A book on the MeToo Movement written by advocate K. Shantakumari was released in the city on Monday. Justice V. Ramasubramanian, who released the book, said that often secondary victimisation of victims who report such cases was happening when people try to take the side of the offender.
Citing two cases that came to him, he said that the law does not contemplate situations that come up but it trails behind crime and therefore laws need to be amended.
He said Ms. Shantakumari had covered all aspects of the movement, including its history and where it is headed.
Director General of Police and Chairperson of Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board Seema Agarwal, who received the first copy of the book, said that she had witnessed first hand the confusion and pain of women in such cases. She said that it was very disturbing to note that no field remained untouched by this issue. The high and mighty and very talented celebrities have been seen targeting vulnerable women which comes as a shock to many.
Former High Court Judge V. Chandru said that despite the presence of a law to protect victims, people were using loopholes in the law and were trying to delay cases. He said it was not enough if there was a law, but the will to implement it too was needed.
Ms. Shantakumari said that her next book would be on sexual harassment in work places. She said to bring out this book on MeToo, she had used various resources including cases details in courts, newspapers. Advocate P. K. Rajagopal and advocate A. Vennila also spoke.
