Indian authorities must take strong action to prevent and punish sexual violence against women in India

The European Parliament is set to call on the Indian authorities today to ensure the proper implementation and execution of laws allowing the appropriate protection of women and girls against sexual discrimination, abuse and violence.

Condemning the death of a 23 year-old Delhi student gangraped in December in a moving bus in the Indian capital, as well as several other brutal rapes that occurred thereafter in Indian cities, MEPs from several political groups expressed their deepest solidarity with victims and condemned all forms of sexual violence in a Joint Resolution to be voted in plenary this afternoon. The draft Resolution stresses that a rape is reported every 21 minutes in India, in most cases, the offenders remain unpunished and victims discouraged by the lack of legal intervention for bringing charges against the rapists.

"This level of violence should never occur in a country which is a democracy and which has important relations with the European Union. Indian judicial and police authorities should put more effort and resources into prosecuting such crimes in due time. Public authorities should ensure the adequate services for sexual assault survivors, including prompt police response, access to healthcare, counselling and other support services", stressed EPP Group MEPs Lena Kolarska-Bobińska and Elisabeth Jeggle, Co-Rapporteurs of the Resolution.

There were more than 24,000 reported cases of rape in 2011. The Indian police is aware of the level of this crime however it fails to defend women. Out of 635 cases of rape reported in 2012 in New Dehli, only one led to a conviction, the Resolutions notes.

India has recently been ranked as the worst of the major countries in which to be a woman. Sexual violence is deeply rooted in low esteem and a lower position of women in Indian society. "Therefore the legal protection alone will not be enough to end the violence against women and girls. It also requires a societal change both in India and around the world", the MEPs concluded.