In an attempt to prove that rape isn’t the victim’s fault, men stripped down to their boxers and took to the streets of Delhi as part of the #RapeRoko movement. The campaign was launched by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) after the brutal news of an eight-month-old baby being raped.
Volunteers of the DWC marched from Mandi House to Central Park with placards and body paint that had slogans like “Her clothes are not short, your mentality is”. But the only aim of this march wasn’t to prevent the shaming of survivors of rape. The main issue at hand was a petition signed by over 1.5 lakh people urging the government to prosecute child rapists severely, within six months of the crime going to court.
Swati Maliwal, the chairperson of the DCW who spearheaded the movement stated: “Rape Roko movement’s strength is its volunteers. They are campaigning for bringing about a change in system as well as mindsets and need to be supported.” Swati was detained by the Delhi Police while she was on her way to the Prime Minister’s Office to submit letters received by the women’s commission from across the nation. She was let off later and police personnel accompanied her to the PMO.
