Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has opposed the bail granted to actor-producer Vijay Babu in the alleged sexual assault of an actor, while reminding that the hurdles that stand in the way of a survivor proving her truth are just as monstrous as the crime itself.
A social media post by WCC said that the aggressive pattern used by the perpetrators to silence the voices of survivors needed to be recognised here. The National Crime Records Bureau reports that less than 28% of rape cases under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code lead to conviction, it said.
Reiterating its support to the survivor, the organisation recalled that there had been police cases filed against Mr. Vijay Babu by women closely associated with him. He travelled abroad and absconded law from April 24 to June 1 by evading arrest after the survivor filed a police complaint against him.
He had revealed the complainant’s name on social media, shaming and intimidating her. He later deleted the video and allegedly tried to influence her to withdraw her complaint. “The legal framework of our country provides every citizen the right to complain to the police when a crime is committed against them. It also provides the complainant the right to privacy under Section 228A in the case of sexual assault,” it said.
