Prajwal Revanna, NDA candidate from Hassan in Karnataka for the Lok Sabha and grandson of former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, is the latest to be accused in what may be termed as ‘late fuse’ sexual allegations. In other words, explicit videos of him being involved in sexual acts, some allegedly forced, from some time ago, surfaced at election time. It is natural to question the timing of the release and why, with such ‘compelling’ evidence available, the matter had not been brought earlier before the police. Revanna has been suspended from his party, the JDS, and an SIT has been formed to investigate the matter.
According to cyber experts, it is possible now to ascertain the authenticity of the videos with ‘total certainty’. The problem is that, by the time the truth comes to the fore, public opinion will have been influenced and the voting process accordingly affected. As has been seen in many cases involving such sexual offences, it takes years for courts to pass verdicts. In cases where allegations are proven to be false, the accused ends up being punished anyway, having lost his reputation, job, personal relationships, etc.
This has become a worldwide phenomenon with the ‘Me Too’ movement. It is good that justice is done in some cases, but there has been a serious repercussion to allegations being made about incidents so long ago that it is difficult to obtain evidence other than the victim’s claims. This has made men increasingly chary of taking part in any kind of interaction with women as colleagues, subordinates or employers. A lot of effort is going into ensuring there are no occasions when a man and woman are together without others present.
This can be a serious impediment to women’s employment and promotion prospects, particularly in a country like India where they are still struggling to achieve a proportionate share of jobs. This, naturally, has an adverse impact on the economy. So, it is important that such cases are investigated on a priority basis, but they should not also be exploited for political purposes by various ‘movements’. Those working for women’s emancipation and fundamental rights should establish protocols to ensure there is no negative effect. Women should be made aware from an early age about what they should do when faced with such situations, so that there is no delay in bringing offenders to book. That would also be good for men who may be targeted for other reasons.
