Newswrap

Quick glance of the month.

Gender

List of caution

On October 24, law student, Raya Sarkar, published a list of alleged sexual predators in Indian varsities on Facebook. Predictably, the conversation veered in every direction, and was only in part supportive of those the list sought to caution-the victims, both past and prospective. There were fits thrown as freely as the term "smear campaign" and the feminist movement within the country was fragmented. Centring the voices of women, we ask the affected sex about the importance of this list, "due process" and whether the two can coexist.

Priyamvada Gopal, 49, Academic, University of Cambridge, UK

Such lists are indicative of a degree of desperation and a sign of how rife the problem of humiliating and degrading sexual behaviour is in academia. Due process is highly desirable at all times and we must never lose sight of how important it is, but it is also the case that institutions have failed victims of sex pests at many points. It is also helpful to be cognisant of the fact that most harassment usually takes place in private, and is therefore, not always available to documented proof. The lists are a call for cultural change on a scale which is not necessarily reducible to due process. The entitlement that many powerful heterosexual men feel in relation to the bodies of women must be undone.

Mihira Sood, 33, Lawyer, Delhi

The Sexual Harassment Act suffers serious shortcomings. Organisations are keen to have complaints dismissed for the sake of their reputation and most of the Committee comprise the organisation's employees so they are not independent. The external member's finding counts for little if she is in a minority. Moreover, the external member is also paid by the organisation so her independence is compromised. While I think the law is flawed, I am uncomfortable with anonymous complaints and vague allegations. It deprives an accused of a defence, and opens the door for such guerilla tactics that can be used against vulnerable groups. The Act as it stands is far from 'due process', but the idea of due process is one that protects, rather than oppresses the vulnerable, and that idea should be valued.

Naomi Barton, 25, Digital merchandiser, Penguin India, Delhi

 

The insistence on due process is premised on the idea that due process itself has done enough for oppressed women. As we have seen with our own courts stating that 'a feeble no is not really a no', and acquitting the rapist Mahmood Farooqui, the basis of what constitutes harassment does not centre the idea of believing a victim. This list is what it looks like when women decline to engage with the establishment to protect themselves. Due process has had its way so far and failed. Women are taking accountability into their own hands.