Rising violence against women

The steady rise in crimes against women in our country, particularly rape, has not been met with the expected level of social outcry as, for example, was the case in India, triggered by the event in Delhi, recently. Besides the crimes making news headlines rather regularly and a handful of protests held by some civil society groups, the issue is yet to find a place in large-scale public debate and on the agenda of lawmakers. According to reports compiled by women's rights organisations, over 5,500 women were subjected to violence last year alone, with the reported statistics being presumably much lower than the actual number of incidents. Nothing short of a full-scale movement can change the situation.
Violence against women continues despite a host of laws against repression of women, domestic violence, acid violence, dowry, etc. It is thus obvious that laws are not enough. A thorough investigation must be conducted on the causes behind violence against women, how and why it continues to occur, and even increase, despite a multitude of laws, and what the cost is to the victims and the consequences for the perpetrators.
As with any other social problem, here, too, awareness is key. The awareness that will not disregard the first signs of sexual harassment as 'eve-teasing' which often snowballs into cases of rape or suicide; the consciousness that will provide moral and social support to victims instead of blaming them; that will rise above the stigma of sexual abuse and issues of shame and honour and persist in the battle for justice.
We have enough laws -- it is the loopholes that need to be addressed and the laws effectively implemented. It is now high time that civil society, children's, women's and human rights organisations form a coalition to fight off the ever-growing menace of violence against women. Protests are not enough; concrete steps should be taken, as are being contemplated in India, through mobilisation of all social forces behind the cause for crushing this scourge.