Ten Years Since Nirbhaya: A Critical Analysis of Retributive Justice in Addressing Sexual Violence

Abstract

Following the infamous Nirbhaya gang rape incident in December, 2012, a host of rape law reforms were introduced in India, including stringent punishment and death penalty under the Criminal Law Amendment Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. This article questions the effectiveness of such punitive measures in dealing with sexual violence. While, the legislative reforms offer tougher sentencing, they place less emphasis on victims’ rights and also tend to ignore the social context in which sexual violence occurs. The present paper offers the critique of punitive populism of the legislation through four discourses: Rape as ‘loss of honour’, Rapists as a ‘monster’ syndrome, Perspectives of victimsurvivors and Retributive justice and marginalised identities. By exploring victim-survivors’ participation, restorative and transformational practices and acknowledging the larger socio-cultural context in which sexual violence takes place, this article sheds light on a range of strategies to address sexual violence from the perspectives of victims.