INDIA: Teachers accused of sexually harassing female students in Gujarat

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Navsarjan, an NGO working for the rights of Dalits in Gujarat, about the case of sexual harassment of a Dalit female student and 58 other female students of the Primary Teacher’s Training (PTC) College–an all-women’s college in Patan, Gujarat. For many years, the college had an all male staff, including the college Principal. The Dalit victim comes from an economically poor background; her father earns his living as an agricultural labourer. Despite clear guidelines from the Supreme Court to address sexual harassment at the workplace, there is no grievance redressal mechanism in place at the college.

CASE DETAILS:

A female Dalit student (name withheld) of the Primary Teacher’s Training (PTC) College in Patan, Gujarat was repeatedly gang-raped and sexually assaulted over a period of four months, from 11 September 2007 to 25 January 2008, by six male teachers of the college. Soon after the victim courageously spoke out against the sexual abuse, 58 other students also complained of sexual harassment by the six male teachers over the past years.

A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on 4 February 2008 at the Patan Police Station, and the perpetrators were remanded to judicial custody the same day. However, once the victim lodged her complaint against the perpetrators, she faced a new battle with the justice and healthcare systems of Gujarat. Both failed to provide support to the victim in many instances.

The police registered the victim’s complaint with incorrect facts, failing to consider the traumatised state in which the victim was relaying information. The police also failed to recognise and record the gravity of the crimes committed by the public servants and framed minimal charges against them. Furthermore, the Chief Minister ordered the District Magistrate to conduct an inquiry wherein the Magistrate interrogated the victims and their parents for hours with questions, many of which they had already been asked under the police investigation. When the head of the parent’s association of the Patan P.T.C. College, Mr. Gemar Choudhary, challenged the District Magistrate’s onerous method of interrogation, he was threatened by both the District Magistrate and State Home Minister.

The Government of Gujarat is also delaying the investigation of the case. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 requires that the investigation of an atrocity be completed within 30 days of filing the complaint. However, 52 days passed before the state appointed the CID, a state investigation agency, to investigate the case. The delay in investigation will adversely affect the case and has increased the probability that the perpetrators will be released on bail.

Additionally, according to Section 3 (1) xi of the Act “Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe:- … (xi) assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with the intent to dishonor or outrage her modesty;
(xii) being in a position to dominate the will of a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and uses that position to exploit her sexually to which she would not have otherwise agreed; … shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine.”

According to Rule 7(1) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995 the investigation of offence committed under the SC/ST Act cannot be investigated by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy. SP). However, this case was initially investigated by a senior officer, the District Superintendent of Police (SP) in Patan. Mr. Raghvendra Vats, the SP who did a commendable job of immediately arresting the six perpetrators, has been transferred from his post.

At the Meghani Nagar Civil Hospital where the victim was admitted, she was made to wait outside for three hours despite her traumatised state. There was no available female doctor, so a male gynecologist examined the victim despite the fact that after suffering such severe sexual abuses, the mere touch of a man made her scream. Overall, the victim has not been given either proper medical treatment or trauma counseling to alleviate her suffering.

The Government of Gujarat awarded the victim 1,00,000 INR (USD 2500) as an interim compensatory relief. The National Commission for Women considers this insufficient compensation.

Despite some superficial changes of staff, the conditions for the students of PTC College, Patan have not improved. The new female principal, Ms. Jamna Patel, accused the girls of creating a nuisance by voicing their complaints. She lectured the students, claiming that it was their bad behaviour that enticed the male teachers to sexually abuse them. Jamna Patel is the wife of the Director of the District Education Department for primary education in Patan. The college has been temporarily closed since 4 February 2008.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

A majority of the sexually abused students of the PTC College, Patan hail from economically poor families and belong to low caste communities. Professional training would give them better chances for employment as school teachers. The local publicity of this atrocity has increased the fear of many parents from economically and socially backward communities to allow their daughters to pursue higher education which is compatible to the lifestyle and ethos of the economically poor and socially backward communities of Gujarat. It is estimated that many similar stories go unreported, and therefore unchecked, because they could adversely affect the prospects of a bright future for lower-middle class and poor women.

The PTC College is a government-run all women’s college. The entire teaching staff, including the principal, was male. Despite Supreme Court guidelines to protect sexual harassment of women at the workplace and other institutions, no complaint mechanism was put in place in the college. In 1997, one female teacher was appointed to teach at the PTC College. When this teacher learned of the sexually abusive behaviour of male staff towards the students, she complained to the principal. However, instead of resulting in an investigation of the matter, the female teacher was transferred to another school.

The male teachers threatened to give low marks in the internal examination to those who complained against their misconduct. The internal marking system which is an important component of the examination and evaluation system in teachers’ training colleges has essentially served as a weapon in the hands of perpetrators of such heinous crimes against female students. The teachers at the PTC College, Patan succeeded in suppressing their victims’ complaints using such threats since low marks have the potential of ruining a student’s future prospects of an independent livelihood. These threats from teachers who are expected to be educators, mentors and moral guides further deterred the students from lodging any complaints; as a result, they silently suffered the abuse.

Two years ago, the Gujarat Council for Educational Research and Training recommended to the state department that it reduce the weight given to internal marks in the evaluation system. However, no changes were effected in response to this recommendation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

There is no policy in place in Gujarat ensuring female staff in colleges, even in all women’s colleges. Furthermore, there are generally no grievance redressal mechanisms for victims of sexual harassment, abuse and rape. Where such mechanisms do exist, the government has made very little effort to disseminate relevant information to staff and students. This violates the orders handed down by the Supreme Court of India in Vishaka & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (All India Reporter 1997 SC 3011) which states,

“It shall be the duty of the employer or other responsible persons in work places or other institutions to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required.”

Known as the Vishaka Judgment Guidelines, the Supreme Court developed specific guidelines for preventing and redressing cases of sexual harassment.

The victim is a Dalit and four of the six perpetrators of the crime belong to a higher caste. The state of Gujarat is ranked 3rd in the nation in terms of the number of atrocities committed against Dalits, despite being ranked 14th in terms of the number of Dalit residents.

For further information regarding this case please contact Ms. Manjula Pradeep, Navsarjan, 2, Ruchit Apartments, Behind Dharnidhar Derasar, Opposite Gurushikhar Society, Vasna, Ahmedabad-380007, Gujarat, India. Ms. Manjula Pradeep could be contacted at +912717-324323/325937. Her email ID is manjula.hp@gmail.com and cdhr.navsarjan@gmail.com

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities mentioned below expressing your concern in the case. Please urge the relevant authorities to prevent the recurrence of such heinous crimes against women.

The AHRC has also written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women calling for an intervention in this case to protect the integrity of the Patan rape victim. The AHRC further urges the Special Rapporteur to appeal to the government to ensure that the victim receives appropriate and gender-sensitive physical and psychological protection, treatment and justice according to the rule of law. The AHRC additionally urges the Special Rapporteur to send an appeal to the Government of Gujarat to implement necessary measures to protect girls and women studying in Gujarat from such atrocities.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER