Point of Law: Victim Liaison Officer (VLO), as also the One Stop Crisis Centre/VRC, shall make available every assistance necessary to the victim for the processes under Section 164A of the Cr.P.C.

JUDGMENT :

DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN, J.

1. It was Atticus who said:

“she was powerful not because she was not scared; but she went on strongly despite the fear.”

2. Hands down, sexual assault is the most traumatic of criminal victimization. While most crime victims find it difficult to discuss their ordeal, sexual assault victims find it particularly painful - because they are intensely traumatized not only by the humiliation of their physical violation, but also the fear of stigmatization, derison and ridicule from the community and society.

3. The depth and complexity of the distress of a sexual assault victim is impossible to be defined.

4. “I felt as though everything inside me has been obliterated - which was just an empty husk of my former self” the words of a victim.

5. A broken victim is so lost in despondency and if she does not find her way out of the labyrinth in hell, she will never touch life the same way.

6. When sexual assault occurs, it creates a whirlwind of mixed emotions and cornucopia of mental health issues like feeling of shame or guilt; flashbacks and nightmares; anxiety disorder; post traumatic stress disorder; depression/suicidal thoughts, to just name a few.

7. The aftermath of a sexual offence involves a cluster of acute and chronic physical and physiological effects and it is crucially important that the victim receives comprehensive care and support.

8. As said above, the pain of the victim is continuous, because she has to go through the motions of being alive; and sometimes the shame is not the beating nor the assault, but to stand judgment.

9. Most often, the terror and shame takes the victim; the cage is locked; the curtains down and memories carve into flesh, that will leave scars long past being healed.

10. In the past few years, there has been a significant and paradigm shift in our understanding about victim reaction to sexual assault and impact on memory; particularly because trauma has a neurological effect - it affects the brain and nervous system.

11. Indubitably, survivors have to be treated sensitively, respectfully and ought to be told that they will be believed. The process of recovery is slow and painful.

12. An exordium as afore and long has been necessitated because, in this case, the victim of a sexual assault approached this Court with various allegations against the Police and Law Enforcement agencies, including that she was forced to settle and compromise with the perpetrator.

13. I do not propose to go into the details of this case any further because, through the various interim orders already issued, the petitioner has obtained relief - including DNA analysis of the foetus she was carrying, under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.). In fact, the learned counsel for the petitioner-Sri. Dheeraj Rajan, affirmed that no specific orders are now required and that a Final Report has also been filed by the Police.

14. However, the trauma, which the petitioner has experienced and which may be forced upon victims in future, makes this Court to think in terms of having a Protocol for the purpose of empowerment of the victim - being gender neutral - to approach the law enforcement agencies and obtain succor and support in the initial stages of extreme fear, terror and despondency faced.

15. With the afore intent, I threw open discussions in this matter to the Bar, calling for suggestions from anyone who is interested in addressing this Court; and am glad that I did so because, I have had the benefit of the views and inputs from very eminent lawyers, both senior and junior.

16. The principles and imperative requirements of ‘Victim Protection Protocols’ are inexorably attracted whenever a sexual assault occurs; and I, therefore, requested the learned counsel appearing for the parties and who are assisting this Court upon the aforementioned invitation, as also the learned Special Government Pleader - Smt.Ambika Devi, to offer their suggestions.

17. Smt. V.P. Seemanthini - learned Senior Co