What to know as thousands protest against sexual violence in India

NEW DELHI – Indian medical workers began a nationwide strike on Saturday to protest the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a government hospital in the state of West Bengal.

Saturday’s strike was called by the country’s largest doctors’ group, the Indian Medical Association, which said all non-essential hospital services would be shut down across the country for 24 hours.

The work stoppage affected thousands of patients in India. The protests – mostly led by women – have intensified in recent days, demanding a safer working environment.

Here’s what you need to know.

A trainee doctor was killed

On August 9, police discovered the bloody body of the 31-year-old intern doctor at the seminar hall of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in east Kolkata.

A police volunteer who worked at the hospital was detained in connection with the murder, but the victim’s family claims it was a gang rape and several people were involved. An autopsy confirmed sexual assault.

The case is being investigated by federal investigators after state government officials were accused of mishandling the investigation.

On Wednesday night, thousands of women across the country took to the streets to demand justice for the victim as they took part in “Reclaim The Night” marches. Some protesters demanded that the perpetrators of the crime be given the death penalty.

Protesters want justice and safety

Thousands of medical workers in India are demanding justice for the victim and a guarantee of safety for doctors and paramedics in hospitals and medical campuses. Many of them have suspended all but emergency treatment, with more such strikes planned over the weekend.

Doctors say the attack highlights the vulnerability of doctors working without adequate safety facilities in hospitals and medical campuses across India.

The Indian Medical Association called for public support in its “fight for justice” and called the killing a “crime of barbaric magnitude due to lack of safe spaces for women”.

The doctors are also calling for stricter laws to protect them from violence, including making any attack on doctors on duty a non-bailable offence.

India has a history of sexual violence against women

Sexual violence against women is a widespread problem in India.

Many cases of crimes against women go unreported in India due to the stigmatization of sexual violence as well as a lack of trust in the police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where the community sometimes shames victims of sexual assault and families worry about their social status.

However, the number of rape cases registered in the country has increased. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape – a 20% increase on 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

In 2012, the gang-rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi sparked massive protests across India. It inspired lawmakers to mandate tougher penalties for such crimes, as well as the creation of fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.

The amended rape law in 2013 also criminalized stalking and voyeurism and lowered the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.