THE HEINOUS CRIME OF CHILD RAPE: WHETHER DEATH PENALTY IS THE ANSWER?

Abstract

 The recent spate of rapes, especially those of girl child is not only shocking, but it reveals a viciousness also. The number of such rapes is increasing every year, leaving several question marks for the lawmakers, law enforcement agencies and the civil society to answer for. "Anyone", says Samir Parikh, director of the department of mental health and behavioral sciences, Fortis Healthcare, "capable of abducting, drugging, serially raping and brutally killing a child is a perverted, egotistical, sociopathic sadist with no sense of empathy or guilt. There are no other terms to describe a person who brutally rapes and kills children just because he wants to and can. It's not natural for an adult to get aroused or receive sexual gratification from the molestation or assault of pre-pubertal children who have neither biologically developed nor have an understanding of sexual behaviour. 'He further says that it is not possible, or for that matter ethical, to typecast or profile everyone with socio-pathic traits   as potential child rapists because more often than not, they are not rapists. Child rapist can be a close relative, even father, uncle, close neighbours, near and dear ones and even strangers. At times, it becomes very difficult for anybody  to presume that such and such person can be a future rapists. Kailash Satyarthy, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and a child right activist has aptly described the situation: " The  rape of our children is a failure of the idea of India. It is the erosion of the nation's moral conscience and raises questions about its integral principles." While it is important to enforce the law with regard to rape and sexual assault on children, the matter goes beyond law enforcement or an epidemic of paedophilia. It is vital to recognise the ongoing attacks on women and children as a problem of deficient, flawed democracy, which calls for political commitment and action to reduce the inequality in access to power that makes some emboldened predators, and others, easy prey.   

 Recently, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, was passed by the Union Cabinet in response to the widespread outrage over the gang-rape and murder of an eight-yearold girl of the nomadic Bakarwal tribe in Jammu & Kashmir's Kathua district. The Ordinance provides for death penalty for rape of minors (below 12 years). This provision has raised a debate all over the country. This paper deals specifically with the efficacy of death penalty for rape of minors and tries to search for other alternatives also.