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Three days after the gangrape of a student outside the Maulana Azad Medical College, the National Commission for Women said on Monday that women are not safe on the campuses in Delhi.
"Whether we like it or not, girl students are not secure on the campuses. It is ironical that on the one hand we talk about the empowerment of women and their education, and on the other hand female students are not secure on their campuses, not to mention the streets," NCW chairperson Poornima Advani told rediff.com.
An NCW team had visited the Maulana Azad Medical College, she said. "Female students there told our team that a group had threatened them ... [the students] complained to the college authorities, but they did not take the complaint seriously," she added.
The students have said there is no adequate security at the campus, which has become a thoroughfare.
"The lack of adequate security is glaring. Police should enhance the security cover on campuses," she said.
The commission plans to meet principals and heads of educational institutions to discuss the security situation.
The NCW chairperson, however, could not put a finger on the reasons behind the increase in the number of criminal assaults on women in Delhi.
The focus on rape cases should be on "victimology" rather than "criminology", she said, adding the support mechanism for victims is weak.
"The conviction of the perpetrators apart, the societal response to the trauma of the victim is very important. It is important for the society to be compassionate towards a rape victim and understand how does rape affects the life of a woman," Advani, who used to teach Criminal Law at Mumbai University, said.
Till recently, the court considered the character of a victim and they were put through gruelling, personal questions during the trial, she said.
"It is important to have an in-camera trial," she said, adding that the defence lawyers should not be allowed to ask questions that will make her relive the trauma.
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