Q1. “The institution of marriage will become unstable if marital rape is criminalised.” Analyze the claim critically in light of a recent Supreme Court decision.
Paper & Topic: GS I à Women Empowerment
- Model Answer:
- Introduction:
- According to the NCRB research, a woman in India is sexually assaulted every 16 minutes and subjected to abuse by her in-laws every 4 minutes. According to an analysis of data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015–16, an estimated 99.1% of sexual assault incidents go unreported, and the average Indian woman is 17 times more likely to experience sexual assault from her husband than from other people.
- Body:
- Definition of Domestic Violence:
- An unjust but frequent method of demeaning and undermining women is marital rape, which is the act of forcing your spouse to have sex without proper consent.
- Even though it has been challenged in more than 100 nations today, India is one of just 36 nations that have not yet made marital rape a crime.
- The Indian government should make marital rape a crime, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) advised in 2013.
- The same was advised by the JS Verma committee, which was established in the wake of widespread demonstrations over the December 16, 2012 gang rape case.
- Problems with Indian rape laws regarding marital rape:
- The patriarchal mindset that views women as the property of men after marriage, with no autonomy or power over their bodies, is still prevalent in our nation’s rape laws.
- They deny married women the same legal protections that the Indian constitution guarantees.
- Legislators are unable to comprehend that a marriage should not be regarded as authorising a husband to brutally rape his wife without repercussions. The power over one’s own body belongs to both married and single women.
- In India, the idea of marital rape is the definition of what we mean by “implied consent.”
- It is impossible for marriage to exist between a man and a woman without both parties having given their agreement to sexual activity.
- According to the centre, making marital rape illegal would undermine the institution of marriage and provide harassers unfettered access to husbands.
- It has referenced the SC’s and other HCs’ views over the growing abuse of IPC Section 498A (harassment of a married woman by her husband and in-laws).
- The similar message is also conveyed by the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Six descriptions that collectively make up Section 375 serve to define the crime of rape. The phrase “Sexual intercourse or sexual activities by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, are not rape” is one of the exceptions to this crime.
- Previously, Section 375 (Exception) distinguished between permission granted by a married woman and an unmarried woman as well as between married females who were under the age of 15 and those who were over the age of 15. The Supreme Court correctly overturned this and increased the age to 18.
- Making Marital Rape a Crime:
- The Supreme Court’s decision only went so far in preventing the legalisation of marital rape.
- It is past time for the legislature to recognise this flaw in the law, repeal Section 375 (Exception) of the IPC, and put marital rape under the rape statutes.
- By eliminating this rule, women will be protected from violent spouses, be able to get the recovery support they need after being raped in marriage, and be able to protect themselves from domestic abuse and sexual abuse.
- Indian women should be treated equally, and no one, not even a spouse, should be allowed to violate another person’s human rights.
- Conclusion:
- Regardless of who committed the crime or the victim’s age, rape is rape. When a woman is raped by a stranger, she is left with the recollection of the heinous crime; when a woman is raped by her husband, she is left with the rapist. Even after 73 years of independence, our British-inherited criminal rules have mostly not changed. However, English law has since changed, making marital rape a crime as early as 1991. However, no Indian administration has up till now demonstrated a keen interest in finding a solution.
Q2. The Internet is a valuable tool for improving children’s lives, but it’s crucial to recognise and comprehend the risks.” Examine the effectiveness of the measures taken by India to stop child sex abuse online in light of the statement.
Paper & Topic: GS II à Government Policies and Interventions
- Model Answer:
- Introduction:
- As a result of lockdowns, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) labelled 2021 as the worst year ever for child sexual abuse online. Internet groomers were targeting younger and younger children “on an industrial scale.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, school closings and a shift toward online learning have increased young people’s internet activity.
- Body:
- Child sexual abuse online is on the rise:
- Younger children have become more dependent on the internet during the pandemic, according to child safety experts, and spending more time online may make them more exposed to gangs of criminals who want to find and coerce them into filming their own sexual assault on video. On the open internet, other thieves then distribute the footage.
- Internet usage has increased significantly over the past ten years, not just in India but also globally. India has 624 million internet users in January 2021, an increase of more than 8% over the previous year.
- A UNICEF survey claims that children make up one out of every three internet users worldwide. We don’t have exact figures, but a sizable portion of Indian consumers are also youngsters.
- Online child sexual exploitation and abuse are on the rise in India due to risky behaviour, a lack of parental supervision, the growth of cybercrime, and insufficient safety measures.
- Online grooming, creating and disseminating child sexual abuse materials, and live-streaming abuse are a few examples of this type of abuse and exploitation.
- Cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and exposure to dangerous content are further linked behaviours. When sexual images that have been shared between two persons with consent are spread in public without consent, it is another common kind of abuse.
- Child abuse prevention in India:
- In order to combat violations of children’s rights, laws such as India’s Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act of 2012 (POCSO) and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act have recently been reinforced.
- Due to increased awareness of legal options, there has also been a corresponding rise in the number of child abuse cases filed, which has resulted in more convictions.
- The National Crime Records Bureau also discussed the link between the accused and victims in rape cases in 2016.
- Disclosing incidents Children can report instances of inappropriate touching and molestation online through the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s “e-box” system, which allows them to remain anonymous if they so desire.
- The National Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights receives these reports.
- Inform the police: Legally, police officers must investigate reports of child abuse. Furthermore, it is unlawful to observe suspected child abuse and fail to report it in accordance with the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.
- The number of cases tried has grown since the POCSO Act.
- The parent’s role Children must be taught about unwanted sexual advances or threats, and parents must instil in them the idea of “bad touch” as a means of protection from abuse.
- Children must be taught how their sexuality functions by constant, open, and friendly conversation if they are to avoid unintentionally harassing others.
- Conclusion and next steps:
- Policymakers, law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations, communities, the commercial sector, and specialists must collaborate to create secure online environments for our children and teenagers.
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), an international accord signed by nations in 1989, recognises children’s freedom and choice as well as democracy in learning, and it is concerned with ensuring that children have safer access to the internet.
- The inclusion of digital parenting, parental mediation, children’s education and training in schools, and strong information-technology rules and regulations have all been advised by experts and agencies.
- Parents should be informed of internet safety guidelines and practises, which should be incorporated into teacher training programmes and school curricula.
- Reaching out to kids is also necessary. They must be given the tools and venues they need to ask for assistance when they need it.
- The government must include thorough sexuality education into the academic programmes.
- By doing this, a space will be created where kids, teenagers, and young adults can access knowledge in an age-appropriate way that is based on facts rather than morals.
Q3. India’s experience with current free trade agreements has been mixed up to this point; explain the underlying causes and talk about the best course of action to turn this experience around.
Paper & Topic: GS III à Indian Economy
- Model Answer:
- Introduction:
- Across the 2000s, India signed several Free Trade Agreements (FTA) in Asia that went into effect. A consensus has developed among business leaders and policymakers that these FTAs have not been beneficial to India and have even actively harmed its industry. The effects of FTAs on the Indian economy must therefore be thoroughly examined. There are currently 14 free trade agreements with India.
- Body:
- About Free Trade Agreement:
- A free trade agreement is an agreement between two or more countries to lower import and export restrictions. Under a free trade policy, there are little to no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions that prevent the exchange of products and services across international borders.
- Reasons for India’s FTA’s lacklustre performance:
- Issues with labour laws and regulations for investor protection have an impact on India’s capacity to negotiate deep-trade agreements. Over the past 20 years, deep trade agreements have been developed to support intricate global value chains and the underlying trade-investment-services links.
- These agreements place a heavy emphasis on protecting investors’ interests, protecting intellectual property rights, and upholding labour standards.
- These problems have proven to be challenging for India to resolve in previous free trade deals.
- For instance, labour law concerns caused the FTA negotiations with the EU to be suspended in 2013 and pushed these negotiations until
- Additionally, India may find it challenging to negotiate the investor protection measures due to its 2016 model investment treaty template. because it has certain onerous rules for international investors and is more state-friendly.
- Next, a protectionist tariff system could continue to be a barrier during the initial stages of FTA discussions if it is not rectified.
- In comparison to the typical MFN tariffs in the industrial sector, India’s tariff structure has been significantly higher. For instance, The applicable, weighted mean tariff rate for manufactured goods in India grew from 5.5 percent in 2008 to 6.6 percent in 2019, according to statistics from the World Bank. Vietnam saw a fall from 5.6 percent to 1.4 percent during the same time period.
- The growth of exports was not as anticipated. India exported $23 billion to Asean nations in 2010, and $36 billion in 2018, representing a five percent compound annual growth rate. India’s imports from these nations climbed from $30 billion in 2010 to $57 billion in 2015, an increase of 8%.
- India’s net exports to nations without trade agreements were barely less than its net exports to those with free trade agreements.
- India’s trade deficit was caused by significantly higher imports from nations with which it has trade agreements.
- With the exception of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement, India had a trade deficit in all significant trade agreements (SAFTA).
- Conclusion:
- India shouldn’t think about signing FTAs before its manufacturing and agricultural sectors are ready.
- The goals of other significant macroeconomic policies, such as the National Manufacturing Policy, should be better aligned or coherent with India’s trade policy. All relevant parties, including business associations and organisations that represent micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises as well as civil society and community-based organisations, should be fairly represented in the development and implementation of trade policy.
- Before beginning trade discussions, thorough evaluations of market access and other prospects in potential partner-country markets should be conducted, including analyses of aspects relevant to improving the competitiveness of India’s exports through the proper mix of import intensity.
- After a detailed analysis of how free trade agreements will affect the long-term viability of their economic, social, and environmental systems.
- Analysis of the effects of third-party FTAs on the Indian economy is necessary. Third-party FTAs are those involving two or more nations with which India has substantial commercial links but no free trade agreement.
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