country. They could be your neighbours, your co-workers, your friends, the shopkeeper across the street from your house, and even your family members. Surely, that fact would have induced into you a sense of fear and dread. Well, that is exactly how the women of this country feel. Theyfeel that fear every time they leave the safe bounds of their homes.

The thing we do not realize as clearly as we should is the accurate proclamation that sexual assault is more than just physical abuse. It introduces chronic emotional trauma into the victim’s life. The incomprehensibly gripping impact the incident has on an individual’s mind is so indescribably adverse that the rest of us cannot even begin to fathom its intensity. However, what is just as much daunting is what happens to the life of the victim after the incident. You see, our society’s toxic, unjust, and unsubstantiated mentality towards sexual assault victims essentially guarantees that the victim suffers for the rest of their lives. They are abandoned by most of their friends, their family speaks of them with shame and embarrassment, their community alienates their entire existence, their partner leaves them, and social rejection all but ensures that they never marry. In widespread circumstances like these, it is not at all surprising when you learn that most victims choose not to come forward out of fear of having to suffer from these consequences. Even in situations when they do come forward and not face the most obvious consequences, they either do not receive the appropriate care they need and deserve, or the legal system fails to give them the justice that is so rightfully owed to them. The most obvious picture these circumstances paint about our society and our country as a whole is definitely that we seek to punish the victim instead of the guilty, and we feel no remorse and shame while we do it.

As a nation we talk a great deal about how sexual assault is wrong and must be eradicated, but the reality is that we also continue to create a comfortable environment for it to occur. Shaming and punishing the victim like we do in most instances does nothing but give inadvertent confidence to the guilty, because the adverse societal treatment of the victims all but guarantees that they never come forward. They suffer in silence and the offenders use that to their advantage, committing attacks against women with no fear of losing their freedom and being imprisoned because they remain confidently assured that the victim will never speak up. A social environment full of encouragement for the demonic personalities of any given society consequentially provokes them to come out of the shadows and commit to acts that allow them to carry out their evil desires. The counterproductive nature powered by the prevalent downtrodden mentality of our society is one of the biggest reasons why we have only seen a substantial rise in sexual assault incidents over the years. More and more women suffer at the hands of predatorial individuals who only live to ruin and destroy other people’s lives for the sake of their own pleasure.

There is no argument towards the fact that sexual assault is a severe sociological problem. However, what we as individuals often fail to notice is that it is not just the frequency of instances that is most concerning, but the limitless categories of people who are found committing these acts. There are a ridiculously large number of politicians in our country who have a long list of sexual assault allegations against them. Same goes for a number of police officers, celebrities and public figures that remain free irrespective of their deeds. The primary concern lies with how the very politicians we elected to rid ourselves of the issue happen to be the same people we are seeking to eradicate. There is no denying that the problem has found its way in the highest ranks of the government, which may explain why nothing qualitative is being done. Hundreds of protests across the decades have yielded little to know results in terms of social change, which may just be because the toxic mentality has also crawled its way into the minds of the individuals who have the power for societal reform in terms of laws and regulations. It is easy to ignore a problem that does not affect you directly, which is a statement we can use to explain the reason behind governmental ignorance and inaction towards addressing the problem.

The oppression our women witness is one that is powered by provocative fear. The fear of leaving your home, the fear of wearing whatever you feel like, the fear of being along in public and so on. These circumstances pressure women to be socially withdrawn, paranoid, anxious, depressed, and even suicidal. The psychological consequences can become overwhelming to the point of completely ruining a woman’s life, and that should be something incredibly concerning and disdainful for us as a society.

By simply looking back the last few decades, it can be understood that asking the government through protests and strikes is not enough to counter the problem. The fact that we have to carry out months of protests just to make the government create a safer environment for women is a distasteful causality to say the least. What is needed from us is simple yet highly significant if we all commit to it. Firstly, be on the lookout for the occurrence of any form of harassment towards a woman. Secondly, do extensive research before casting your vote for a politician. Briefly check on their background and criminal history before making the decision to vote for them. Do not fall for their fancy words and speeches that have been perfected a thousand times over beforehand just to influence you into voting for them. Manipulating people is what they do for a living, which is something we have to start being watchful of. Hold the current politicians accountable for their unignorable inaction and disregard. Thirdly, educate the people in your life. Do not respond with silence towards discriminatory and sexist opinions, because these opinions are evidently the reason why sexual assault is becoming increasingly acceptable in our country. Teach these individuals that words can have consequences, and that there is no place for distasteful and suppressive opinions in our society. Fourthly, treat the victims of sexual assault with the respect, concern, and regard they so rigorously deserve. Encourage them to come forward, remind them of how ridiculously strong they are, and let them know that you will always be there for them and that you will be by their side when it comes to fighting through the adversities they may end up facing because of speaking up while encouraging them to seek professional help for their trauma. Lastly, do all you can to spread awareness of the issue. Educate the uneducated and crush the twisted mentalities that plague our nation.

It is time we realized and understood that we must be the change, that we must lead by example so that others may follow. Let’s make our country a more safer place for women, and let’s do all we can to make the predators that walk among us think twice before seeking to hurt or harass someone. Let’s show them what we are capable of when we are united and strong. We have the power to set an undaunted example and standard for not just ourselves, but also for the rest of the world to admire and follow. History has taught us that social change begins at the very foundation of every society. Let’s be that foundation, and start a process that only ends with the predatorial offenders around us being completely undermined and eradicated. We cannot deny that it may take decades, if not centuries, for things to be the way they should be, but the effort must begin with us.