India's top court calls for improved compensation for rape victims ‎

India's Supreme Court has directed all the country's states to formulate a uniform policy to provide compensation to victims of rape and other forms of sexual assault, saying such aid was crucial for a survivor's rehabilitation.  Conservative and patriarchal attitudes in India mean victims of sexual assault are often shunned by their families and communities and blamed for the violence perpetrated against them, say activists and lawyers.  Many are ostracised from their homes and cannot afford the legal fees to fight for justice in an under-resourced judicial system where verdicts can still take years to reach.

India's 29 states and seven union territories vary in how they provide support to sexual assault victims, with some states such as Maharashtra in the west providing no formal financial aid, while others such as Goa providing up to one million rupees, said the court order.  "All the states and union territories shall make all endeavours to formulate a uniform scheme for providing victim compensation in respect of rape/sexual exploitation," said an order by a division bench made up of Justices M.Y. Eqbal and  Arun Mishra. "Indisputably, no amount of money can restore the dignity and confidence that the accused took away from the victim. No amount of money can erase the trauma and grief the victim suffers. This aid can be crucial with aftermath of crime," it said. 

The nation’s apex court passed the order on Thursday after hearing a plea filed by a convicted man in the central state of Chhattisgarh challenging a seven year jail term for sexually exploiting a blind girl with a false promise of marriage.  The bench dismissed the plea and ordered the Chhattisgarh government to pay the victim 8,000 rupees monthly for the rest of her life.  

The number of rapes in India rose by 9 percent to 33,707 in 2014, according to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau.   (Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation)