HYDERABAD: The rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Saidabad area on September 9 has led to widespread outrage on social media.
But in their zeal to support the victim’s family, many people are giving out the identity of the girl, which is a clear violation of Supreme Court directives.
On December 11, 2018, the Supreme Court had barred disclosing identity of rape victims, even after their death. “No person can print or publish in print, electronic, social media, etc the name of the victim or even in a remote manner disclose any facts which can lead to the victim being identified and which should make her identity known to the public at large,” read an order of a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur.
Despite this, outrage against the perpetrators has led to netizens not only sharing her name, but also gory pictures and videos of the incident. A handful of politicians too shared videos where they can be seen visiting the minor’s relatives at their home.
“This is not the first time that the identity of a rape victim has been disclosed on social media so unabashedly” says Khaja Aijazuddin, a Telangana high court lawyer, who had filed a petition over Islamophobic content on social media. “In this case, it happens to be a minor and it is all the more important for people to be sensitive.
The lawyer added that disclosing the identity of the victim amounts to a criminal offence and the cyber crime police should not only have these posts removed but also hold people accountable for circulating the identity of the girl.
Many posts seeking justice for the victim have been retweeted, liked and shared by thousands of netizens, increasing their reach over the last few days. Several hashtags using the victim’s name have fuelled protests, but also broken the law.
“Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits disclosure of the identity of the children,” says Dhanasiri Prakash, general secretary of the Child Rights Protection Forum. “It is not just the responsibility of the police and the media but also people at large to understand the provisions under which children should be protected. One must deal with such cases with extreme sensitivity,” Prakash added.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
