Amidst concerns over the safety of victims in the alleged multiple instances of sexual abuse by “absconding” Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, a meeting of women activists, advocates, writers from the civil society demanded that the State government should provide security to all victims, not just those who complain.
They also demanded that the State government appeal against the special court’s order granting bail to senior JD(S) leader H.D. Revanna, who is accused of abducting one of the victims, to allegedly prevent her from testifying against his son.
The Akhila Bharatha Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane had organised a meeting on Thursday evening, which saw the State’s gender and sexual minority union, Dalit, farmer, labour, lawyer, employee and student organisations participate. It was also decided in the meeting to organise a rally in Hassan on May 30 to reach out to all those who have been afflicted by the cases in the district.
“We want the government to assure the victims who have already given complaints and those who would want to in the coming days, of their security. We also want the Central government to exacerbate its efforts to bring Prajwal Revanna back to the country,” said K.S. Vimala of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA).
Nagalakshmi Chaudhary, Chairperson of the State Women’s Commission, spoke about the need to develop sensitivity towards victims among the police forces. She said many sexual abuse victims often told her that they felt blamed and alienated in police stations. She said there was a need to allocate monetary resources for the victim protection scheme, as well as a female-centric perspective on extending political support to the victims.
