Some Myths And Facts About Eve Teasing And Rape Of Women
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Myths :
1 Only girls who dress provocatively get eve teased or raped.
2 Women enjoy and fantasise about rape.
3 There is nothing much left in life once a woman is raped; she is better off dead.
Fact :
Eve teasing is seen to be more common in societies where communication between the two sexes in inhibited and where women's status is poor. It has little to do with how girls dress; the so-called properly dressed girls too get eve teased. 'Provocative' dress is a relative term and is dependent on local cultural factors. Most societies have evolved a tradition of dress code that suits the climate and way of life. Any deviation from the code takes time to become acceptable. At times such deviations are considered 'provocative', specially in the period of transition where a society is slowly adapting to new inputs. Some societies are more open to changes than others and youngsters need to adapt to their surroundings for their own welfare.
Legally eve teasing in any form is a crime. Unfortunately, it can be rarely proved and hence, almost never gets reported. Reducing eve teasing is not a simple proposition, for it means a change in the way women are thought of in a society. Very often where a woman is considered as a 'commodity' her basic human rights are violated with ease. This percolates as eve teasing to various extent. Empowering women in the society, physically (by teaching them self-defence tactics) and socially (by building up ethos tha discourages any sexual assault) is likely to reduce eve teasing.
Rape on the other hand is not about sex but a crime or violence. Rape is a sexual aggression performed under threat to a woman's life. Mere provocative dress does not lead to a crime of this dimension. Rarely wrong messages may be conveyed during courtship leading the partner to assume sexual consent. Such a situation can be avoided by being explicit in a relationship. Sad incidences of rape may occur (especially of minor girls) by unsuspecting members of their own family. The onus of protecting the girl child against sexual aggression is on the parents to a large extent and the society in general.
Like any other crime of theft or murder, sexual crimes too can be avoided if certain precautions are taken. Avoiding late nights with unknown or little known company, refraining from visits to isolated places with or without partner does ensure safety. It should be kept in mind that boys too can be sexually assaulted and are as vulnerabe as girls. Girls are often made to feel guilty of sexual crime against them. Family support that thinks otherwise is a great help in such circumstances.
It should be clearly understood that rape is a rare event that can happen to anyone. As after any other violent accident immediate medical attention is necessary; whether the victim deciedes to press charges or not, a medical examination to avoid STD and pregnancy must be done. Psychological trauma to the victim is tremendous and help of a psychologist may be necessary in addition to strong positive support from friends and family.
Sensitive citizens and feminist groups are of help to deal with the social-legal aspects of rape. This helps to relieve the trauma and reinstate the victim by encouraging her to start normal activities. Needless to say, as in the case of any other severe injury, the rape victim may never heal completely, but can learn to live very happily. It is therefore absolutely wrong to say that there is no fruitful life for a raped woman. Likewise, it is wrong to assume that women enjoy or fantasise about rape. Women do fantasise about sex but the idea that an act of utter violence can be enjoyed is absurd and is a myth perpetuated by the male-dominated society to justify violence.
