Fear! Being a mother of three daughters, and a grandmother of five girls, just as a human being — I am afraid. I forced myself to change my habit of reading the newspaper in the morning just for the sake of my mental health. A day without a news report on rape and sexual violence has become a dream for me. Will I be able to close my eyes and experience that day?

Some media houses are the mouthpieces of certain political parties. They can go to the extent of even crucifying the rape victim if the suspected culprit is from their own political party. This is what happens if a pillar of the democracy is owned by certain interest groups. …

This is my message to journalists: I realise you are just doing your job, and this is your bread and butter. But kindly stop killing victims of sexual violence again with your verbal violence. Handle sensitive issues with a bit empathy. Report the truth, without exaggerations — use your heart, not your journalistic brain.

I am in a state of passive acceptance now about the growing rate of violence against women. It does not shock me anymore. Every time I expose myself to the news media, it is a reality check for me. …

Even though I am from a generation that predominantly depends on social media, I am very much into reading newspaper in the morning, and watching the prime time news shows in the evening.

I request all media houses to stop underestimating ordinary people. We are fully cognisant you are just bringing in the rape and sexual violence cases only for the sake of ratings and nothing beyond that.

Where are the follow-up stories? Most of the media houses today report rape and sexual violence cases because it has some ‘masala’ elements that hook consumers. Or else they would have done follow-up stories to dig into the issue and contribute to the nation and its people. …