Almost eight months after a minor girl was kidnapped, she was asked to buy a rape kit if she wanted to be examined for sexual assault.
The incident happened in Nighasen block of Lakhimpur Kheri district on Thursday evening. The girl’s mother is mentally unstable and her father is a daily wage labourer.
On March 27, 2022, a report was filed by the girl’s father in the Nighasen police station alleging that his 16-year-old daughter was missing from the day before. He had contacted all his relatives but the girl was nowhere to be found. The following day, his nephew had got a phone call saying that the girl was with the caller and that the family should not try to trace them else it would lead to disastrous consequences. The girl’s father had then filed the report fearing that his daughter might be killed.
After the girl was found two days ago, she was taken to the Community Health Centre for a medical examination on Thursday evening. The doctor on duty first refused to examine her as her ‘duty hours’ were over. Then the family was told that they would have to get a rape kit if the girl was to be tested for sexual assault. The ward boy at the CHC told them that the kit was available at the CHC and would cost Rs 1,200.
Syed Maqsood Ali Guddu, the pradhan of Baudhiyan Kalan village, where the survivor’s family stays, said that he had then sent for procurement of the kit, which surprisingly was available at the CHC itself for Rs 650. “The poor are shamed and harassed multiple times in their quest for justice. In this case, had I not insisted, the victims would have suffered even more,” Guddu said.
On Friday, when the survivor was finally examined, the doctor demanded Rs 500 as her fees. The ward boy wanted Rs 200. Once again, the survivor’s father could not afford the money which was finally paid by the lady constable who had accompanied the survivor from the shelter home to the hospital.
It must be noted that in 2018, then Union minister for women and children development Maneka Gandhi had announced that specially designed rape kits would be given to all police stations and hospitals to carry out immediate examination in cases of sexual assault. These were to be procured from the Nirbhaya Fund. Ironically, in 2019, just nine per cent of the Nirbhaya Fund was utilised.
Syed Mohammed Haider Rizvi, an activist lawyer has sent a representation to the Principal Secretary and Director, Medical and Health, and the District Magistrate and Chief Medical Officer of Lakhimpur Kheri, highlighting the issue.
Rizvi’s letter says that there are many hospitals where rape kits are not available, and also that at many places, police personnel collect money to make the kits available.
“This is mental and financial exploitation of the victim, and impedes effective investigation,” reads the representation which calls for availability of such kits at all health centres.
In 2013, in the aftermath of the Delhi gang-rape and death of a 23-year-old, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had compiled comprehensive guidelines and protocols for medico-legal care for survivors/victims of sexual violence.
The forward to these guidelines states “…(these) are essentially aimed at doctors who might one day be called upon to handle female victims of sexual assault / rape in the course of their duty whether in a government hospital or even a private one. Sexual assault victims cannot be denied treatment in either of these hospitals when they approach them as denial has lately been made a cognizable criminal offence punishable with appropriate jail terms or fines or both.”
In the chapter on ‘Health Consequences And Role of Health Professionals', it states, “Examination of a case of rape shall be conducted by a registered medical practitioner (RMP) employed in a hospital run by the government or a local authority and in the absence of such a practitioner, by any other RMP... Examination to be conducted without delay and a reasoned report to be prepared by the RMP."
It also calls upon professionals to never say or do anything to suggest disbelief regarding the incident; not to pass judgmental remarks or comments that might appear unsympathetic, and instead appreciate the survivor's strength in coming to the hospital as it can serve to build a bond of trust.
Uttar Pradesh was one of the first states to adopt these guidelines, yet it was found out that medical practitioners still commented on the victim/survivor’s sexual history while conducting examinations.