Essay on the Remedial Measures for the Prevention of Sex Delinquency in India !
Dr. Sigmond Freud, an expert in psychiatry has given a very convincing exposition of sexual psychopaths and suggested that these delinquents need medical treatment rather than penal servitude. Dr. Philthrop, the famous British writer, while explaining the psychology of sex delinquents has also expressed similar views. He suggests that if the psychology and the mental frame of the sex offender is not properly attended to, mere punishment would hardly serve any useful purpose and he would become more dangerous to society.
Therefore, the object should be to cure the offender’s weakness of mind which is responsible for depriving him of his vitality to resist the force of circumstances and fall a prey to sex desire. In short, the adequate remedy for sex delinquency is to subject sex delinquents to socio-medical treatment through a proper follow-up method under the control and supervision of competent psychiatrists.
The following remedial measures may further be suggested for the prevention of sex delinquency:
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(1) The marriage between the spouses who are related by blood must be discouraged. The reason being that the off-springs of such union are often degenerated and have little appreciation for morality. Consequently, they fall an easy prey to sex crime. It is mainly for this reason that most of the personal laws forbid marriage between those who are related by blood and fall within the prohibited degrees of relationship.
Likewise, marriage on account of consanguinity or affinity is considered to be batil (void) under the Mohammedan law. Even the English law, as early as 1250 A.D., permitted marriage only between such persons who were related beyond three cousins. Henry VIII during his reign imposed a restriction on marrying even the wife’s sister with a view to tightening up matrimonial discipline. The object was to inculcate a sense of morality and strengthen matrimonial discipline among the people.
(2) Unfortunately, the International Year for Women observed in 1975 did not consider the problem of sex offences and criminality against women. In India, the Law Commission in its 71st Report suggested that the existing divorce laws should be suitably amended so as to make irretrievable break-down of marriage as a good ground for the grant of decree of divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. It is hoped that the Women’s Commission set up by the Government under the National Women’s Commission Act, 1990, would initiate concrete measures to prevent victimisation of women and reduce the incidence of sex crimes.
(3) Parents should keep their wards well under control and pre-warn them of the possible dangers involved in illegal sexual acts. No sooner a child approaches the age of adolescence he should be explained the various aspects of sexual life and consequences flowing there from.
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It should be noted that the psychology of adolescents at this difficult age is very precarious and they are unable to resist their sex urge if they are placed in surroundings conducive to sex crime. If they have the fore-knowledge of the possible dangers and evil consequences which are likely to flow from their momentary sex indulgence, they would certainly refrain from such acts.
This is particularly necessary in case of adolescent girls so that they are prevented from landing into a life of shame and disgrace. Commenting on this point Dr. Paripumanand Verma observed: “the man’s role in sexuality is a single act—the disposition of sperm where it can fertilise an ovum.
Woman’s role is more time taking and consists of triple acts in which accepting sperm comes first, pregnancy and child-birth, second, and the lactation (nursing) the third By man’s completing his sexual activity, woman’s is merely initiated and there are two sound ways for the girl to deal with a young man who is insistent; she can marry him or she can say “No”.
(4) Some criminologists suggest that imparting sex education and providing correct knowledge about sex to the young person’s would help them to understand sex better than get addicted to abberrations which border on crime. The confusion prevailing about the sex values among various sections of society as also the lack of properly trained or qualified staff for the purpose may, however, pose practical difficulties in imparting sex education to youngsters at school level. Then again, the question as to at what exact age or stage the sex education should be introduced and the curriculum of teaching the subject are also some of the debatable issues connected with this subject.
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It has been generally accepted that the primary object of sex education should be to help young boys and girls to acquire healthy understanding of sex relations and correct role of man and woman so that they can better adjust as husbands and wives in future and may maintain harmonious inter-personal relations between sexes.
At the same time, they may also become aware of the evils of sex perversion including prostitution, homosexuality, illegitimacy, veneral diseases. AIDS, etc., and may be properly prepared to play their role as a spouse, parent and citizen effectively when they enter marital life.
Needless to say that family can perhaps play a more effective role in imparting sex education to their children in home in a more informal manner, providing adequate opportunities to their wards to develop their personality and lead a normal, healthy and aesthetic sex-life.
(5) Much of the sex criminality may be prevented by the initiative of women themselves. They should guard against providing any opportunity to the potential sex offender. For this purpose, minor and young girls should be properly escorted and they should not be entrusted to the care of servants or strangers.
Women should take care that they are not misled by fake sadhus and tantriks and fall a prey to their evil designs. More recently, providing karate training to young girls and women is being emphasised so as to train them for self-defence and protection against vicious offenders. It is indeed a welcome step.
(6) Perhaps, keeping people engaged in work seems to be the best solution for mitigation of sex crime. Particularly, in the modern sexy civilization where living conditions are quite congenial to sexual offences, it is necessary to keep the youths fully engaged in work so that there is no time left for them to waste their energy on perverse sex-thoughts. Adolescents who lead an idle life are apt to become sexual psychopaths. It is, therefore, an established fact that a busy life with meaningful work can mitigate sex crime to a considerable extent.
(7) Sex delinquency among prisoners presents a special problem for the prison authorities. Quite a large number of prisoners are sex psychopaths for the reason that they are completely deprived of marital life during their term of imprisonment. Mrs. Ruth Shonle Cavan and Eugene S. Zamans made an intensive investigation on sex crimes in prisons and pointed out that complete denial of marital life to a prisoner in jail is most unjust and inhuman as it has an adverse effect on his personality due to non-fulfilment of one of the basic urges of life.
Consequently, sex desire in him often makes him obstinate and indifferent towards the jail authorities and at times he even resorts to unnatural offences such as homosexuality or sodomy in an attempt to pacify his sex impulse.
With a view to reducing sex tension among prisoners, some progressive countries have recently permitted private conjugal visits to their prisoners at regular intervals under the supervision of jail authorities. During these visits the spouses are allowed conjugal meetings in complete privacy.
The period of such visits, generally, varies, from half-an hour to two hours in different countries. However, this privilege is not extended to women prisoners for the reasons of social security and possibility of their getting pregnant and giving birth to a child which would add to the problems of prison.
In India such facilities are not considered compatible with the accepted modes of the Indian life as it lays undue emphasis on the satisfaction of a baser urge of human being. However, in Uttar Pradesh, the system of ‘ticket on leave’ has been introduced for prisoners in 1951 with a view to enabling the long termers to visit their families at regular intervals.
It serves two main purposes. Firstly, it offers an opportunity to the prisoners to pacify their sex-impulse thus making them less violent and responsive to prison discipline. Secondly, it greatly helps in rehabilitation of prisoners not only during their jail-term but even after their release from the prison.
Many States in India allow their prisoners the benefit of furlough under the Rules framed under the Prisons Act, 1894, with a view to enabling the inmate to have access to his family and social life which certainly helps in mitigating the rigours of prison life. Perhaps Sweden is the most liberal country so far this facility to prison inmates is concerned.
It allows 30 to 50 minutes conjugal visit to its prisoners on Sundays. It is submitted that greater emphasis on parole and probation may also serve the same purpose without giving expression to this bio-physical urge of prison inmates.
(8) Another significant aspect of sex crime is the psychology of adolescent girls at the time of puberty and menstruation when they are undergoing a biological change in their physical features. This period is particularly difficult for girls. It roughly commences from the onset of menstruation which signifies their transition from childhood to adolescence.
At this tender age girls mostly get mentally disturbed and need to be told that the physio-biological changes in them are not unusual or abnormal and they should take them as a normal phenomenon of life. This is a stage when they should be carefully looked after.
The boys, however, attain maturity at a comparatively later age than the girls. If the parents take proper care of their children at this ‘difficult age’, many problems relating to sex delinquency can be timely eliminated. Young girls in particular, should be sensitised about the possible dangers of illegal sex indulgences.
(9) Active vigilance by the police particularly, in busy streets, markets, railway stations, bus-stands, schools, colleges, cinema houses, public gardens etc. is necessary to keep the sex offenders away. Those indulging in rowdyism and eve-teasing should be sternly dealt with.
Strict vigil of the police in prostitution dens and pimps and procurers who indulge in kidnapping or traffiking in innocent girls and women for immoral purpose, may also help in preventing sex offences. During interrogation, female victims of sex offence should not be subjected to repeated awkward questioning by different police officials and their identity should not be disclosed to public or press.
The police must take action against goondas and loafers under the preventive laws and special squads may be set up to identify sensitive areas. Those giving information regarding sex offence or offender must, be duly protected. Special Women Police squads may also be pressed into service for apprehending sex offenders and women who are actively involved in this heinous crime.
(10) Alcoholism is also one of the potential causes of sex crimes. It is a vice which weakens the character and impairs the faculties of mind and body. Under the influence of the intoxicants, a person loses his self-control and he may indulge into sex act even with his daughter, daughter-in-law or any other woman. It is therefore, necessary to eradicate this menace by strict regulatory measures. Drinking in public should be made a cognizable offence and the number of bars and liquor houses should be limited by adequate licensing.
(11) The five main agencies of professionals which are required to deal with sex crime victims are the police, doctors, lawyers, Magistrates and the Rescue Home officials. They must actively cooperate with each other while handling the sex offenders.
(12) The existing law relating to sexual offences such as rape, adultery, abortion, obscenity etc., has become outdated and needs to be suitably amended. It has rightly been said that rape is a legal technicality inasmuch as it is nothing but passive resistance on the part of female victim against the sexual act of man.
During 1970’s the public opinion in India favoured legislation for abortion hence the law of abortion was suitably amended with a view to provide relief to saving unmarried mothers and women who have fallen a prey to sex crime and offer them an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves in society.
It must, however, be mentioned that liberalised abortion law should be used with utmost caution as the sexual psychopaths, particularly the delinquent women, may use it as an easy way to escape penal consequences for their sex indulgence and this may increase sex crime.
As regards adultery as an offence under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, there is a proposal to extend the purview of this section to include an adulterous wife to be punished as a co-accused. The proposal was first mooted out in the recommendations of the Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System in 2003. As an adulterous relationship cannot take place without the consent of the married woman, it is highly discriminatory to hold only the man guilty of the offence without making the adulterous woman liable for her infidelity.
The Forum against oppression of women has, however, strongly opposed the proposed change in the law relating to adultery and even suggested decriminalisation of adultery. In their view, having more than one relationship is not a crime. According to them, the idea that adultery is crime is archaic and is deep-rooted in the age-old thinking that woman is a property that a husband owns, and this perception has now become obsolete and out-dated.
Going a step further, the noted theatre person Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal who is known to have staged over 100 stage shows Vagina Monologues in India, holds that “State should have no say in who one chooses to sleep with.” Instead, what it should do is to arrange free counseling centres for those indulging in adulterous relationships.
The Indian Penal Code recognises eight major forms of sex offences which are punishable under the law: They are:
(1) Rape (Sec. 375).
(2) Intercourse by a man with his wife during separation (Sec. 376-A).
(3) Intercourse by a public servant with woman in his custody (Sec. 376-B).
(4) Intercourse by Superintendent of Jail, Remand Home etc. (Sec. 376-C).
(5) Intercourse by any member of the management or staff of a hospital with any woman in that hospital (Sec. 376-D).
(6) Assault or criminal force to women with intent to outrage her modesty (Sec. 354).
(7) Selling or buying minors for purposes of prostitution (Sections 372 and 373).
(8) Unnatural offences such as carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal (Sec. 377).
Besides the above offences, incest and homosexuality are also crimes against sex in India.