Why sex offenders register may not be enough to curb crime against women

In India, victims of sexual assault are often blamed for the crimes committed against them.

Business Standard : After a series of high-profile rape cases, India launched a national register of sex offenders for the first time in September. Those convicted of sex crimes – including rape and sexual harassment – will now be added to a database, access to which will be given to law enforcement agencies, but not the public.

The aim of the new register is to reduce the number of crimes committed against women in India. But discouraging offences through a register is just part of the answer to improving women’s safety. Cultural attitudes toward sexual assault also need to change, as these can affect whether crimes are reported.

Evidence from other countries with similar sex offender registers is mixed, finding that they don’t seem to have an effect on re-offending rates – though they may stop sex crimes from being committed by people not already on the register. Researchers suggest that one of the reasons for this is the potential cost to offenders of being added to the register, such as difficulty finding jobs and housing.

Offenders will be added to the register only when assaults are reported and a subsequent conviction is made. Globally, the rates of reporting sexual assault to the police vary considerably, from roughly one in five in the UK, to as few as one in 50 in India. In early October, two men were arrested in India for allegedly raping a woman bathing in the Ganges, but their arrests came as a result of a video on social media – the woman did not report the alleged assault.

My colleague Tara Marshall and I conducted a recent study comparing attitudes to sexual assault in Britain and India in an attempt to understand the underlying issues affecting these reporting rates.

Cultural attitudes

In India, victims of sexual assault are often blamed for the crimes committed against them. One of the most high-profile rape cases in India happened in December 2012 when Jyoti Singh, who came to be known as “India’s Daughter”, was gang raped and murdered in Delhi. While there were movements across the country in support of Singh, much of the national conversation about the case blamed her for having been out late at night, and even for fighting back against her attackers.

Such views are a form of “rape myth acceptance” – a set of beliefs which tend to blame victims of sexual assault for having been assaulted.

They include suggesting that if women wear revealing clothes or drink alcohol then they deserve what happens to them. Research suggests that one reason offences are often not reported is because of these victim-blaming beliefs. This is true across the world – but especially in India.... Read More