An Indian newspaper advertisement that suggested parents would be blamed if they failed to buy pepper spray to deter rape attacks on their daughters was withdrawn on Thursday after a women’s group protest.
The advertisement in several daily newspapers for Knockout pepper spray asked readers: “Tomorrow if your daughter gets raped who is to be blamed? The rapist or you?” and recommended the spray as a deterrent.
Jagori, a women’s group that runs a violence prevention unit, wrote an article in response to the advertisement questioning why women in India should be forced to live in fear of rape.
“When these cases come forward, a lot of instructions are given to women, such as don’t go out late,” said Sarita Balooni, a counsellor at Jagori.
“What are we trying to say? We have to make the environment safer,” said Balooni.
“Pepper spray may stop one person but will his thinking change? Pepper spray can’t do that.”
RA Ghai, president of Unisafe Technologies which makes the spray, said he had withdrawn the advertisement but felt people had misunderstood it.
“We are not saying you are making the rapes happen,” said Ghai. “But the rapists are roaming about. You are responsible because you are not equipping your daughter to face that eventuality.”
The ad is the second in a month in New Delhi that has addressed sex crimes in a way that many women have found less than sensitive.
Earlier in September, Delhi police ran an advertisement in the Hindustan Times newspaper showing a woman being harassed in front of onlookers with the tagline that a “real man” would not let such things happen.
Indian statistics show only one in 70 rape victims reports the crime due to fear of social stigma. The government says 97% of rapes in New Delhi in the last three years were committed by relatives or people known to the victims.
Madhu Purnima Kishwar, a senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, said she was wary of the focus given to sex crimes by India media which have run banner headlines on recent rape cases.
“My sense is that there is no doubt that crime levels are up but we tend to respond in very phobic ways,” said Kishwar, who also edits Manushi, a bi-monthly journal about Indian society and women.
“The message is it’s become unsafe for women, but so many more women are out in jobs in such huge numbers,” said Kishwar. “I just hope it’s not a way to frighten women off.” – AFP