CDRO tribute on the untimely death of three civil and democratic rights activists

February 1, 2013, Sanhati

The member organisations of CDRO are saddened by the death of three democratic and civil liberty activists in the last one week – Professor Dipankar Chakroborty, Vice President of Association for Protection of Democratic (APDR), West Bengal; Chandrasekar (47), civil right activist and a popular human rights lawyer in Andhra Pradesh and Pradeep Sapolia, Secretary of Association for Democratic Rights (AFDR), Dist. Mansa Unit, Punjab.

Professor Dipankar Chakroborty (71), popularly known as Dipankarda passed away on 27th January when he was being taken to the hospital after he developed respiratory problem. A great intellectual and Human Rights campaigner, Dipankarda was born in Dhaka on 14 December, 1941. He grew up in Murshidabad and then completed his education in Bahrampur and Kolkata. He taught economics and retired from Krishnanath College at Baharampur. A veteran of the Left movement since the sixties, he began publishing and editing Aneek in 1964 when ruptures in the CPI on ideological and political issues led to split and birth of the CPI(M). In the wake of the Naxalbari uprising three years later that had triggered another split and birth of the CPI(ML), Chakroborty did not join the new party. But he devoted himself to publishing Aneek. When APDR was formed in Calcutta on 25 June 1972, Dipankarda took the initiative to form one of its first branches outside Calcutta in Murshidabad in 1974. Since then, till his last breath he was one of the stalwarts who steered APDR through many turbulent periods. With promulgation of Emergency in 1975 APDR was banned and Dipankarda was arrested. He spent 19 months in prison and was released in 1977 and since then throughout his life he engaged himself in the publication of Aneek and participated in the socio-political activities in Bengal and other parts of India as an individual and also assumed various responsibilities in APDR. During the Singhur movement when the police was illegally evicting the Singur people by brutal force, Dipankarda stood by the side of the people. He was arrested from the Singur farmlands along with many activists such as Medha Patekar, Amitadyuti Kumar and Sumit Chaudhary. At the time of his death he was Vice President of APDR.

Chandrasekar (47), a popular human rights lawyer passed away on 22nd January. He is known for his significant role in getting the death sentence of Chalapati Raju and Vijayvardhan commuted to life imprisonment. Chalapati and Vijayvardhan were accused of setting a bus on fire in which 23 people were killed. He also played an extraordinary role as a public prosecutor in Tsundur Carnage case in which dalits were hunted and killed by upper caste people. It was by his effort that accused were convicted in this case. Chandrasekar always played a leading role in taking up the cases of dalits and the downtrodden. He did so from a deep sense of conviction, and his life was dedicated to the cause of providing justice to the downtrodden and dalits. His concern and hard work in fighting extra judicial murders (fake encounters) in the state unnerved the police establishment. He approached the High Court and Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission for justice in extra judicial murders and continued his fight till his death. He abhorred death penalty and played a key role in the campaign to abolish this system in Andhra Pradesh.

Pradeep Sapolia (48), an advocate by profession died on 26th January. As a pro-people advocate, Pradeep always showed an interest in providing legal assistance to the struggling farmers and agricultural labourers in Mansa and other districts of Punjab. Many of the people oriented organisations felt at ease in approaching Pradeep for seeking legal assistance. His closeness and sympathetic attitude towards these organizations can be seen from the fact that all these organizations active in Punjab attended the memorial service in his memory on Jan. 31. In the recent time, when AFDR was reviving its activities in Punjab, Pradeep took keen interest and played an active role in its Dist. Mansa unit. Pradeep took keen interest and actively participated in the two recent fact finding reports against police repression on the people which AFDR brought out.

Their loss would create a void both within the civil liberties and people’s movement and the organizations in which they were tirelessly contributed their time, intellect and resources. CDRO pays homage to their memories and their pro-people activities.

Paramjeet Singh (PUDR)
Kranti Chetanya (APCLC)
Tapas Chakravorty (APDR)
Parminder Singh (AFDR)
Phullendru Komsam (COHR)
(Coodinators)

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PRESS RELEASE- #India – President urged not to Sign the Ordinance by Women’s Organizations

 

New Delhi, 2 Feb 2013:  We, as representatives of women’s organizations, civil society groups, and activists committed to women’s rights, convey our strong opposition to the Government’s decision to move an Ordinance on the criminal law amendments related to sexual violence. We call upon the President of India to not sign such an Ordinance.

Information in the public domain, through media sources, reveals that an Ordinance on amendments to sexual assault law was cleared by the Cabinet yesterday, on February 1, 2013 – about 20 days before the next parliamentary session. We are alarmed at the complete lack of transparency displayed by the Government in proposing an Ordinance as an emergency measure.  We wonder what objective and purpose will be served by such a hasty non-transparent measure – less than 3 weeks before the parliamentary session, since the proposed law will not retrospectively apply to the Delhi gang rape case.

We demand transparency and due process in law making. We demand that the Parliamentary process, including the Standing Committee process be upheld, for this is the place where we, as citizens of this country, have the right to be heard.

“An Ordinance like this, implemented by stealth, only serves to weaken our democracy” notes Vrinda Grover, a human rights lawyer. Emphasizing this concern, Madhu Mehra, a women’s rights lawyer added ,”An Ordinance like this betrays the trust of scores of Indian men and women, who marched the streets of Delhi and other cities demanding an end to impunity for Sexual Violence.”.

Women’s Organizations are shocked further shocked to learn that the JVC report has not been considered fully or even partially, neither in letter nor in spirit in the content of this Ordinance.

“We are told that virtually all the recommendations that we and others had hailed as signs of a paradigm shift in understanding violence against women; all the recommendations that can actually strike at the heart of impunity – have been dropped” stated activists, Kavita Krishnan, Farah Naqvi and Sunita Dhar.

It was pointed out that these include – recognition in law of marital rape, new provisions on the offence of breach of command responsibility, non-requirement of sanction for prosecuting a member of the security forces accused of sexual assault and rape, provision for trying them under ordinary criminal law for sexual crimes; and change in definition of consent to any sexual act.

Furthermore, the content of the Ordinance to our knowledge has introduced provisions that were strongly rejected by the Justice Verma Committee, including the death penalty. “We are shocked to learn that the Ordinance introduces a gender neutral perpetrator for sexual assault, suggesting that both women and men could potentially be charged for the offence. Rape as we know it is a crime largely defined as male violence against women, with absolutely no evidence of women as perpetrators. This is in disregard of the Justice Verma recommendations too, and is totally unacceptable”, noted Madhu Mehra.

Women’s groups have been demanding comprehensive amendments in criminal law related to sexual violence for over two decades, and have expressed our endorsement of the Justice Verma Committee Report. We have made oral and written submissions to the Justice Verma Committee and our voices and concerns were reflected in the Committee’s report. “We again reiterate our call to the Government of India to implement the recommendations of the report comprehensively, in letter and spirit” noted Vrinda Grover. We congratulate the Justice Verma Committee for completing the report in record time without compromising on consultations, dialogue, due process and transparency.
“Even as we have called upon the Government of India to implement the Committee’s report with alacrity, we emphasise that such implementation not be at the cost of due process, or selective adoption of the Committee’s recommendations” stated Farah Naqvi.

————————————-

For more details please contact:

Padmini: 09810481807 and Farah: 9560511667

WATCH NDTV VIDEO COVERAGE OF PRESS CONFERENCE

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/women-s-groups-reject-ordinance-on-rape-laws-urge-president-not-to-sign-it/263810

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‘Revenge porn’ is about degrading women sexually and professionally #Vaw

What does it say about society that websites where angry men shame their ex-lovers are thriving?

• • Jill Filipovic , guardian.co.uk, Monday 28 January 2013

 

Ex-lovers can now torment women online by posting naked photos of them and other personal information. Photograph: Robin Beckham/Alamy

In the centuries-old tradition of human beings looking at images of other human beings naked, the internet is perhaps the biggest game-changer since the film camera.

Porn sites are some of the most-visited places on the web, and just about anything you could imagine (and lots of things you probably couldn’t have come up with on your own) is a mere Google search away. While that’s great news for folks who have, say, an unrequited zombie fetish or a deep desire to see old men swaddled in mohair diapers, the almost entirely unregulated buffet of internet pornography also has a whole host of downsides – one of the most odious being the popular genre of “revenge porn“.

On revenge porn sites, users upload x-rated photos of women (often ex girlfriends or lovers) without the women’s permission. Send a naughty photo to your boyfriend and when it turns out he’s a pig, your image is all over the internet, often with your name, location and links to your social media accounts. The purpose of revenge porn isn’t to allow regular guys the opportunity to see some naked girls-next-door; it’s explicitly purposed to shame, humiliate and destroy the lives and reputations of young women.

Luckily, some of those women are refusing to be shamed into silence.More than two dozen of them have filed a lawsuit against one of the websites, Texxxan.com, as well as its host, GoDaddy.com. Some of the women have lost their jobs; all of them have been exposed and exploited, first by men they trusted and then by entities simply looking to make a buck off of misogyny.

Gender cyber harassment is nothing new (pdf), and revenge porn sites are part of a widespread, deeply sexist online culture everywhere from blog comment sections to YouTube videos to message boards. Anonymous sexualized harassment of women online has been around since AOL chatrooms, and it seems to be getting more mainstreamed, more organized and more efficient. The internet is not a nice place to be a woman – something I found out first-hand, and not just through the ongoing threats, harassment and stalking I’ve received as a feminist blogger.

When I was a law student at NYU, I found myself the subject of hundreds of threads and comments on a website called AutoAdmit. Reading post after anonymous post about how your classmates and future professional peers want to rape you is not a particularly pleasant experience; seeing those posts right next to details of what outfit you wore to school yesterday, how tall you are or what kinds of comments you made in class feels awfully threatening.

It’s hard to explain the psychological impact these kind of anonymous posts have, when these people know your name, face and exactly where you are during the day. You can’t walk down the hall at school without wondering if that guy who just made eye contact with you is going to go home and write something disgusting about you on the internet, or if anything you say in class is going to be quoted on a message board as evidence that you are a stupid cow, or if any one of these anonymous commenters is going to take their sexually violent urges offline and onto your body.

My reaction was to shut down. I felt like I was in a fishbowl, so I just refused to look outside of the glass. I’m a very social person, but in three years of law school I made only two friends. I skipped a lot of my classes; when I did go, I kept my head down.

I tried to ignore the online postings, hoping they would go away. When they didn’t, and I finally screwed up the courage to write about them, I received a barrage of harassing and threatening emails. One man, a graduate of Georgetown Law Center, claims to have gone to NYU and met with one of my professors to discuss what a “dumb cunt” (his words) I am. Even after I was out of law school and practicing, that same man sent more than a dozen emails to every single partner and attorney at my law firm in an effort to get me fired.

I graduated law school in 2008. Five years later, the process of writing about this still makes me tense up, triggering the same old anxiety, anger and fear. I still avoid going to large professional gatherings, and when I do go, my heart starts to beat a little faster if I catch someone looking at my name tag for what seems like a few seconds too long.

I’m a feminist writer who even before law school was used to receiving my share of online abuse. I get called all sorts of names on a daily basis and usually just roll through it. Yet I was still devastated by those postings.

And I was lucky. I wasn’t naked. My job opportunities were surely limited, but I didn’t get fired. But there are serious long-term consequences to internet harassment, both professional and personal. It’s undoubtedly much worse when the harassment involves naked pictures, your face on a porn site and the permanent stigma of being a “slut”.

It’s easy to say, “Well if you don’t want naked pictures on the internet, don’t send men naked pictures” – or in my case, I suppose, just don’t be female on the internet. But that simplistic view overlooks the way intimate relationships operate today, and, in fact, how they’ve always operated.

Within romantic relationships, people have always exchanged tangible things that would be highly embarrassing if publicly revealed, whether that’s a sexy note, a suggestive article of clothing or raunchy photo. You’re already engaging in an act that involves nudity, exchange of body fluids, the potential for reproduction, two human bodies intertwined skin-to-skin and, one hopes, some level of mutual trust. Once you’ve been face-to-genitals with someone, sending them a nude picture doesn’t seem like it should be such a big deal.

Society sees it differently – at least when the nude photo is of a woman. There aren’t popular revenge porn sites with pictures of naked men, because as a society we don’t think it’s inherently degrading or humiliating for men to have sex. Despite the fact that large numbers of women watch porn, there are apparently not large numbers of women who find sexual gratification in publicly shaming and demeaning men they’ve slept with.

And that is, fundamentally, what these revenge porn sites are about. They aren’t about naked girls; there are plenty of those who are on the internet consensually. It’s about hating women, taking enjoyment in seeing them violated, and harming them.

The owners to Texxxan.com practically said as much when, in defending their website, they posted a message saying, “Maybe [sic] the site provided an outlet for anger that prevented physical violence (this statement will be very controversial but is at least worth thinking about).” In other words, these are men who hate women to the degree that they’d be hitting them if they didn’t have revenge porn as an outlet for their rage. They’re angry because women have the nerve to exist in the universe as sexual beings.

Unfortunately, the law hasn’t quite caught up with the internet. I hope these women win their lawsuit. But as Emily Bazelon details at Slate, they’re fighting an uphill battle. Our current laws were written with an old media system in mind, and they need to be updated to protect free speech while also defending against defamation and gross invasions of personal privacy.

In the meantime, we can all do small things to marginalize the appeal of revenge porn. Not looking at the sites is an obvious first step; finding a host other than GoDaddy for your own site is another. Refusing to participate in the sexual shaming of women is also key – these sites would never survive without the pervasive view that sexually active women are dirty. Support the women who have the nerve to stand up to these privacy violations. Read, promote and raise up women’s voices generally, online and off. And push legislators to modernize our laws.

Right now, the law and our culture are both on the side of those who shame and humiliate women for sport, instead of those of us who just want to go about our normal lives, whether that’s going to law school or having sex with our boyfriends, without putting our careers, our reputations, our psychological well-being and our basic ability to trust the people we’re closest with on the line. Here’s hoping we win the long game.

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Abuses, threats can’t silence Kashmir’s only girl band #Vaw

Valley’s all-girl rock band after online slur still detremined
Azhar Qadri
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 1
The musical journey of Kashmir’s first and only all-girl rock band has come to an abrupt end after an online hate buzz.

The brainchild of three teenagers from the Valley, ‘Pragaash’ — a Kashmiri word meaning ‘from darkness to light’ — arrived on the music scene like a whiff of fresh air in a state plagued by violence for the last two decades. The 16-years-old made their first and last public performance at the ‘Battle of Bands’ here last December where they gave bands that mostly comprise of boys a run for their money.

But days after their debut, the band decided to call it quits. The reason: a vile barrage of abuses and hate messages about them and their families on the Internet, strong enough to force the young teen into hiding and abandoning their dream.

One of the girls, who talked to The Tribune on the condition that she would not be named, said the band had “ended”, but was reluctant to give reasons for the decision. “We have closed. It just ended… we had to hear so much from society that is why… I don’t want to tell anyone the reason,” she said.

The girl’s mother said she cried through the night after reading comments about the band on a social networking site. “The girls’ pictures were uploaded on a Facebook page and opinions were sought on whether making a band was wrong or right for our girls.

Some people wrote that the girls’ families had no food, which is why they were out to earn. After reading the comments, my daughter got very upset and cried all night. She decided not to do it again,” said the girl’s mother, adding that the family tried to talk her out of her decision. According to the girl’s mother, some posts appreciated the band; others didn’t. “Our religion does not allow this, our society doesn’t allow this,” she said.

‘Pragaash’ was a milestone in Kashmir’s music history for being the first rock band where the guitarist, drummer and vocalist were all girls. Women have enjoyed success in Kashmir singing folk songs, mystic poetry and romantic songs, but what set ‘Pragaash’ apart was its genre.

Band guitarist Aneeka Khalid, however, said the band had not been disbanded.

I rubbish the claims which have been made by some people quoting us that we will quit because of the threats ‘Pragaash‘ has received.

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#India-The Art of Fair Budgeting #Gender

Gender budgeting — by clearly allocating funds for women’s development and protecting their interests with suitable tax policies — boosts female empowerment. But in India this process is simply about the government allocating funds and doing little else. It‘s time that changed

LUBNA KABLY TIMES INSIGHT GROUP

During the run-up to the budget, discussions on tax policies tend to hog the limelight. But little is often heard about improving the lot of Indian women in such proposals or debates. Fortunately, this time around, there’s a fair bit of work going on behind the scenes to ensure that ‘gender budgeting’ is not ignored, whether its via the allocation of funds for women’s development programmes, or in ensuring that tax policies (especially via duties on essential commodities) do not adversely impact a housewife’s purse-strings.
But there are other aspects of gender budgeting to consider as well. As Janet Stotsky, advisor, office of budget and planning (in the office of the managing director), International Monetary Fund, puts it: “Gender budgeting doesn’t require any special tools or techniques, but a recognition that fiscal policies impact women and men differently.”
“Gender budgeting brings a focus towards ensuring that government policies, both on the spending and revenue side, provide greater opportunities for women, a better standard of living and a fairer distribution of income. On the spending side, it could contribute to ensuring a better allocation of funds for programs such as health care, or availability of clean water. While such expenditure typically disproportionately benefits women it also positively benefits the society as a whole,” explains Stotsky.
She adds: “On the revenue side, it could help ensure that the tax code does not discriminate against women’s work effort or products that are the core expenditures of poor families, which are disproportionately headed by women.”
STILL THE SECOND SEX HERE
Gender budgeting’s Indian odyssey is a recent one. Gender sensitivity in allocation of resources and monitoring of select schemes was first introduced during the seventh five year plan (1987-92) when India joined the ranks of as many as 50 countries which had adopted gender budgeting. But formal earmarking of funds, of at least 30 per cent, in all women related sectors both at Central and State level, began only in the ninth five year plan (1997-2002).
However, the focus here continues to be largely on the spending side.
A 2004 expert committee attempted to change that. It made various suggestions, including establishment of gender budgeting cells in all ministries and departments. Today, approximately 56 ministries and departments have set up such cells.
According to the 2011 census, there are 59 crore women in India; they account for 48.46 per cent of India’s total population. Last year’s union budget (2012-13) allocated Rs 18,500 crore to the ministry of women and child development (MWCD — one of the key ministries working for women’s welfare). This allocation was an increase of 15 per cent as against a revised estimate of Rs 16,100 crore in the previous year. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Krishna Tirath, minister for women and child development mentioned that the gross total allocations towards gender budget have steadily increased by 38 per cent over the last three years, from Rs 56,857.61 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 78,251.01 crore in 2011-12. Details of funds allocated and released towards various key schemes were also provided. (Refer Table)
THE TIMING’S THE THING
One may argue about the need for more funds for various programs, but what is equally important is their timely release. Schemes such as Ujjawala (where funds are released to NGOs involved in the prevention of women trafficking, rescue and rehabilitation of women) fared better than other schemes where release of funds was lagging.
In this backdrop, Vibhuti Patel, head, post graduate economics, SNDT Women’s University points out: “Very often, allocations made are not released in time — the reasons could vary from faulty design, antipathy and bureaucratic bungling. Consequently, if the funds remain unutilised, in the subsequent year the allocation is slashed and the scheme fails to meet its objectives. There should be proper monitoring of fund allocation and its utilisation. Ideally, unutilised funds should be allowed to be carried forward next year.”
She also points out that the target of 30 per cent gender allocation under all ministries has not yet been achieved and must be immediately implemented. There is a dire need of greater accountability and transparency.
Even measuring outcomes is vital. “In India, owing to comparatively weak indicators for critical goals such as reduced maternal death rates, a high rate of female literacy and increased job participation, a follow through is essential to evaluate the outcomes,” stresses Stotsky.
The draft of the 12th five year plan (2012-17) has called for improving the mechanism of gender budgeting, beginning with bringing all ministries and government departments within its coverage and tabulation of gender specific MIS data. To aid purposive gender budgeting, a new methodology and format is to be drawn up so that all policies and programs are engendered from the initial stage.
“Women groups have been demanding a review of the format of the gender budgeting statement, for quite some time. The format must cover not only 100 per cent women specific schemes, or those where 30 per cent of funds are allocated for women, but also gender neutral schemes — such as those relating to education or employment and show to what extent the same have benefited women,” states Patel.
BETTER HALF PLANNING
The draft plan also calls for ‘gender audits’, which are to be incorporated within the expenditure and performance audits conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG).
Most important of all, this draft states that formal
pre-budget consultations must be undertaken by the Finance Ministry with women’s groups, as is the practice in several countries. In fact, several countries have benefitted by actively involving women groups in the entire gender budgeting process.
For instance, Philippines introduced gender budgeting in 1996. In the initial period, funds meant for women development were allocated by government agencies towards strange causes such as ballroom dancing training for its female staff. Today, aided by two NGOs the process is better understood and properly monitored. In the UK, the Women’s Budget Group , comprising largely of women academicians, plays an important role in policy formulation.
The draft plan also calls for a task force to be set up under the MWCD to review the functioning of gender budget cells and to vet all new laws, policies and programs for gender inclusiveness. “One hopes that these suggestions are adopted and that the coming Union-Budget 2013-14 with appropriate allocation of funds, introduction of suitable schemes, empower women, economically and socially,” sums up Patel.
•

MAHILA EXPRESS: Gender budgeting mechanisms work effectively only if they cover all government departments

 

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#India – Changes in Criminal Law vs Justice Verma Recommendations #Vaw

Changes to law will clearly define unwelcome sexual acts

TNN | Feb 2, 2013, 04.25 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Changes to the criminal law dealing with offences against women cleared by the Cabinet aim to not only add specific new crimes but move the focus from interpreting terms like “modesty of a woman” to clear cut definitions of unwelcome sexual acts.

The government has acted on the Justice J S Verma committee’s view that provisions dealing with sexual assault need to be looked at afresh in the light of the need to cover a range of offences that need a higher degree of punishment.

Intentional contact intended to harass a person or threat of sexual violence will be dealt with under the enhanced definition of sexual assault that seeks to plug loopholes exploited by offenders seeking to argue subjectively on what constitutes “outraging the modesty of a woman”.

The government, however, did not accept the Verma committee’s view on criminalizing marital non-consensual intercourse. The issue of rape by armed forces as a specific category was also not accepted.

The pending Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2012 criminalizes sexual activities between the age of 16 to 18 years with which the Verma committee did not agree. This will mean that once the bill is passed, age of consent will become 18.

Acid attacks, a frequently reported crime often motivated by desire for revenge on an advance being rejected or a relationship souring, are seen in the context of the long-term impairment caused to a victim’s right to live with dignity.

Besides the act of throwing acid on a woman, the permanent or partial damage caused to the victim should be taken into account, the Verma committee had recommended.

Just like acid attacks, public disrobing of women is often resorted to as an act of vengeance for being spurned. Additionally, caste prejudice and women being relatively defenceless victims for enmity harboured with male members of a family also lead to disrobing.

Stalking has been seen by the Verma committee as an act that can curb a woman’s right to freedom of expression and even education in terms of younger victims. The specific offence will deal with acts of electronic intrusion and hacking. It will also address attempts to foist unwelcome attention and threat of violence.

The tough and graded punishments for rape, rape that results in severe physical damage and rape that leads to death are important amendments that have been dealt with. Aggravated rape will be punishable with 20 years jail or life term than will mean till the extent of natural life.

Changes in laws dealing with evidence are particularly significant. The question of moral character will not be put to a woman during cross-examination and there will be a presumption of lack of consent in certain prosecution cases.

Just as moral character will not be factor, neither will the sexual history or experience of a victim be deemed relevant in adjudging whether sexual assault has been committed.

This will mean that if sexual intercourse is established by the prosecution, the issue that will need to be evaluated is one of consent.

JUSTICE VERMA COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS  INDIAN PENAL CODE (1860) 

Accepted | Section 354: Sexual Assault and Punishment for Sexual Assault – Entirely accepted
Accepted in parts | Section 100:
Only Right to Private Defence— Inclusion of an acid attack u/s 326A was accepted and the rest proposed was already existing in the IPC
Not Accepted | Section 376A: 
Sexual abuse by husband upon his wife during separation—Verma Committee wanted to delete it. Was retained by MHA as marital rape was not agreed to.
Accepted | Section 354A: Assault or use of criminal force on woman with intent to disrobe her – Entirely Accepted
Accepted in parts | Section 166A:
Public Servant disobeying direction under law – Directions relating to crimes against women proposed to be made punishable upto only one year against the recommended five years as proposed by Justice Verma Committee. Rest accepted
Not Accepted | Section 376B (1): 
Rape of an Underage Person – Not accepted as the provision is in conflict with the PCSOA, 2012
Accepted | Section 354 B:
Voyeurism – Entirely accepted
Accepted in parts | Section 326A:
Voluntarily causing grievous hurt through use of acid etc. – Female circumcision proposed was not accepted. – Compensation adequate to meet at least the medical expenses incurred by the victim was not accepted. Rest was accepted
Not Accepted | Section 376 B(2) 
Punishment for causing death or a persistent vegetative state in the course of committing rape of an underage person – Death penalty was not recommended
Accepted | Section 354 C (1):
Stalking – Entirely accepted
Accepted in parts | Section 326B:
Voluntarily throwing or attempting to throw acid etc. – Compensation adequate to meet at least the medical expenses incurred by the victim was not accepted. Rest was accepted
Not Accepted | Section 376F: 
Offence of breach of Command Responsibility – Fixes vicarious criminal responsibility on the leader of a force for acts of subordinates. Not accepted
Accepted | Section 354C (2)
Punishment for stalking – Definition entirely accepted
Accepted in parts | Section 375 Rape – Gender Neutrality of the act was not recommended which was not accepted by MHA. The Bill criminalizes the sexual activities between 16 and 18 years which the Verma Committee did not agree. Verma Committee criminalizes marital non-consensual sexual intercourse which is not accepted. Rest of the recommendations were accepted
Accepted | Section 370 Trafficking of a Person – Entirely accepted
Accepted in parts | Section 376 (1) Punishment for Rape – Payment of compensation to the victim was dropped. Rest of the recommendation was accepted
Accepted | Section 370 A Employing a Trafficked Person – Punishment entirely accepted
Accepted in parts | Section 376 (2)
Aggravated Rape – Payment of compensation to the victim was dropped. Rest of the recommendations were accepted
Accepted | Section 376A
(re-numbered as 376B) Sexual intercourse by a Person in Authority – Accepted in full
Accepted in parts | Section 376 (3)
Punishment for causing death or a persistent vegetative state in the course of committing rape – Death penalty was preferred by MHA. Rest of the recommendations were accepted
Accepted | Section 376C Gangrape – Accepted entirely
Accepted in parts | Section 376D
Gang rape causing death or a persistent vegetative state shall be added: Death penalty was preferred by MHA. Rest of the recommendations were accepted
Accepted | Section 376E
Punishment for Repeat Offenders – Accepted entirely
Accepted | Section 509: Repeal accepted as offences covered elsewhere
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE 1973
Accepted | Section 54A: Proviso to Section 54A regarding identification of arrestee by a disabled person – Accepted entirely
Accepted in parts | Proviso to Section 154 Registration of an Offence – Provision to record evidence by police officer at the residence of the person reporting the offence. Mandatory videographing was not agreed to and converted to optional
Not Accepted | Section 39(1) Clause (vb) – Compel communication of information of offence relating to crimes against women to the nearest Magistrate – Not accepted as it is liable to be misused
Accepted | Section 160: No male below 18 and above 65 years and woman or physically disabled shall be required to attend a police station
Accepted in parts | Section 164 (5) (a) and (6)(b) Recording statement by a magistrate – Special assistance for mentally or physically disabled persons to be given by magistrate. Statement of mentally or physically disabled person to be considered sufficient for examination-in-chief and cross examination. However, mandatory videography not agreed to and changed to optional
Not Accepted | Section 40A: 
Intimation by the panchayat member the communication of information of offence relating to crimes against women to the nearest magistrate—Not accepted as it is liable to be misused
Accepted | Section 198B:
Cognizance of an offence u/s 376(1) when persons are in marital relationship
Not Accepted | Section 197(1)
Sanction for prosecution – No
sanction would be required for prosecution of judge or magistrate or public servant if accused of crimes against women. Not agreed to avoid false complaints
Accepted | Proviso to Section 273:
Recording of evidence of a victim below 18 years – Victim will not be confronted by the accused. Accepted in full
Not Accepted | Section 357(4) 
Compensation to victim – Payment of compensation of an amount adequate to meet atleast the medical expenses incurred by the victim. This is not acceptable as the compensation would be very low. The Bill has a better provision
Accepted | Section 327:
Substitution of new offences defined for rape (376A, 376B, 376C, 376D) – Technical formality
THE INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT, 1872
Accepted | Section 53A: Evidence of character of previous sexual experience not relevant in certain cases – Fully accepted
Accepted | Section 114A:
Presumption as to the absence of consent in certain prosecution for sexual assault – Fully accepted
Accepted | Section 119: Dumb witness substituted by ‘persons who are unable to communicate verbally – Fully accepted
Accepted | Proviso in Section 146:
Question regarding the moral character will not be put to the victim during cross examination – Fully accepted
ARMED FORCES (SPECIAL POWERS) ACT, 1958
Not Accepted | Proviso to Section 6: No sanction would be required if the armed force personnel is accused of a crime against woman