Topline
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in India to demand safer working conditions for doctors and more institutional protections from violence for women after a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found rape and murdered at a state-run hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata
A protester holds a placard during a demonstration against the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar … [+]
Key Facts
Protests spanning several Indian cities have led thousands to march, government hospitals have suspended all non-emergency services as doctors protest and a medical college campus was sacked this week amid the unrest sparked by the death of the woman, who has not been identified in media reports.
Protestors have started marching at midnight under the slogan ” reclaim the night” as a call to make India a safer place for women, and have carried signs reading “Hang the rapist, save the women,” “We want justice” and “Stop violence against women.”
The junior doctor, who was reportedly attacked while taking a break during her shift at the government RG Kar hospital, has sparked broader outcry about the threats faced by women in India, where gender-based violence continues to rise and incidents frequently go unreported due to stigma and a lack of trust in the police.
In addition, doctors and paramedics are protesting for safer worker conditions and new laws supporting their security.
Overnight on Wednesday, dozens of people attacked the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, vandalizing the property before police fired tear gas in what nurses on the property called ” hooliganism.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to the nation about the “atrocities being committed against our mothers, daughters and sisters” as part of a pre-planned Independence Day address, but did not specifically reference the Kolkata case.
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A nurse looks at an emergency ward of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, vandalised in Kolkata … [+]
Crucial Quote
“I think this incident has ignited so much rage and touched so many people,” Devalina Bose, an intern at the same hospital, told the BBC. “It is reprehensible to hold a woman accountable for the man’s actions in any case.”
Key Background
The junior doctor was found after her death in the seminar hall of the teaching hospital at which she worked, according to IndianExpress. Her autopsy confimed sexual assault, though her family has said they suspect their daughter was gang raped and have called for further investigation. A police volunteer was arrested in connection with her death, and on Thursday five doctors at the hospital were summoned for questioning in the case. Local officials have been accused of mishandling the case, and on Tuesday it was transferred to the country’s federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Protesters hold placards and candles during the demonstration.
Tangent
Crimes against women in India continued to rise every year between 2016 and 2022, according to the BBC, with the exception of 2020, when much of the country was shut down due to the Covid pandemic. Crimes against women rose from 338,954 reported instances in 2016 to 428,278 in 2021—an increase of 26.4%. Kidnapping, abduction, rape, domestic violence and assaults were the crimes most reported. The actual numbers of such crimes are thought to be “ far higher” than statistics indicate as reporting remains low for a number of reasons—including lack of faith in the police and stigma against the victims of sexual violence. In some rural areas, families worry about their social standing if members of the community find someone to have been a victim of sexual assault, according to the Associated Press. Over the last decade, several high-profile cases have thrust the issue into the mainstream. Earlier this year, multiple people were arrested after a Spanish tourist was gang raped while camping with her husband. In 2022, 12 people were arrested after a young woman was reportedly gang raped, tortured and paraded through the streets and, that same year, a police officer was arrested for allegedly raping a 13-year-old who had gone to the police to report her previous sexual assault.
Big Number
90. That’s how many rapes were reported per day in India in 2022, CBS News reported.
Further Reading
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes reporter who covers breaking news with a frequent focus on the entertainment industry, streaming, sports news, publishing, pop culture and climate change. She joined Forbes in 2023 and lives in Dallas. She’s covered Netflix’s hottest documentaries, a surge of assaults reported on social media, the most popular books of the year and how climate change stands to impact the way we eat. Roeloffs was included on Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “ 25 Under 30” list in 2023 and worked covering local news in the greater Boston area from 2017 to 2023. She graduated with a double major in political science and journalism from Northeastern University. Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics.
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