SENATE RESOLUTION NO 23 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 216TH

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SR23

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 23

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

216th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED JANUARY 27, 2014

Sponsored by:

Senator JENNIFER BECK

District 11 (Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS

Urges Indian government to take steps to prevent sexual violence against women.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

SENATE RESOLUTION NO 23 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 216TH

A Senate Resolution urging Indian government to take steps to prevent sexual violence against women.

Whereas, The horrific sexual attack and subsequent death of a young woman in New Delhi on December 16, 2012 has prompted angry protests in India over the country's treatment of women and the law enforcement community's handling of sexual assaults; and

Whereas, The attack has also provoked worldwide outrage over the pervasiveness of sexual violence against women in Indian society; and

Whereas, According to Indian crime statistics, more than 24,000 rapes occurred in 2011. This is equal to approximately one rape every 22 minutes; and

Whereas, Although violence against Indian women is widespread, the scope of such violence is unknown. Only one-tenth of all incidents of sexual assault in the country are reported to law enforcement authorities; and

Whereas, According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, South Asia has one of the lowest ratios of police officers to civilians in the world. India and the rest of the region has the fewest number of criminal prosecutors as a percentage of its population; and

Whereas, Most of India's laws on rape and sexual assault were inherited from the country's former British colonial rulers and date to 1860; and

Whereas, As a result, Indian laws only address rape and two other crimes dealing with a woman's "chastity and modesty", and do not include provisions that criminalize acts of stalking, sexual harassment, groping, or marital rape for victims over the age of 15; and

Whereas, Highly publicized sexual assault cases in 1983 and 2003 pressured the Indian government to amend the country's laws concerning sexual violence. However, loopholes still remain in the laws that further traumatize victims and allow perpetrators to escape criminal prosecution; and

Whereas, In the wake of the national protests following the New Delhi attack, a judicial committee was created by the Indian government. The Verma Committee, headed by India's former Chief Justice J.S. Verma, issued a report on January 23, 2013; and

Whereas, The report castigated Indian politicians, police, and the military for failing to protect women and children, and called for far-reaching changes in the way the country deals with sexual violence against women; and

Whereas, The Verma Committee received over 80,000 suggestions from women's rights activists, lawyers, and ordinary citizens on how to transform the country's criminal justice system and its treatment of women who are victims of sexual violence; and

Whereas, Specifically, the committee recommended that the Indian government: strictly enforce sexual assault laws; update the laws to include crimes such as sexual harassment, groping, stalking, voyeurism, marital rape, and sexual assault on gay, lesbian, transgender, and transsexual victims; appoint more judges to lessen the backlog of sexual assault cases and ensure speedy trials; establish a uniform protocol for the treatment and medical examination of rape survivors; and adopt a "Women's Bill of Rights"; and

Whereas, The committee also called for an end to political interference in sexual assault cases, and recommended that the government punish police and other law enforcement officials who fail to act against the perpetrators of sexually violent crimes; and

Whereas, Although India's Interior Minister has called for changes in law enforcement, including increasing the number of women officers in New Delhi police stations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not commented on what the government will do with the committee's recommendations; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Senate urges Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Parliament of India to take the recommendations presented by the Verma Committee and translate them into laws that will prevent sexual violence against women and reform how law enforcement agencies treat rape victims and the perpetrators of sexual crimes.

2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary of the Senate, shall be transmitted to the Prime Minister of India, the President of India, the Parliament of India, and the Embassy of India in the United States.

STATEMENT

This resolution urges Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Parliament of India to take the recommendations presented by the Verma Committee and translate them into laws that will prevent sexual violence against women and reform how law enforcement agencies treat rape victims and the perpetrators of sexual crimes.

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