Rape - whose fault is it? - An analytical study

Fights of any kind has a winner and a loser. One gloats at the end and the other walks away a little less confidently. Last week I found out that there is a fight that can never have a clear winner, as neither contestant will ever give in. An "over-possessive" father (as claimed by the other contestant) and a teenage feminist daughter (as claimed by the father).

The catalytic incident.
Prathiba, a call-center employee at Hewlett Packard (HP) receives a call from accused cab driver Shiva at about 12.40 am on Dec 13. She leaves home with him at 1 am in a Tata Sumo; a few minutes later Jagadeesh, the regular driver on her route, calls. She says she is on her way to office. She makes futile attempts to call her husband before being raped at about 2 am. Shiva snatches her phone and removes the sim card. She tries to raise an alarm, he panics and slits her throat. Police trace the body on the night of Dec 15. Read more here...

The argument started as a discussion of the above incident, but soon progressed into this...

The Father's opening statement:
Women, these days, invite trouble by wearing skimpy and revealing clothes.

The now seething daughter's opening statement:
Rubbish. All men are degenerates.

I watched the ball roll from person to person, a father's worry, a daughter's independence. It's the girl's fault, it's the man's fault. Girls can wear what they want, men should control themselves. Men will be men, girls shouldn't entice them. the arguments unending, each right in their own way. It's an old argument, one that's existed from the first rape and one that's not about to end anytime soon. I am no VIP, my thoughts and statements are not influential, but here are my two cents.

Fact 1: The primary purpose of life is to live and protect life itself.
Fact 2: Life is a risk. The rate of survival is directly related to our actions and the events surrounding us. 90% of events result from our actions and 10% result from actions beyond our circle of control.
Fact 3: Girl's will wear what they want. Restrictions on their decisions are a breach of their basic right.
Fact 4: Men will be men. They will have their urges. - Girls should realize here that this is not a fault yet. Thinking, imagining, looking. An urge is an EMOTION and it is not a crime.
Fact 5: Almost all men are turned on by women.
Fact 6: The degree of and reason for turn on is dependent on individuals. It is fair to assume that more men are turned on by women in sexy clothes than by women in tracks and a sweatshirt two sizes too big. Girls should realize this is still not a crime.
Fact 7: Some men will act on their urges. This is where the problem arises. This is the CRIME. Having an urge is vastly different from acting on it. One is an inherited reflex the other is conditioned.
Corollary from Fact 4 and Fact 7: Girls will be raped.
Fact 8: If a girl is raped, it is NEVER the girl's fault, no matter what she did, spoke or wore. The man is to bear the COMPLETE blame.

But wait, let's draw a diagram.


















From the diagram above, it is the intersection of Area 1 and Area 2 that causes a problem and that is the area of risk.

Using Fact 1 and Fact 2, we arrive at an objective function.
MINIMIZE risk of harm and death to women.

Being human we have a few constraints.
1. Men must be turned on. This is the basic assumption of procreation. Blue circle can't be NULL.
2. Women will look for men. Another basic assumption of procreation. Pink circle can't be NULL.

Non - negativity conditions.
1. Men and women must exist. We can't have a world with just one.

Now that we have defined the problem, let's find a solution.
It is obvious that eliminating Area 1 is a perfect solution. It is also obvious that eliminating Area 2 is also a perfect solution. Unfortunately, neither is possible. We can't eliminate, only minimize and both must be minimized in parallel.

We can minimize Area 1 by...
1. Education. - conduct workshops, teach men to respect women and their rights, teach them to realize that their actions have severe consequences.
2. Assign Blame. - the blame is not to be split. It is the Man's fault if a girl is raped.
3. Instill Fear - punish those who violate the law, and act on their urges without consent, with severity. Hang them. The law takes years to convict and punish. Hasten the process. Practice due diligence, conduct the investigation, but once guilt is established, dispel justice immediately.

Girl's should however realize that the above is not enough. It is their life at risk, and it is thus their duty to ensure survival. Thus they should in parallel, act responsibly.
Minimize Area 2, do not wear skimpy clothes and go to places that harbor trouble. Be your own judge, but be wise. My mother raised a point about women who are lewd and do set a bad example for all women. These women are only increasing the risk for every girl. Stay away. Feel comfortable and confident but make sure you do nothing that you will regret.

At the end, it is a simple equation of balancing risk. While the law is constantly striving to reduce Area 1, and make it safe, women must make it their priority too. If Area 1 increases, Area 2 should decrease, if Area 1 decreases, Area 2 can afford to be increased.

Choice of clothes is every girl's prerogative, similarly, worry, is every fathers.