Responding to Rape: Feminism and Young Middle-Class Women in India

Abstract

On the evening of 16 December 2012, a young woman and her male friend got on a bus to go home, after having watched a film in South Delhi. Over the course of the next hour, they were harassed by four men, who eventually knocked the man unconscious before brutally raping the young woman, causing her grievous injury by penetrating her with an iron rod. They then stripped both naked and left them by a road, where they were found and taken to hospital. The man survived, and has since helped the police identify those who assaulted him and his friend. The woman was hospitalized in a critical condition and eventually died. This incident sparked an outpouring of outrage and protests across Indian cities, and a variety of discussions on sexual violence from across the political spectrum.