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On Wednesday night, thousands of women across the country protested on the streets, demanding justice for the victim as they participated in “Reclaim The Night” marches. Some protesters called for the perpetrators of the crime to be given the death penalty.

Protesters want justice and safety

Thousands of medical workers across India are demanding justice for the victim and a guarantee of safety for doctors and paramedics inside hospitals and medical campuses. Many of them have suspended all but emergency treatment, with more such strikes planned over the weekend.

Doctors say the assault highlights the vulnerability of medics who work without proper safety facilities in hospitals and medical campuses across India.

The Indian Medical Association asked for public support in its “struggle for justice” and called the killing a “crime of barbaric scale due to the lack of safe spaces for women”. “Women form the majority of our profession in this country. Time and again, we have asked for safety for them,” IMA President RV Asokan said.

The doctors are also demanding more stringent laws to protect them from violence, including making any attack on on-duty medics an offence without the possibility of bail.

India’s history of violence against women

Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India.

Many cases of crimes against women go unreported in India due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence, as well as a lack of faith in the police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where the community sometimes shames victims of sexual assault and families worry about their social standing.

Still, the number of recorded rape cases in the country has increased. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape — a 20 per cent jump from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

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In 2012, the gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus galvanised massive protests across India. It inspired lawmakers to order harsher penalties for such crimes, as well as the creation of fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.

The rape law amended in 2013 also criminalised stalking and voyeurism and lowered the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.

AP, Reuters