People are angry after the case of sexual abuse of two girls came to light in a school in Badlapur, Thane district of Maharashtra. During the hearing on this case on Thursday, the Bombay High Court raised questions about the safety of girls in schools. Also, the Mumbai administration has made many changes in the system of schools.
The court reprimanded
In this case, the Bombay High Court had asked that if schools are not safe places… then what is the point of talking about ‘right to education’? The court also reprimanded the police and the state on many counts, including not registering a case. The court further said that it is a disturbing thing how Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital delayed filing a case against the school despite complaints from girls in the case of rape and murder of a doctor this month.
CCTV is now mandatory in schools
Minister Lodha directed that CCTV cameras be installed in the entire school premises except the toilets and monitored by beat marshals or patrolling police teams. He also made it mandatory that a female staff be appointed to guard outside the girls’ toilets and stressed that female cleaning staff should clean the toilets used by younger girls and girls studying in class ten. Apart from this, it was also directed that a female staff should be present in student transport vehicles like buses, taxis and vans, and the cleaning staff in schools should also be under police surveillance.
Self defense training for school girls
Minister Lodha has advised schools to collaborate with local NGOs to provide self-defense training to girls. In case of emergency, students should be encouraged to report incidents on the 1098 helpline. Schools should put up posters about this on the campus. Apart from this, women should also be informed about the helpline number. Girls in school should put up posters and call on helpline number 181.
Minister Prabhat Lodha said in his letter, “The increasing crimes against women and children are a matter of concern for the government, administration and our society. The incident in Badlapur has given public suggestions for preventive measures. Such incidents are happening due to negligence towards women’s safety. Keeping this in mind, strict instructions should be given to all educational institutions from kindergarten to postgraduate level in Mumbai suburban area. Schools, colleges and various institutions should also thoroughly verify the staff appointed by them to ensure that no untoward incident takes place, and everyone should be cautious.”
After the Nirbhaya incident, there was a change in the law as well
After the Nirbhaya incident, the juvenile law was amended. After this, if a teenager below the age of 16 or 18 commits a heinous crime, he will be treated like an adult. This amendment was made because one of the six Nirbhaya convicts was a minor and was released in just three years.
Apart from this, provision for death penalty was also made in rape cases. After this, if the victim dies after rape or goes into a coma-like condition, then the culprit can also be given the death penalty.
However, despite all this, there has been no improvement. Statistics show that before 2012, an average of 25 thousand cases of rape were registered every year. But after this, this figure reached above 30 thousand. In 2013 itself, more than 33 thousand cases were registered. In 2016, the figure reached close to 39 thousand.