A seven-year-old Dalit girl child was murdered and her body was found at a swamp with ants swarming her ears, nose and eyes. The little girl who was playing near the house when she went missing. Within hours the police arrested Raja, an acquaintance to the victim’s family, and a member of the dominant caste for rape and murder of the girl.
Violence against Dalit children and women has increased two folds during the #Covid_19 period. According to the UN Secretary General recently the domestic violence incidents have tripled during the #Covid_19 lockdown period.
There have been 12 incidents of rape of Dalit women in Tamil Nadu during this corona lockdown period. And these are just exposed incidents, maybe many such incidents that have not come into limelight or hidden. On average 7 – 10 girl children are sexually abused in a day in Tamil Nadu. Among the victims of sexual assault in Tamil Nadu around 65% are children. The conviction rate for rapes in India is only three percent.
Sexual assaults, rapes and murders against women are by close relatives. These statistics confirm that structures such as family and relationships are not always safe for women as propagated by the culture police.
Artist: Saviya Lopes (@saviyalopes)
