I Think: Listening to potential rapists can help us make a change
Agamya Sharma, forensic science student, New Delhi
I don’t have the time to read newspapers every day, but I do go through news updates online and on social media. I read the entire story when it’s about rape or any other act of sexual violence.
I believe rape is a psychological problem. It’s a disease that needs a cure, and only we as a society can find it. These days we hear even of goats and cows getting raped by men. You tell me, can any healthy mind commit such an act?
We as a society need to bear collective responsibility, even though an individual is culpable for each act. This is where the media can play a great role. Instead of just presenting facts to us, the media has to lead the way in effecting social reform.
We are bad at communicating, as a society. We see mental health issues as ‘pagalpan’ — madness, and nothing more. The media has the ability to change this. I think the media should present rape as a mental problem rather than a crime.
We have to stop judging people on the basis of what they think. We should be all ears to people, especially men because they rarely open up. If you find someone with a sick mentality towards women, listen to them, tell them why it’s wrong and make sure they never say such things again. It may be that nobody cared enough to tell him that he is wrong. Every individual has the responsibility to try and change the mentality of anyone who is potentially going in the wrong direction. Just cursing or slapping him for what he said won’t make any difference.
We have to change men from within. For that, the women of this country have to take the initiative of listening to men for anything they want to share. That way, we can turn some potential rapists towards psychiatric help.
The media should conduct talk shows and spread awareness about rape as a psychological problem. It should try bringing the change by giving people a platform to speak. The media should also try to close the gaps in sex education via discussions and talk shows.
