Danish woman gang-raped in the heart of Delhi's tourist area

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Telegraph

By Dean Nelson, New Delhi
3:55PM GMT 15 Jan 2014

A Danish woman was held at knife point, beaten and gang-raped in the centre of New Delhi’s backpacker district after she asked a group of young men for directions back to her hotel.

The 51-year-old tourist was attacked in the early evening on Tuesday near the city’s iconic Connaught Place, police reported, in the latest in a series of gang rapes that have shocked India in recent weeks. It emerged as the family of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly twice gang-raped and later murdered in Calcutta called for the High Court to order an inquiry into her killing.
....

The unnamed Danish woman had arrived in Delhi earlier this week after visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra and was attacked as she made her way back to her hotel in Parhaganj, close to New Delhi Railway Station, after visiting the National Museum.

She had become lost at around 6.30 pm and was attacked after she asked a group of men in their early twenties for directions. ... Around six of a larger group of men punched her and dragged her to a secluded area near a club for railway workers where several of them raped her, police said on Wednesday.


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10574342/Danish-woman-gang-raped-in-the-heart-of-Delhis-tourist-area.html

[Plucketeer]

1. The word, "epidemic" comes to mind

What woman in her right mind, would go to India if she didn't have to???

[jsr]

2. There should be a travel advisory for India

[PearliePoo2]

3. India is not on my bucket list, that's for sure.

Let's see....burned to death by your husband with lamp oil, acid in the face for not knowing your "place" or gang raped/murdered just because.....
Not so nice being a female in India. eh?

[get the red out]

13. +1

Now when I hear "India" I think of one of the most vile, misogynist, lawless places on the planet. I used to have a decent opinion of that country, but these horrific and often unpunished crimes against women disgust me beyond words.

[LiberalEsto]

17. Agree with you completely

It's a place where males are prized above all else, where female babies may be exposed to kill therm, female fetuses aborted, brides with "insufficient dowries" burned to death, where humans with two X chromosomes are nothing but trash.

The inevitable result of all this is these murderous gangs of savage males who have learned nothing but contempt for females and who treat women accordingly.

[Recursion]

35. I can't say whether India has a higher or lower rape rate than the US

I don't think anybody can; we really don't have any idea. The published rate is much higher in the US than in India, but it seems reasonable that our reporting rate in the US is higher too (I'm an American living in India; when I say "our" I mean the US). Surveys of women in both India and the US suggest something like 1 in 4 women have been attacked, which suggests that we're at least roughly the same order of magnitude.

[demosincebirth]

39. It never was on mine. It never appealed to me as a tourist destination.

[amuse bouche]

4. So many vile, moronic males

in the world.

[PasadenaTrudy]

6. +1! n/t

[get the red out]

14. +1

Absolutely.

[niyad]

5. this is beyond obscene, beyond sickening. what in the HELL is wrong with the men who do this,

the ones who support them, the ones who blame the victims, the ones who think it is okay, and, indeed, acceptable? what in the HELL is wrong with them?? and I am not just talking about india, I am talking every single place in the world.

[niyad]

7. I wonder what it is going to take to shut down india's tourism industry. does anyone here think

that will wake the indian powers that be?

[iandhr]

9. $$$$$ always talks.

If India is hit in their wallet by stories like this I think the answer is yes.

[get the red out]

15. People definitely need to stop going there

The message needs to be screamed that it is not safe. Losing tourist dollars might actually get something done. It's starting to sound like a female would be just as safe in a war zone as India.

[enlightenment]

21. What needs to happen is for

the nation's that trade with India to suggest that the relationship needs to be reevaluated. Perhaps consumer pressure applied to all the companies that have outsourced so much of their business to India might encourage those companies to have a tete a tete with the Indian government. Or perhaps (hah) the nation's governments could start applying pressure - wouldn't it be interesting if our government actually stood up and said "no more H1B visas until you get this under control."

I don't think that just losing tourist income would be enough.

[JI7]

30. tourism is already down , many tourists are indians who are nationals of other countries

who go to visit family there.

[iandhr]

8. What is it about India...

that makes it a problem compared to other countries that have a problem with women such as places in the middle east?

Do we just hear it since India is a democracy and there is free press?

[jeff47]

16. Numbers. Of men.

Lots of people in India have been selectively aborting or otherwise "eliminating" girls, due to the misogyny in their culture. As a result, there aren't enough women anymore.

Lots of poor men have nearly zero chance of getting a date, much less a relationship, sex, marriage, and all the rest. And when that's going on in a place rife with misogyny, terrible things like this happen.

This article talks about it more. (Got the article from this post in another thread)

[LiberalEsto]

19. Very good article

What will likely happen, unfortunately, is that India will go to war with some other country and dispose of its surplus males that way.

[jeff47]

20. Gotta get those Pakistanis in line somehow (nt)

[JI7]

28. those men should be taught to kill themselves if they feel like raping someone

[Recursion]

31. Well, women will actually report rape in India (sometimes), unlike say Saudi Arabia

I don't think we have any idea what the reporting rate in India is, but I don't think we can say with any confidence that India's rape rate is higher than the US's (the US in general has a very high violent crime rate in all categories).

In some ways I think it's like school shootings in the US. School shootings get a lot of news coverage, but are only a tiny, tiny fraction of shootings, which are mostly suicides and people shooting another person they know. Gang rapes get a lot of press attention, but are a tiny fraction of rapes in India, which like in the US are mostly acquaintance/family rape.

(Also, a 13-year-old Indian girl was raped by a gang of rickshaw drivers last week in Delhi... that got very little coverage in the Indian press, sadly.)

[Happyhippychick]

10. What the fuck? I am absolutely DISGUSTED by this, what the hell is wrong with people?

[iandhr]

11. +1

[cvoogt]

12. Like Gandhi said

"I love Christianity .. it's your Christians I have a problem with." Well, I love India, or rather the idealized image of India, but it's these immoral and cruel men I have a big problem with. They do not seem to care about dharma one whit. And no, this is not an attack on Christians in any way, just an analogy.

[iandhr]

18. I think Gandhi said

"I like your Christ I don't like your Christians they are so unlike your Christ"

[cvoogt]

22. Thanks

I was paraphrasing

[Warren Stupidity]

23. India: 1.7 per 100,000, USA: 30.2.

http://www.nationmaster.com/compare/India/United-States/Crime

[Squinch]

24. Wow. The US has 17 times more rapes than India.

Though there are those who say, "rape stats are falling, we don't need to do anything more to prevent them."

[Recursion]

36. And the US rape rate has fallen by 75% in the past 30 years.

Yes, 75%. In the context of more and more education about reporting (I have no evidence, but I find it difficult to believe that rape is reported at a lower rate today than in 1983). That's an even bigger mystery to me than the 50% drop in the murder rate.

[Squinch]

42. Well, but think about it.

Up till the 70's, women were treated as, and thought about as, almost a separate species: somewhat less sentient, certainly less important, and there for the benefit of men.

That's kind of a rape recipe for disaster right there. As that attitude fades (and there are certainly plenty of places and situations where it is still alive and well) the stats will continue to fall. In those places and situations where that attitude remains, rapes will continue.

The Freakonomics guys said that the drop in the crime rate is directly and strongly correlated to the availability of abortion, suggesting that fewer unwanted or uncared for kids are growing up to commit crimes.

[penultimate]

26. I wonder how useful those comparisons are though...

It seems as if it would be dependent on the willingness of victims to report crimes, police investigating the crimes, records of the report being made and other such things. Based on what I've heard from Indians I've worked with, law enforcement in India is fairly corrupt and not as organized as it is in western countries. It's not like we're comparing Canada and the US here...

[Warren Stupidity]

41. rape is vastly under reported all around the world.

The numbers are what they are. Our own rape problem is at least as serious as India's.

[JI7]

27. the india numbers are BS, and aren't these numbers before women started coming forward after the bus

gang rape/murder ?

[Warren Stupidity]

40. The US numbers are also bullshit. Rape, around the world, is vastly under reported.

You tell me what the difference is between steubenville and new dehli.

[jeff47]

29. Because women in India report their rapes.

And aren't set on fire on the way back from the police station.

[Beacool]

25. It's sickening.

I think that women should be warned not to travel to India if they are not in a group. These men are preying on any female alone, specially if they are tourists.

[Historic NY]

32. I checked today there are no US State Dept. travelers advisories ...

one would think they would like to notify even our own citizens of the potential.

[Recursion]

33. They talk about it on travel.state.gov

The "travel advisories" are only part of the info State publishes. (The travel advisories are usually about "official" violence: wars, insurgencies, etc., and specific disease outbreaks.) (Also, State should probably publicize their "regular" travel information better than they do...)

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/india.html

Sexual Assault: Travelers should be aware that there have been reported cases of sexual assault, including rape, of U.S. citizens traveling throughout India. U.S. citizens, particularly women, are cautioned not to travel alone in India. Western women, especially those of African descent, continue to report incidents of verbal and physical harassment by groups of men. Known locally as “Eve-teasing,” these incidents of sexual harassment can be quite frightening. Sexual harassment can occur anytime or anywhere, but most frequently has happened in crowded areas such as in market places, train stations, buses, and public streets. The harassment can range from sexually suggestive or lewd comments to catcalls to outright groping. If you are a woman traveling in India, you are advised to respect local dress and customs. While reported incidences of sexual assault have been isolated, Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Among large cities, Delhi experienced the highest number of crimes against women. Although most victims have been local residents, recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas underline the fact that foreign women are at risk and should exercise vigilance.

Women should observe stringent security precautions, including avoiding use of public transport after dark without the company of known and trustworthy companions, restricting evening entertainment to well-known venues, and avoiding isolated areas when alone at any time of day. If you are a woman traveling in India, you are advised to respect conservative local dress and customs. Keep your hotel room number confidential and make sure hotel room doors have chains, deadlocks, and spy-holes. In addition, only hire reliable cars and drivers and avoid traveling alone in hired taxis, especially at night. Use taxis from hotels and pre-paid taxis at airports rather than hailing them on the street. If you encounter threatening situations, call “100” for police assistance (“112” from mobile phones).

[Historic NY]

34. Thanks they buried it further down fro mthe main site.

[U4ikLefty]

37. Glad that doesn't happen here in the US. nt

[Recursion]

38. Police have made two arrests now

http://www.firstpost.com/india/danish-tourist-gangrape-case-delhi-police-make-two-arrests-1342243.html

Two persons were arrested tonight in connection with alleged gang rape of a 51-year-old Danish tourist at knife-point near New Delhi railway station in the heart of the national capital.

The two arrested persons have been identified as Mahender alias Ganja (25), a resident of Uttar Prdesh's Fatehpur district and Raja, a senior Delhi Police official said.

Police have recovered an i-pod, ear plug, nokia mobile worth Rs 1,200 (purchased out of robbed cash), Rs 800 cash from Mahender's posession while a spectacle case and Rs 1,000 cash was recovered from Raja, police said.

...

After recording her statement with police, the woman has flown back to Denmark this afternoon, promising to extend all sorts of cooperation in the case. She refused to undergo any medical examination. Police had detained several people, all vagabonds, in this connection.

"All vagabonds" is icky to American ears, but it's used like "transient" is in the US...