Crimes against women: Punishment made stringent

Moving the Bill in the State Assembly on Friday seeking the approval of the members, Stalin said there was a need to increase the quantum of punishment for sexual offences as the safety of women had to be raised at a time when the State was coming with several schemes to ensure the development and progress of women socially, politically and economically.

Under the amended Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment Act, ‘harassment’ would include both digital and electronic as well and the enhanced punishment for ‘harassment death’ will be life and Rs 50,000 fine if it was with intention, 10 years and Rs 50,000 if it was without intention and 10 years and Rs 5000 if it was due to negligence.

Similarly, for all sexual offences the punishment will be increased under the new law that will make fixing of CCTV mandatory for managements in places prone for the commitment of sexual offences. For simple harassment it will be five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs one lakh in the first conviction and 10 years with Rs 10 lakh fine in subsequent convictions. Presently the penalty is 3 years and a fine of rs 10,000.

Stalin said the government felt that there was a need for making punishment more stringent since women’s social contribution had increased with more women going for work though crimes against women and children were dealt with an iron hand now and the charge sheet in 86 per cent of the cases had been filed within 60 days.

The present government had organized 2,39,000 awareness programmes on crimes against women in schools, institutes of higher education and in public places in the last three years and recently ensured that a man who pushed a girl, who had spurned him, before a running train was awarded capital punishment by the court.

With the government ensuring the safety and security of all women, sexual offences could not be tolerated and those committing such crimes had to be punished mercilessly as it would be a deterrent to others, he said, adding that he had stressed on that in the House several times.

The statement and objectives of the Bill, introduced by Stalin, said 41 per cent of all women working in factories in the country were in Tamil Nadu, where the female enrolment in schools and institutions of higher education was high.

Since it has become necessary to provide deterrent punishment for the perpetrators of atrocities against women and children, the government firmly believed in enhancing the punishment under BNS and amending certain provisions relating to bail in the BNSS, it said.