The police said that the neighbor she had accused had also been arrested as part of an investigation into the rape. That includes the problem of victim shaming, which is most acute in rural areas, women’s rights activists say, where a rape survivor is often regarded as a shamed woman, unfit for marriage. Many rape victims pay the price for speaking out, with their family members disowning them or pressuring them to stay quiet. In villages the problem is exacerbated because complaints are handled by councils of men, who mete out their own punishments, said Ranjana Kumari, a women’s rights activist in New Delhi. “Victim shaming in this country has become so common,” said Ms. Kumari, who is also director of the Center for Social Research, a nonprofit group in New Delhi that supports women’s rights.

Source: New York Times March 31, 2021 17:48 UTC