Sparking the #MeToo Revolution in India: The "Nirbhaya" Case in Delhi (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Gender and Women's Studies, 2014
On December 16, 2012, a 23 years old woman was brutally gang raped in a moving bus in Delhi. She eventually died after 13 days. Her death sparked a nationwide protest and grabbed the attention of the media resulting in endless debates, effusive speeches and unending vows by political parties to ensure safety of women. As a result of the uproar, a fast-track court swiftly tried the case, convicted and awarded the death penalty to the four accused persons which was confirmed by the High Court on March 13 th , 2014. Of the two other accused, one died in custody while the other received three years sentence in a reform facility on account of being a juvenile.
Bioscience Biotechnology Research Communications, 2020
The cases of rape and other crimes committed against women are reported in media every day. The fatal gang rape of a 23 year old woman on a moving bus in the National capital of India captured media headlines not only in India but across the world due to the horrific manner in which this crime was committed. The present research attempts to understand the representation of crime against women in print media with special reference to Delhi gang rape case and also how the young Indian women feels about such representation of incidences in media. The data is collected from two newspapers, The Times of India and Amar Ujala published from Delhi from the first reporting of case till date. All the news items were read and re-read carefully and analyzed thematically. The primary data was also collected among the 100 young female students studying in Sharda University to know about their views regarding the portrayal of crime against women in Indian print media with special reference to Delhi gang rape case. Dhananjay Chatterjee was the last convict who was hanged in year 2004 for rape in Calcutta. From that time till date more than four lakhs rape cases has been reported in all over India in different police station. The Nirbhaya rape case is in final stage of hearings and we hope that culprits will be hanged soon. It can be concluded that media needs to be more sensitive towards coverage of crime against women and general public needs to be more vocal and aware to deal with these cases in more effective manner.
Burgeoning Media’s Reporting of Rape Cases in Delhi: Some Reflections and Its Impact
Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice, 2019
The research study consisted of three types of respondents: 19 female victims of rape, 100 common people and 20 media houses. On the basis of interview of rape victims, characteristics of reported rape cases were drawn. The basis of reporting had certain distinguishing features which usually entail reiteration of picking only such analogous cases constituting ‘real rape’ elements in order to make news very sensational. The reporting had revealed the identity of the victims. Media personnel had projected the image of the police in a very negative manner, whereas findings were antagonistic. Police had played an effective role in the speedy investigation and successful interrogation. The performance of the court was poor as projected by the media. The reporting had a negative impact on common people as it created a fear psychosis in the society.
Understanding Social and Legal Impacts of Nirbhaya Movement, India (2012)
Protests… peaceful and violent erupted across India after the brutal gang rape of a young girl in a moving bus in the heart of India's capital, Delhi. Masses, with simmering anger, across all sections and classes and age groups, erupted in absolute disgust over the apathy of the police, political class and government. Demonstrations were held in all major cities. The Nirbhaya movement across the country certainly foxed the authorities. They were wondering how so many people could come out and protest, there must be someone organizing all this, trying to foment trouble. The authorities did not know how to respond and the public anger justifiably grew. There was no leader for this movement, there was no common ideology shared by all the protestors, yes there was outrage but there was no ideology or concrete solutions and yet the protests gained more strength. This paper aims to study the recent history of sexual violence against women, sometimes constitutionally supported and at other times culturally propagated. This paper aims to understand the Nirbhaya incident and its social and legal impact in India.
Coverage of Rape Cases in Media with Special Reference to ‘Nirbhaya’ Gangrape
Dialogue Quarterly, 2020
Press is considered the fourth pillar of any democratic setup. India is a democratic country; therefore, newspapers in Delhi play an agendasetting role in the country. The cases of rape are ubiquitous phenomenon and reported every day in newspapers. A 23-year-old female was brutally raped and murdered by six adult men and one 17 years old juvenile in the year 2012 in Delhi. This brutal gang rape attracted media headlines not only in India but across the world due to its horrific nature in which the crime was committed. The present research paper attempts to understand the representation of rape in newspapers with special reference to Delhi gang rape case. The researcher has also conducted comparative analysis of representation of high-profile rape cases and normal rape cases. To analyze the reports the data were collected from three Hindi and three English newspapers namely Dainik Jagran, Hindustan, Dainik Bhaskar, The Times of India, The Tribune and The Hindu published from Dehradun. The researchers used electronic version of editions for the study. All the news items were read and re-read carefully and analyzed thematically. The study shows that newspapers highlight those stories and give extensive coverage to those rape incidents which have elements of sympathy, public apathy and exposure of such incidents by means of protests.
Indian Media Framings of Rape and Sexual Violence in the Aftermath of the 2012 Delhi Gang Rape
My thesis investigates media narratives that shape four high profile rape cases from 2012 - 2014, beginning with the 2012 Delhi gang rape. Through a content analysis of English-language print news articles, I examine trends that arise in the midst of intensifying national debates surrounding women’s roles in India. Mass media is complicit in certain framings by finding relevance in “rape exceptionalism”, constructions of the “victim” and the “rapist”, and politics of the “blame game” surrounding these cases of sexual violence.
Continuum, 2016
This article is based on a review of around 100 western English print press articles recording rape in India. No cases were reported prior to the tragic and brutal rape of Nirbhaya in Delhi on the 16 th December 2012. The article presents a critical analysis of the dominant discourses running through the articles and highlights the extent to which the colonial lens is still present as the main perspective through which India is viewed. The article highlights how press narratives are problematic for two main reasons. Firstly, because of the narrow reporting of only rape which suggests it occurs only to middleclass or modern urban women, the daily experiences of low-caste and Dalit women for example is ignored. Secondly, we identify the construction of a problematic-male who is labelled deviant, sexually feral and the key perpetrator of all rape violence in India. This article in no way denies the reality of violence against women in India, quite the contrary, but argues that the distorting imperialist picture emerging through the press does not support the work of feminist activists in India whose nuanced and complex understanding of the realities of violence must lead the way to eradicating it.