Criminal Injustice and the Death of Comprehensive Rape Laws | Teen Ink

Criminal Injustice and the Death of Comprehensive Rape Laws

February 26, 2024
By rania_allauddin BRONZE, Lahore, Other
rania_allauddin BRONZE, Lahore, Other
4 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful." - Mary Shelly, Frankenstein


The word ‘injustice’ comes from a latin phrase which literally mean “not right”.  Injustice is the complete opposite of justice, which is a fair and righteous act. Injustice can be both general and specific. The concept of the criminal injustice system is a critical view of the criminal justice system, in which certain groups, particularly minorities are targeted and persecuted. All over the world,
rape laws are insufficient and aren’t able to provide justice to the victim.
 
Flaws in the criminal justice system led to it being called the criminal injustice system. Firstly, the lack of resources. Criminal justice systems are understaffed and underfunded, which can lead to delays in investigation, and overall justice process. Inadequate training is also a huge issue as law enforcement officers and judicial personnel don’t know how to deal with cases properly, which can lead to insensitive treatment of victims, especially in rape cases. Many times, rape victims are denied filing complaint against the culprits. Such was a case in Nepal, where after the victim was denied her right. Nepal police admitted that its unit in Durbarmarg has gravely mishandled the gang rape case. There is also a lot of bias and discrimination embedded within our justice systems. Systemic biases based on race, gender, socioeconomic status or even family cast in countries like Pakistan are embedded into the criminal justice system.  This can be seen in the Noor Muqaddam case, in which she was revoltingly raped, assaulted and beheaded. Her culprit has been imprisoned and been sentenced to death, but no other action is being taken because he belongs to wealthy and powerful family, and his parents are pulling as many strings as they can.
 
Rape laws all around the world are very ineffective. Jurisdictions have listed definitions of rape, focusing solely of forced penetration and excluding other forms of sexual assault. Burden of proof alos falls heavily on the victim, requiring them to provide extensive evidence to establish their credibility.  Rape case also have very low conviction rates due to many reasons such as lack of evidence, biased attitudes of the judges and inadequate investigations.
 
The consequences of these flawed systems and inadequate laws have a huge and varying effect on the society we live in. The flaws in the criminal injustice system and limited rape laws contribute to a culture of impunity, where many rapists escape punishment. Rape cases are also continuously under reported as many victims hesitate due to being re traumatised and experiencing secondary victimisation.
 
In conclusion, our world may never be free of the problems that come with our laws and governing systems. Tighter measures should be taken to keep people safe and provide them justice.
 
 


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece for my school magasin, it talks about the criminal justice system and the common problems in it.


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