India: Activist targeted for online campaign against rape videos in circulation

An online campaign in India to shame rapists has seen an activist being targeted, with her car attacked and pornographic images delivered on email.

But even worse, the campaign has highlighted the sad state of affairs in India where the videos filmed by rapists in the act have been in circulation for almost six months, with no one reporting the matter to police.

One video shows five young men smiling and posing for the camera as they take turns raping a woman. The other shows a man raping a woman as another man films it.

Sunitha Krishnan, co-founder of the anti-trafficking charity Prajwala, edited the video and posted it on Facebook and Twitter in the "Shame the Rapist Campaign" to trace and track the rapists.

The vandalising of her vehicle and abuse on mail started after she announced her campaign on Indian television.

Sunitha who is a rape survivor herself says in a tweet: "If goons think they can intimidate me this way ...take a long walk boss. I will report come what may."

She had come upon the two graphic videos when alerted by an acquaintance who saw them on WhatsApp.

Television channels and social networking sites have since been showing the pictures of the six men and calling on the public to come forward with any information.

It may be recalled how a few months ago a video experiment had exposed public apathy to sexual violence against women, when people walked by on hearing a woman screaming for help from a parked van in Delhi.

While most walked past, some stopped to listen and then carried on.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 25,000 rape cases were reported in 2012, of which 24,470 were committed by a relative or neighbour. Around 98% of reported rapes were carried out by men.

Women are beginning to resort to phones and social media to shame men abusing women in public places. A recent video went viral after a woman on board a flight caught a man in the act of groping.