On Friday, I was at a pre-trial hearing at Boston. The petitioner is a man who has served 25 years for a number of sexual offenses, one of which is sexual assault and attempted rape. Classified as a sexually dangerous person, he can serve a life term, unless he shows improvement and proves he is safe to get out of confinement. After 25 years, he wants out. A 14 member jury will decide his fate next week.
I do not know what the witnesses, doctors and jurors will have to say, but I thought of a question almost immediately: can a man charged of attempted rape or rape be pardoned at all?
We live in a world where, thanks to the media and human rights activists, rape is reported and condemned. But in spite of the support that rape victims can get today, sexual abuse largely remains a dirty secret that is easier to bury than to come out with. The society has yet to grow up as far as rape goes. A victim is still only ‘pardoned’ for an offense she did not commit. For the fear of ignominy, girls are sometimes forced to marry the offenders. Domestic rape, date rape and a large number of child sexual abuse cases are hidden in the ‘interests’ of both parties. In short, rape still needs to be largely understood.
So where does the offender figure in our understanding of rape? Do we understand the brutality enough to actually be able to pardon it? But what if a man does change? Does he have the right to lead a normal life?
This is where I stand: There is nothing as heinous as forced sex. As a student of medicine, I had to deal with it differently. We had a class on rape under forensic medicine and we had to read everything from the penal code that defined it to the medical injuries in child sexual abuse and rape. After reading pages of brutal and heart-wrenching detail, I can only be thankful that I am not on the jury: I would be prejudiced against the petitioner – and by law, not a fair judge of the situation.
Even if we do let this case go- the jury will decide his fate next week and hopefully, I can let you know – what do you think of pardoning an offender? Can a man accused of rape or attempted rape be pardoned? Can he be trusted to lead a normal life?
The Author There is nothing Shweta loves more than writing. A graduate from Madras Medical College, she is now a student at the Knight's Center for Science and Medical Journalism at Boston University, from where she hopes to graduate a fine science writer and a nuanced thinker. Apart from experimenting with eggs in the kitchen and paint brushes in her room, Shweta enjoys watching cricket and tennis and just about any movie. She is a voracious reader and enjoys astrophysics, anthropology, genetics, archaeology, mythology and just about anything that will kindle her imagination. Sa, for Shweta is her means of telling the men and the women in the world that there is enough space for everyone. It is also her way of letting people know that no one is more equal than another.
There is no compensation for a victim of rape; how can a man who has committed it be pardoned? And if he is pardoned, then what is the idea that we are giving to other potential rapists?
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NO
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