The rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has the entire medical fraternity up in arms throughout the country. This anger is justified because, with doctors having to work through nights in their thirty-six-hour shifts, security is a fundamental requirement. Considering the numerous restrictions that normally exist in hospitals, this is taken for granted. For a person to have made his way past these various barriers and committed the act is truly strange and needs thorough investigation as well as speedy remedial action. There have been such incidents elsewhere also, indicating fundamental negligence and lack of alertness as regards security, particularly that of women.
The level of brutality that has emerged in such incidents is also shocking and perplexing. Is there something new that has been introduced into social norms which is affecting the mindset of men, especially those who have no moral restraints in their lives? Has access to internet content and social media somehow blurred the line between illusion and reality? Social scientists need to examine this issue by collecting the necessary data and finding possible connections. The overall solution will require addressing this aspect as well.
At the same time, however, it is a fact that women’s safety cannot depend entirely on improving the mentality of men. Women should be provided training in self-defence, not just through physical response but also psychologically. The whole of society should be geared to providing everybody, male or female, a safe environment. This needs the involvement of all. How often is it seen that people are present at the scene of brutal crimes but can do nothing except capture the incident on their mobile phones? It is not that they are insensitive to the crime, they just do not know how to respond and are virtually paralysed. The response to other incidents such as accidents, drownings, heart attacks is the same. People need to have received training from various sources in their lives on how to be first responders. Just basic training in some martial art itself brings a spontaneous response without even having to think about it.
And, of course, a lot of responsibility rests on the police force. If they promote an environment in which there is zero tolerance for even the smallest transgression, very few persons would graduate to the level where they feel encouraged to commit more serious crimes. This is easier said than done but that should be the objective and even small successes will make a huge difference.
