What porn has to do with the post-Nirbhaya world

ON December 16, 2012, the brutal gang-rape of a young physiotherapy student on a moving bus in Delhi became the turning point for India. The girl died, and the tragedy sparked protests and demands for justice, pushing for better legal protection for women.

Named 'Nirbhaya', her death shook the country's conscience. The tragedy forced policymakers to confront the inadequacies in laws addressing sexual violence. Long-debated reforms were, finally, prioritised as the case became the catalyst for overhauling legal frameworks to ensure better protection, justice and accountability for crimes against women.

Following the Nirbhaya tragedy, the Indian government passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, expanding the definition of sexual violence to include stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks. It also increased the penalty for rape, including life imprisonment and death penalty for repeat offenders. Fast-track courts were introduced and an amendment in the 2015 Juvenile Justice Act allowed minors aged 16-18 committing heinous crimes to be tried as adults. A Nirbhaya Fund was created for the implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security of women, such as installing CCTVs at public places.

The 2017 Unnao rape case and the 2018 Kathua rape and murder case demonstrated the potential of fast-track courts to lead to convictions. But the 2020 Hathras gang-rape revealed that challenges still persisted in achieving impartial justice.

Today, 12 years after the Nirbhaya case, despite various legal reforms, women face persistent sexual violence. In August this year, a doctor was raped and killed at a hospital in Kolkata, while a seven-month-old girl was brutally raped earlier this month, again in Kolkata. This tragic reality signals a profound societal failure.

It is not easy to pinpoint any particular reason behind the continued sexual crimes against women and even babies. A complex interplay of social, cultural, economic and systemic factors is behind it — from the deep-rooted patriarchy perpetuating harmful gender norms to devaluing women as subordinates to men; from the lack of open conversations about healthy sexual relationships to the absence of comprehensive sex education; from delayed investigations, low conviction rates and insensitive handling of cases to under-reporting of such cases due to social stigma; from substance abuse to rapid urbanisation, migration and weakening of community ties; from social isolation and anonymity in urban settings to unemployment and economic inequalities. All these factors can create frustration and aggression, sometimes leading to acts of sexual violence.

Another contributing factor is the rapid digitisation and low-cost or free accessibility of pornographic material. A study published in the 'Indian Journal of Public Health' points out that India, with 12 per cent of the websites devoted to pornography, ranks third in porn consumption globally. Excessive consumption of porn has become a pressing public health concern, with research pointing to its correlation with sexual crimes.

A study by the UK Government's Equality Office in 2020 found that though harmful attitudes toward women are influenced by multiple factors, a key reason was pornography. Many researchers consider it to be a significant contributor to harmful sexual beliefs and behaviours in high-risk individuals.

Understanding this relationship requires the examination of pornography consumption. Viewing too much pornographic content leads to desensitisation. It makes the content mundane and commonplace, leading to increased exposure time and a quest for more hard-core content. It also leads to a detachment from reality and lack of differentiation between the real and the virtual.

Whether pornographic content affects sexual aggression has been debated for decades. Since complex multiple factors contribute to deviant behaviour, blaming pornography alone oversimplifies the issue and diverts attention from the systemic causes. However, one certainly cannot ignore pornography as a key factor.

Research on rape culture has focused on understanding the acquisition of attitudes, behaviours and norms associated with violence against women. While many of these factors are more influential than pornography, it is often pornography's interaction with these factors and their exacerbation that heightens its impact. Certain types of pornography, particularly those depicting violence or non-consensual acts, may normalise aggression and perpetuate misogynistic views.

Frequent consumption of such material can desensitise viewers to violence and blur the understanding of consent in a relationship. For individuals with a predisposition towards violent or harmful behaviour, pornography can act as a trigger, reinforcing these tendencies. Exposure to pornography that objectifies women can increase the acceptance of rape myths and play a significant role in shaping attitudes linked to the perpetuation of 'rape culture'.

The myths associated with rape promote the idea that rape is usually avoidable if certain precautions are taken. The onus of "don't get raped" is thrust upon women (as opposed to "don't rape" upon men). And, this self-protective ideal lends itself comfortably to blaming the victim and absolving the perpetrator.

Urgent government action is needed to address this menace. The steps required to be taken include the regulation of free pornographic websites and issuance of trigger warnings as also seeking proof of age for access to such sites and holding awareness campaigns and supervised discussions on consent and respectful relationships. Introducing media and digital literacy in educational institutions, adult education classes, institutions of open and lifelong learning and community and vocational education can further equip students to evaluate harmful content critically.

As we honour Nirbhaya's memory, her legacy demands more than symbolic gestures. Strong laws must be enforced and efforts to inculcate gender sensitivity amongst all stakeholders must continue. Justice-focused narratives should dominate the media, countering misinformation and fostering accountability. The government should commission research studies to find reasons behind the persistence of rape cases. The transformation journey requires a collective effort towards creating a society where every citizen feels safe and no girl has to pay with her life and be named 'Nirbhaya' again.