A question begs to be asked in the light of the increasingly shame-filled incidents of unchecked rapes in the country.

‘Will public flogging make an effective difference to the growing & seemingly unchecked menace of wanton rapists in the capital and other parts of the country?’

These crimes hurt every citizen of this country, as well as the way the world sees us, causing us to hang our heads in shame. Unfortunately the growing rhetoric in favour of capital punishment for rapists does not seem to serve as a deterrent, as evidence suggests otherwise. The steady rise in violent crimes which comes under the purview of IPC Section 302 (death by hanging) seems to suggest perhaps the death penalty may not be the ideal solution at hand.

Interestingly, there are a number of cases where rapists have been sentenced to incarceration with no effect. In fact quite a few convicts have come out on parole to repeat the offense for which they were incarcerated in the first place. So how is incarceration rehabilitating the barbaric mentality of the rapist?

Sentencing a rapist to life imprisonment without parole may seem like a solution; but it I feel that it provides them a way to hide in anonymity having done the dastardly deeds. Rapists are taken to court with their faces covered by black cloth, of course this is to ensure that the falsely accused does not face social stigma if acquitted. But then once a rapist is convicted (which tends to take time in the judicial process) the media has lost much interest and they hardly find their heinous faces publicized to shame. Even when such convicts get parole they simply merge back into the society and those who have served their term may move to another part of the country to regain the cloak of anonymity.

In the US, the law demands that a person convicted of child sex offender & released back into society has to declare his presence when he moves into a neighbourhood.  But do we have any mechanism to monitor such predators or “in-human” species to perhaps warn society in case of a relapse? Why should rapists be provided this dignity of staying anonymous when the victims who have lost much more, do not enjoy this basic right?

Human Right Activists might proclaim the whole idea of jail-time is rehabilitation. But then our jail systems are unfortunately not set-up to be a place of rehabilitation. Meanwhile, rapists are “integrated” back into the society having graduated to commit their sins with newly acquired professional skills that allow them to find loopholes or get away with impunity.

This author believes that if a convicted rapist can be publicly flogged and repeat offenders are branded as ‘Rapist’ on a visible part of the body, it might prove to be a better deterrent. With prisons overflowing and the wait list to the green mile is increasingly longer, flogging & corporal branding could perhaps be the social restraint we may be looking for? What do you think?