Prajwal judgment has boosted the morale of survivors, say activists

The conviction of former Janata Dal (Secular) Member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna in a rape case on Friday seems to have provided some relief to survivors and boosted their morale, even as they continue to face stigma.

The completion of the investigation and trial in the case in a year and three months after the scandal broke is not something many seem to have expected. An activist termed this as a “true David vs Goliath fight” to be remembered for times to come. Actors Ramya and Prakash Raj have also welcomed the judgment.

Writer and activist Rupa Hassan, one of those behind organising protests in Hassan demanding arrest of the accused and fair probe into the case, said the verdict came as a ‘relief’. “The judgment has rekindled our faith in the system. I am happy that the entire process, including investigation, charge-sheeting, trial and judgment was completed in a short period,” she said, adding one of the survivors called her after the conviction and said this had “boosted her morale” and she hoped Prajwal would get the maximum punishment possible.

Activist K.S. Vimala, of Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane, recalled that a year ago many survivors they tried to counsel to lodge a complaint asked her if she was sure that Prajwal Revanna would be punished. “Going by our past experience, we had no words to assure them that he would definitely be punished. But today’s judgment has changed that. It has shown law is the same for all and when implemented with the same spirit, justice is possible,” she said, lauding the efforts of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) officials and Special Public Prosecutors in the case.

In its statement issued on Friday, the Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane termed the conviction a victory to all those who fought for justice against the impunity accorded by “power, wealth, land and caste”. The organisation lauded the victims who came forward and lodged complaints and witnesses who withstood immense pressure and testified during the trial. “We demand that the State government suitably rehabilitate the victims in this case. Moreover, the punishment to the convict in this case should be exemplary. This will give courage to more survivors of sexual assault to fight for justice,” it said. 

H. R. Naveen Kumar, district secretary of CPI(M) in Hassan, said, “The judgment is a lesson to the patriarchal society that treats women as mere objects.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Rupa Hassan said that the survivors of the scandal were worried about the delay in filing the charge sheet in the case related to the leak of the explicit video clips. “The survivors have not been able to come out of the trauma created following the leak of the videos. The video clips and photos were circulated widely on different platforms, leaving the survivors in shock,” she said.