Sexual violence in India has deep, complex roots that extend beyond the image of a lone predator attacking in isolation. Marital rape, an often-ignored facet of this issue, exemplifies how male entitlement within households strips away a woman’s autonomy and consent. The iconic film *Bandit Queen* poignantly reflects this reality, where the subjugation of women’s bodies in marriage echoes broader societal patterns of gendered and caste-based domination. Here, gendered violence is not just a violation of the individual but a mechanism of maintaining broader structures of power.
Recent cases like the 2017 Unnao rape or the 2020 Hathras rape vividly illustrate how perpetrators connected to political power operate with impunity, believing that their political ties or social status will shield them from consequences. These men take higher risks because they perceive themselves as untouchable. The Unnao case, where the perpetrator was a sitting legislator, is a glaring example of how political connections provide a sense of invincibility. Similarly, alcohol or substance abuse often fuels this entitlement, making perpetrators less likely to fear repercussions.
The theory of dehumanization, as proposed by Kurt Gray, adds a critical layer to understanding sexual violence, particularly in the context of how victims are perceived. Gray’s theory suggests that dehumanization occurs when individuals are seen as less than human, stripped of moral worth, and reduced to mere objects of domination. In India, this manifests vividly in caste-based sexual violence, where lower-caste women, especially Dalit women, are often dehumanized not only as women but also as members of a historically marginalized community. This dual form of oppression renders them especially vulnerable to sexual violence, and perpetrators often believe that these victims are “less worthy” of empathy or justice.
This dehumanization extends beyond gender-based violence to other forms of mob brutality, particularly those driven by religious and caste-based purity narratives. Mob lynching in India, often carried out in the name of “protecting” religious or caste-based purity, mirrors the same dynamics of dehumanization. For instance, in many instances of cow-related mob lynching, victims are perceived as “impure” due to their consumption or handling of beef, which in turn justifies their brutalization in the eyes of the perpetrators. These attacks are not only about physical violence but about reinforcing social hierarchies and the perceived purity of certain groups over others.
Sexual violence against Dalit women also bears striking similarities to these forms of dehumanization. In cases like the Hathras rape, where the victim was a Dalit, caste status played a significant role in how the case was mishandled. The victim’s caste identity not only made her more vulnerable to such an attack but also contributed to the indifference shown by authorities, who initially attempted to cover up the crime.
Addressing rape, then, cannot be confined to mere legal solutions. While legal reforms, such as the 2013 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, have been enacted in response to the 2012 Delhi gang rape, they do little to confront the underlying social and political forces that fuel this violence. Patriarchal norms, caste oppression, and systemic inequalities continue to foster environments where vulnerable communities are dehumanized and left without protection.
In both sexual violence and mob lynching, the key challenge lies in dismantling these dehumanizing ideologies, which are deeply embedded in India’s social fabric. Legal reforms alone cannot achieve this. Instead, the fight against such violence must target the cultural and political forces that normalize male entitlement, caste hierarchies, and religious purity narratives. Only by confronting these deeper societal structures can India hope to address the root causes of sexual violence and other forms of brutality, ensuring justice and dignity for all its citizens, regardless of gender, caste, or creed.
