Delhi rape: UN women chief demands strict punishment

January 12, 2013: UN Women chief Michelle Bachelet has demanded punishment for culprits of the horrific gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old Delhi girl, saying a strong message must be sent that violence against women will not be accepted.

Bachelet, the UN under-secretary-general and executive director of the UN Women, said the strong message would discourage such crimes against women.

There are sufficient laws to prosecute rapists in several parts of the world, the ex-Chilean president said, demanding adequate implementation of such laws.

“They need to be punished for that, but also to send a strong message to everyone that violence against women will not be accepted,” she said.

She is on a regional tour of Africa to promote women’s rights.

On 16 December, the paramedical student was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus in Delhi. She died at a Singapore hospital on 29 December.

In July 2010, the UN General Assembly created UN Women — the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.