the word rape comes from the Latin word
Raptors which means very and one man
damages the property of another man even
though the criminal justice system in
many countries all over the world right
now regard rape as a heinous crime but
as far as attitude to rapes are
concerned not much has changed down the
ages
I discovered it in a very poignant way
18 years ago I had gone to a police
station and I was waiting for some work
to happen and next to me was sitting a
family a family of four a father and
three children they looked very
traumatized did not make eye contact
with anyone didn’t look up and I tried
to make eye contact with them they would
avoid it the inspector who was dealing
with their case came after some time he
looked at me and said dr. mitzvah I’ll
just be with you in a minute but first I
will have to talk to them they looked at
them and said please hurry up I don’t
have all day you tell me what you have
to say otherwise
he left sentence unfinished the family
started crying and then he turned to me
and said okay they’ll be fine
I was affected at that time I was
working in Tihar prisons I was working
in a Center for mentally disturbed
people I had by enlarge seen a lot of
disturbed behavior not much had affected
me but this incident somewhere affected
me very deeply I talked to the inspector
I said these people seemed very
traumatized they can’t give a statement
right now so do you think that I could
talk to them so that they calm down
because only then they can give a
statement so he looked at me and said
okay fine you go ahead that makes it you
know my work a little easier so I took
the purse you know I took the family’s
permission I asked them if they would
like to speak to me they were too glad
to do so I started speaking to them and
within one hour I had got enough
information from them and I went back to
the police officer I said they have
given a kind of a statement
you can see he looked at it and said
they should have done that earlier they
wasted my time and your time everybody’s
time anyway a few days later I learned
that the suspect was arrested based on
that but this incident disturbed me very
deeply I asked myself is this what
families go through in the worst hour of
their life when they go to a police
station where was compassion where was
the support that victims need in our
country I went to the police
commissioner of Delhi at that time and I
spoke to him I said can we start a
service by which we can reach out to
victims of crime he looked at me a
little strangely he said sure you want
to go ahead doctor go ahead I give you
two police stations in South of Delhi
and I can I still recall them Vasant
Kunj and presently Harpal station we
visited them every day for the first six
months police did not refer us any case
they just did not believe in it
frankly they said you know you are
interfering in our work we will not in
any way you know be enhanced by it
another six months passed and we thought
that our program had fizzled out but it
didn’t on in the eleventh month there
was this girl who was referred to us she
was 13 years old mentally challenged
spoke very little and she was assaulted
when she was going for defecation in the
morning and this I must say this a large
number of women in our country are
assaulted when they go for defecation
right and sexual assault is something
that takes place when women are going
for defecation it takes place in toilets
it takes place in holy places like
churches mosques temples everywhere
there is no place which I have not seen
where sexual assaults do not take place
anyway we went to this girl and we found
that she lived with her mother the very
poor
she had just one room to live in she
didn’t talk much she would just look and
look blankly at us my colleague said
what do I do
I said hold her hand right that’s the
best that we could do on the third day I
can see the bang upstairs
yeah on the third day she we were
talking that she hasn’t given any
information to the perpetrator he would
get away and she was keenly listening
and then something happened she pointed
her finger at my ankle and said Dawa
that’s all we asked her mother has she
ever used this word mother said no she
hasn’t ever used this word does anyone
by that name lived somewhere around
mother said no I have never that he
thought it is something that just a
fancy or something of imagination she
again pointed out her wha you know look
when we were discussing about the case
you know about the perpetrator getting
away right I talked to my friend he was
a ENT specialist I said there was this
girl who’s like this she feels very
little talks very little how do we do it
he says can I come and see her he came
with us he saw her and then he said she
he has very few frequencies and this
word stands for something else I can
find out and then he talked to her and
said the word somewhere means probably
Jay and Leigh so you can say jalwa right
now this wasn’t of much use either we
asked people no help then somebody gave
us a clue they said at the far end of
the slum there is a boy who lives by the
name of kallu he’s also known as Java
because his ankle is burnt over here
that’s what he is known as we got him
when the girl saw him she pointed her
finger like this and started shivering
right the boy confessed to his crime I’m
calling him a boy he was 19 years old
and he told us that because this girl
does not speak she he thought that he
would get away right but
he didn’t our next problem was how do we
prove it in the court the defense lawyer
when he solved this laughed at it he
said this case won’t last she can’t even
talk and just as Santosh Singh man one
of India’s most well known judges was
hearing the case we really went ahead
and prepared her sorry I’m getting a
little emotional because I’m getting
into it we prepared her we said in the
same way you told us this in the same
way you have to say it in the court
right she briefly nodded her head on the
appointed day she went the judge took
her listen to her and I think she
guessed our uncertainty our doubts I
think we were more scared than she was
and she when she had to pronounce the
judgments sometimes later she said in my
whole life I have never been more
convinced about the testimony of any
victim and the guilt of any suspect i
sentence him right that was our first
case and after that we started getting
more cases because it got more known
right what I want to say here is that
what is trauma trauma is something which
is an overwhelming event that affects us
our thoughts our feelings our behavior
right for example right now the loud
thunder you heard if it was a little
more louder some of us would have run
away if there was earthquake here all of
us would run away right so it’s an
overwhelming event that affects our
perceptions our memory and fragments it
as I look back I see that we have dealt
with more than 8,000 people so far on
their trauma of all kinds sexual assault
homicide terrorism I just pick up a few
cases because this was on sexual
violence one of the first women that we
dealt with it was very strange a woman
professor from Dell university was going
back to her home when she noticed a girl
standing on the balcony quiet not
looking anywhere her eyes fixed she was
around 14 years of age she wrote to the
police saying that I find something odd
over here now that’s the responsibility
of a citizen you see something odd
please inform that is
perpetrators cannot function the police
talk to her the DCP of that device
srivasa was a very sensitive officer he
called us he said Rajat we have spoken
to her we have not found anything but
will you talk to her we and I and my you
know colleague a woman we went there it
was at the Lacroix police station we
talked to her we found nothing and we
are almost coming to the close of the
session it was a January evening and I
noticed that she was very cold and in
our office car they were always woolens
that were kept because we often came
across people who needed villains so I
told my colleague that will you take her
and give her some socks and something I
mean maybe Shane is too tired when he
came back my colleagues face was changed
he said this girl is 13 years old but
her body language is very different I
cannot place it but there is something
very odd about it I said what is odd she
said you know it’s almost like she’s
walking like a dancer so I said maybe we
can ask her you ask her she was doing
the session are you a dancer she asked
yes okay you dance when there is nobody
at home she says no I dance in front of
people what do you mean you dance in
front of people she says people come to
my home my uncle and aunt with whom I
live they bring people I dance in front
of them they throw coins at me why
didn’t you tell the police so far better
because nobody asked me right it is
simple it’s a simple point of observing
something and asking meanwhile her uncle
and aunt who were sitting outside the
police station ran away right she went
ahead testified in the courts about her
own uncle our aunt who were running a
trafficking business with her and with
other girls
this girl taught us a very important
lesson that the trauma of a woman after
sexual assault lies in her body the
crime scene is the woman’s body it is
not outside and I gave a talk to the
deliver his officers at that time I said
when you investigate rape cases please
go ahead and talk to the woman see the
woman how her body has been a
they were not doing that even if they
were injury marks they would routinely
ignore it right it’s as it’s as basic as
that there was another case I remember
which taught us a very important lesson
and that is that the need for justice is
innate in human beings even after years
have passed people don’t forget we had a
girl who was around 17 years of age a
case of 3:54 was lodged for those who
don’t know 354 is violence against a
woman’s body and outraging her modesty
when we were talking to her she talked
about how her how her father used to
abuse her many years ago and yes it was
sexual abuse
why didn’t you tell it my father won’t
let me come out why are you telling it
now she said because I feel that he will
go after my sister my sister is growing
up and therefore he’s doing that we said
well we need to inform this the police
dissuaded us it’s the old case it
happened seven years back there is no
evidence I asked the girl I said do you
want to still go ahead she nodded her
head yes we took the risk everybody
laughed at us they said well it’s not
going to work out but the fact is that
there is power in the testimony of the
victim she stood her ground even though
one of the best lawyers was appointed by
her father to defend she went ahead and
spoke it in the court and she got her
father arrested because she did not want
her sister to suffer the same fate that
she had gone right the need for justice
that’s innate the third case which I
recall from our first year was about a
visa officer and I’m going to talk about
how memory fragments us we were sitting
with her and she was trying to make the
face of the person who had assaulted her
after some unsuccessful attempt she said
doctor I’m very good at recognizing
faces I give visas to people
if I refuse a visa to a person I
remember it so even after two years if
that person applies again with a
mustache with a changed face with
everything else I know I can spot him
but why I’m feeling depressed right now
is I cannot recall anything about the
faces of the man who assaulted me just a
few hours ago that is what trauma does
to our memory you get fragmented I was
speaking to a girl again trying to get
details of the perpetrator and she said
I’m very good in recalling people but
right now I can’t recall anything
because I can only recall the handle of
the knife that he put over here and she
pointed like this just the handle I
cannot recall anything about him that is
what trauma does to us that is what
trauma does to people okay this is a
drawing made by a survivor
it shows how her life the foundation is
gone that’s it’s broken in our study we
found we did a study that these are some
of the symptoms that victims of sexual
assault have after they go through a
trauma they go through of trauma as you
can see flashbacks body image
disturbances dehumanization this was a
letter written to us by the police
commissioner it said because you created
a right environment there for the victim
the perpetrator could be affected we did
a study to find out about how people get
affected and what we found is very
poignant and interesting and that is
that women get affected despite race
background class the daughter of a
liberal living under a bridge suffers
the same amount of trauma as someone
living in a palace there is no
difference and this is a myth that
percolates down to judges officers
everywhere oh she’s a married woman so
therefore she would have less trauma
than an unmarried woman why because rape
is associated the trauma of it with loss
of virginity no it is associated with
loss of will when you are overpowered at
that moment what you go through is the
most traumatic
we found that across different weather
urban and rural women there were no
difference they all scored high
individual and gang rape
we found that the trauma by women faced
is almost the same different age groups
whether the woman is 16 or 60 there is
not much difference
they both score high it has got nothing
to do with you are married or what’s
your age
trauma remains frozen across time so
whether it’s the immediate aftermath or
after several years there’s no change
one area we found different and that was
Dalit versus non the Latino group Dalit
women scored far more trauma and that is
what puzzled us why when we went to see
we found that when the lip women are
assaulted women from their community get
together and tell them about the trauma
that their entire community have gone
through over the centuries the fatalism
gets collected the trauma of a single
Dalit is a trauma of the whole the lit
community that’s something that we find
very poignantly and that is something
she passes on to the next generation the
trauma of the lit women is trans
generational goes across from generation
to generation and yes there is one
difference we found with the lit women
who were assaulted and that’s it we all
know that there is untouchability in our
country it extends in every area it does
not extend to rape it doesn’t upper
caste people who assault the lit women
have no reservations about raping the
earth women I had a man who had
assaulted a woman and he wanted water
and when the water came he said he’s
from a lower caste can you have a higher
caste man give water to me and I said
you assaulted a Dalit woman how come he
smiled and he said well you know he
didn’t say anything he turned his face
away right okay this is a ballot Hamlet
and this is in famous sexual assault
took place can you see that the grass is
cut and there is grass on the side it
was cut because when we visited the
place because the lift women are
assaulted over here on the way and it
was done bite the tacos of that area who
wanted to prevent a Nassau
so when they got to know that we are
coming they cut down the grass okay this
was a picture given by a victim of a
gang rape the left-hand side was when
she was lying in the hospital bed that’s
a picture you can see right and the
right hand side is where she drew after
a year when I asked her that if for
example we hadn’t met you how would it
have been how would the right-hand side
have been but it happened like this she
said no I said how would have been she
cut off and said there would have been
no picture you understand what that
means this is another picture the last
picture that I want to show that you can
see how this girl has drawn her back and
how she feels the Sun coming out that’s
hope and joy after suffering an assault
women suffered trauma and woman’s become
silent after trauma and that silence is
not their responsibility that is the
responsibility of the society the
society until illness it creates safe
institutions criminal justice
institutions that can address an her
trauma the women will not come forward
to speak and it is important that we as
a rule of law society must create those
institutions so women in our country and
other countries do speak up that’s what
I want to say thank you
Raptors which means very and one man
damages the property of another man even
though the criminal justice system in
many countries all over the world right
now regard rape as a heinous crime but
as far as attitude to rapes are
concerned not much has changed down the
ages
I discovered it in a very poignant way
18 years ago I had gone to a police
station and I was waiting for some work
to happen and next to me was sitting a
family a family of four a father and
three children they looked very
traumatized did not make eye contact
with anyone didn’t look up and I tried
to make eye contact with them they would
avoid it the inspector who was dealing
with their case came after some time he
looked at me and said dr. mitzvah I’ll
just be with you in a minute but first I
will have to talk to them they looked at
them and said please hurry up I don’t
have all day you tell me what you have
to say otherwise
he left sentence unfinished the family
started crying and then he turned to me
and said okay they’ll be fine
I was affected at that time I was
working in Tihar prisons I was working
in a Center for mentally disturbed
people I had by enlarge seen a lot of
disturbed behavior not much had affected
me but this incident somewhere affected
me very deeply I talked to the inspector
I said these people seemed very
traumatized they can’t give a statement
right now so do you think that I could
talk to them so that they calm down
because only then they can give a
statement so he looked at me and said
okay fine you go ahead that makes it you
know my work a little easier so I took
the purse you know I took the family’s
permission I asked them if they would
like to speak to me they were too glad
to do so I started speaking to them and
within one hour I had got enough
information from them and I went back to
the police officer I said they have
given a kind of a statement
you can see he looked at it and said
they should have done that earlier they
wasted my time and your time everybody’s
time anyway a few days later I learned
that the suspect was arrested based on
that but this incident disturbed me very
deeply I asked myself is this what
families go through in the worst hour of
their life when they go to a police
station where was compassion where was
the support that victims need in our
country I went to the police
commissioner of Delhi at that time and I
spoke to him I said can we start a
service by which we can reach out to
victims of crime he looked at me a
little strangely he said sure you want
to go ahead doctor go ahead I give you
two police stations in South of Delhi
and I can I still recall them Vasant
Kunj and presently Harpal station we
visited them every day for the first six
months police did not refer us any case
they just did not believe in it
frankly they said you know you are
interfering in our work we will not in
any way you know be enhanced by it
another six months passed and we thought
that our program had fizzled out but it
didn’t on in the eleventh month there
was this girl who was referred to us she
was 13 years old mentally challenged
spoke very little and she was assaulted
when she was going for defecation in the
morning and this I must say this a large
number of women in our country are
assaulted when they go for defecation
right and sexual assault is something
that takes place when women are going
for defecation it takes place in toilets
it takes place in holy places like
churches mosques temples everywhere
there is no place which I have not seen
where sexual assaults do not take place
anyway we went to this girl and we found
that she lived with her mother the very
poor
she had just one room to live in she
didn’t talk much she would just look and
look blankly at us my colleague said
what do I do
I said hold her hand right that’s the
best that we could do on the third day I
can see the bang upstairs
yeah on the third day she we were
talking that she hasn’t given any
information to the perpetrator he would
get away and she was keenly listening
and then something happened she pointed
her finger at my ankle and said Dawa
that’s all we asked her mother has she
ever used this word mother said no she
hasn’t ever used this word does anyone
by that name lived somewhere around
mother said no I have never that he
thought it is something that just a
fancy or something of imagination she
again pointed out her wha you know look
when we were discussing about the case
you know about the perpetrator getting
away right I talked to my friend he was
a ENT specialist I said there was this
girl who’s like this she feels very
little talks very little how do we do it
he says can I come and see her he came
with us he saw her and then he said she
he has very few frequencies and this
word stands for something else I can
find out and then he talked to her and
said the word somewhere means probably
Jay and Leigh so you can say jalwa right
now this wasn’t of much use either we
asked people no help then somebody gave
us a clue they said at the far end of
the slum there is a boy who lives by the
name of kallu he’s also known as Java
because his ankle is burnt over here
that’s what he is known as we got him
when the girl saw him she pointed her
finger like this and started shivering
right the boy confessed to his crime I’m
calling him a boy he was 19 years old
and he told us that because this girl
does not speak she he thought that he
would get away right but
he didn’t our next problem was how do we
prove it in the court the defense lawyer
when he solved this laughed at it he
said this case won’t last she can’t even
talk and just as Santosh Singh man one
of India’s most well known judges was
hearing the case we really went ahead
and prepared her sorry I’m getting a
little emotional because I’m getting
into it we prepared her we said in the
same way you told us this in the same
way you have to say it in the court
right she briefly nodded her head on the
appointed day she went the judge took
her listen to her and I think she
guessed our uncertainty our doubts I
think we were more scared than she was
and she when she had to pronounce the
judgments sometimes later she said in my
whole life I have never been more
convinced about the testimony of any
victim and the guilt of any suspect i
sentence him right that was our first
case and after that we started getting
more cases because it got more known
right what I want to say here is that
what is trauma trauma is something which
is an overwhelming event that affects us
our thoughts our feelings our behavior
right for example right now the loud
thunder you heard if it was a little
more louder some of us would have run
away if there was earthquake here all of
us would run away right so it’s an
overwhelming event that affects our
perceptions our memory and fragments it
as I look back I see that we have dealt
with more than 8,000 people so far on
their trauma of all kinds sexual assault
homicide terrorism I just pick up a few
cases because this was on sexual
violence one of the first women that we
dealt with it was very strange a woman
professor from Dell university was going
back to her home when she noticed a girl
standing on the balcony quiet not
looking anywhere her eyes fixed she was
around 14 years of age she wrote to the
police saying that I find something odd
over here now that’s the responsibility
of a citizen you see something odd
please inform that is
perpetrators cannot function the police
talk to her the DCP of that device
srivasa was a very sensitive officer he
called us he said Rajat we have spoken
to her we have not found anything but
will you talk to her we and I and my you
know colleague a woman we went there it
was at the Lacroix police station we
talked to her we found nothing and we
are almost coming to the close of the
session it was a January evening and I
noticed that she was very cold and in
our office car they were always woolens
that were kept because we often came
across people who needed villains so I
told my colleague that will you take her
and give her some socks and something I
mean maybe Shane is too tired when he
came back my colleagues face was changed
he said this girl is 13 years old but
her body language is very different I
cannot place it but there is something
very odd about it I said what is odd she
said you know it’s almost like she’s
walking like a dancer so I said maybe we
can ask her you ask her she was doing
the session are you a dancer she asked
yes okay you dance when there is nobody
at home she says no I dance in front of
people what do you mean you dance in
front of people she says people come to
my home my uncle and aunt with whom I
live they bring people I dance in front
of them they throw coins at me why
didn’t you tell the police so far better
because nobody asked me right it is
simple it’s a simple point of observing
something and asking meanwhile her uncle
and aunt who were sitting outside the
police station ran away right she went
ahead testified in the courts about her
own uncle our aunt who were running a
trafficking business with her and with
other girls
this girl taught us a very important
lesson that the trauma of a woman after
sexual assault lies in her body the
crime scene is the woman’s body it is
not outside and I gave a talk to the
deliver his officers at that time I said
when you investigate rape cases please
go ahead and talk to the woman see the
woman how her body has been a
they were not doing that even if they
were injury marks they would routinely
ignore it right it’s as it’s as basic as
that there was another case I remember
which taught us a very important lesson
and that is that the need for justice is
innate in human beings even after years
have passed people don’t forget we had a
girl who was around 17 years of age a
case of 3:54 was lodged for those who
don’t know 354 is violence against a
woman’s body and outraging her modesty
when we were talking to her she talked
about how her how her father used to
abuse her many years ago and yes it was
sexual abuse
why didn’t you tell it my father won’t
let me come out why are you telling it
now she said because I feel that he will
go after my sister my sister is growing
up and therefore he’s doing that we said
well we need to inform this the police
dissuaded us it’s the old case it
happened seven years back there is no
evidence I asked the girl I said do you
want to still go ahead she nodded her
head yes we took the risk everybody
laughed at us they said well it’s not
going to work out but the fact is that
there is power in the testimony of the
victim she stood her ground even though
one of the best lawyers was appointed by
her father to defend she went ahead and
spoke it in the court and she got her
father arrested because she did not want
her sister to suffer the same fate that
she had gone right the need for justice
that’s innate the third case which I
recall from our first year was about a
visa officer and I’m going to talk about
how memory fragments us we were sitting
with her and she was trying to make the
face of the person who had assaulted her
after some unsuccessful attempt she said
doctor I’m very good at recognizing
faces I give visas to people
if I refuse a visa to a person I
remember it so even after two years if
that person applies again with a
mustache with a changed face with
everything else I know I can spot him
but why I’m feeling depressed right now
is I cannot recall anything about the
faces of the man who assaulted me just a
few hours ago that is what trauma does
to our memory you get fragmented I was
speaking to a girl again trying to get
details of the perpetrator and she said
I’m very good in recalling people but
right now I can’t recall anything
because I can only recall the handle of
the knife that he put over here and she
pointed like this just the handle I
cannot recall anything about him that is
what trauma does to us that is what
trauma does to people okay this is a
drawing made by a survivor
it shows how her life the foundation is
gone that’s it’s broken in our study we
found we did a study that these are some
of the symptoms that victims of sexual
assault have after they go through a
trauma they go through of trauma as you
can see flashbacks body image
disturbances dehumanization this was a
letter written to us by the police
commissioner it said because you created
a right environment there for the victim
the perpetrator could be affected we did
a study to find out about how people get
affected and what we found is very
poignant and interesting and that is
that women get affected despite race
background class the daughter of a
liberal living under a bridge suffers
the same amount of trauma as someone
living in a palace there is no
difference and this is a myth that
percolates down to judges officers
everywhere oh she’s a married woman so
therefore she would have less trauma
than an unmarried woman why because rape
is associated the trauma of it with loss
of virginity no it is associated with
loss of will when you are overpowered at
that moment what you go through is the
most traumatic
we found that across different weather
urban and rural women there were no
difference they all scored high
individual and gang rape
we found that the trauma by women faced
is almost the same different age groups
whether the woman is 16 or 60 there is
not much difference
they both score high it has got nothing
to do with you are married or what’s
your age
trauma remains frozen across time so
whether it’s the immediate aftermath or
after several years there’s no change
one area we found different and that was
Dalit versus non the Latino group Dalit
women scored far more trauma and that is
what puzzled us why when we went to see
we found that when the lip women are
assaulted women from their community get
together and tell them about the trauma
that their entire community have gone
through over the centuries the fatalism
gets collected the trauma of a single
Dalit is a trauma of the whole the lit
community that’s something that we find
very poignantly and that is something
she passes on to the next generation the
trauma of the lit women is trans
generational goes across from generation
to generation and yes there is one
difference we found with the lit women
who were assaulted and that’s it we all
know that there is untouchability in our
country it extends in every area it does
not extend to rape it doesn’t upper
caste people who assault the lit women
have no reservations about raping the
earth women I had a man who had
assaulted a woman and he wanted water
and when the water came he said he’s
from a lower caste can you have a higher
caste man give water to me and I said
you assaulted a Dalit woman how come he
smiled and he said well you know he
didn’t say anything he turned his face
away right okay this is a ballot Hamlet
and this is in famous sexual assault
took place can you see that the grass is
cut and there is grass on the side it
was cut because when we visited the
place because the lift women are
assaulted over here on the way and it
was done bite the tacos of that area who
wanted to prevent a Nassau
so when they got to know that we are
coming they cut down the grass okay this
was a picture given by a victim of a
gang rape the left-hand side was when
she was lying in the hospital bed that’s
a picture you can see right and the
right hand side is where she drew after
a year when I asked her that if for
example we hadn’t met you how would it
have been how would the right-hand side
have been but it happened like this she
said no I said how would have been she
cut off and said there would have been
no picture you understand what that
means this is another picture the last
picture that I want to show that you can
see how this girl has drawn her back and
how she feels the Sun coming out that’s
hope and joy after suffering an assault
women suffered trauma and woman’s become
silent after trauma and that silence is
not their responsibility that is the
responsibility of the society the
society until illness it creates safe
institutions criminal justice
institutions that can address an her
trauma the women will not come forward
to speak and it is important that we as
a rule of law society must create those
institutions so women in our country and
other countries do speak up that’s what
I want to say thank you
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