Protests in New Delhi over the rape of a five-year-old girl have again exacerbated debate about India’s law enforcement, following a number of appalling sexual assault cases.
The five-year-old victim’s condition is currently improving in hospital according to reports, after she was left fighting for her life when she was allegedly kidnapped, raped and abandoned in a locked room by a neighbour.
According to the Washington Post, the victim went missing last Monday while playing outside in her neighbourhood in eastern Delhi. She was found by passerbys who heard her cries and alerted police.
Police have arrested a 22-year-old man, accusing him of locking the girl in a room for 40 hours while brutally sexually and physically assaulting her. A second man was arrested on Monday in connection with the case.
The girl’s father also alleges the police offered him money to keep quiet about their handling of the case.
Statistics from the Asian Centre for Human Rights reveal that India’s track record on child rape has an especially long way to go, with the report stating that sexual offences against children in India have reached epidemic proportions.
Incidents of child rape increased 336% in the last decade, with 48,338 cases of child rape reported in India between 2001-2011.
The report suggested this number may be “only the tip of the iceberg”, as only a small percentage of attacks are reported to police and a large majority of cases are not prosecuted.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in New Delhi over the weekend following the latest incident, reigniting scenes reminiscent of just four months agp, when public and international outcry emerged over the case of a 23-year-old student was gang-raped on a bus, and later died from her horrific injuries.
The public outrage exposed India’s shocking sexual violence problem, and revealed its appalling lack of binding law enforcement in cases of sexual and physical assault.
Critics have put pressure on the government to make significant changes to the way that claims of sexual assault are investigated and prosecuted.