CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN AN INTRODUCTION Definition The term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence

e that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

Violence Against Women Violence and abuse affect all kinds of people every day. It doesn't matter what race or culture you come from, how much money you have, how old you are, or if you have a disability.

Violence does not discriminate: Abuse can be physical, mental, and emotional. Violence against women in any form is a crime, whether the abuser is a family member; someone you date; a current or past spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend; an acquaintance; or a stranger. You are not at fault. You did not cause the abuse to occur. If you or someone you know has been sexually, physically, or emotionally abused, seek help from other family members and friends or community organizations. Talk with a health care provider, especially if you have been physically hurt. Learn how to reduce your risk of becoming a victim of sexual assault or sexual abuse before you find yourself in an uncomfortable or threatening situation. One important part of getting help is knowing if you are in an abusive relationship.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV), can be broadly defined a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation.

Domestic violence has many forms including physical aggression (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation. Domestic violence may or may not constitute a crime, depending on local statues, severity and duration of specific acts, and other variables. Alcohol consumption and mental illness have frequently been associated with abuse.

Awareness, perception and documentation of domestic violence differs from country to country, and from era to era. Estimates are that only about a third of cases of domestic violence are actually reported in the United States and the United Kingdom. According to the Centers for Disease Control, domestic violence is a serious, preventable public health problem affecting more than 32 million Americans, or over 10% of the U. S. population.

Violence between spouses has long been considered a serious problem. The United States has a lengthy history of legal precedent condemning spousal abuse. In 1879, law scholar Nicholas St. John Green wrote, "The cases in the American courts are uniform against the right of the husband to use any [physical] chastisement, moderate or otherwise, toward

the wife, for any purpose." Green also cites the 1641 Body of Liberties of the Massachusetts Bay colonists - one of the first legal documents in North American history - as an early de jure condemnation of violence by either spouse.

Popular emphasis has tended to be on women as the victims of domestic violence. Many studies show that women suffer greater rates of injury due to domestic violence, and some studies show that women suffer higher rates of assault. Yet, other statistics show that while men tend to inflict injury at higher rates, the majority of domestic violence overall is reciprocal.

Modern attention to domestic violence began in the women's movement of the 1970s, particularly within feminism and women's rights, as concern about wives being beaten by their husbands gained attention. Only since the late 1970s, and particularly in the masculism and men's movements of the 1990s, has the problem of domestic violence against men gained any significant attention. Estimates show that 248 of every 1,000 females and 76 of every 1,000 males are victims of physical assault and/or rape committed by their spouses. A 1997 report says significantly more men than women do not disclose the identity of their attacker. A 2009 study showed that there was greater acceptance for abuse perpetrated by females than by males.

All forms of domestic abuse have one purpose: to gain and maintain total control over the victim. Abusers use many tactics to exert power over their spouse or partner: dominance, humiliation, isolation, threats, intimidation, denial and blame.

Types of domestic violence

Physical Abuse is defined as any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health, or an act that impairs the health or development of the person aggrieved, or that includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force.

Sexual Abuse is any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades, or otherwise violates the dignity of the person. The law also covers instances where a woman is forced to have sexual intercourse with her husband against her will.

Verbal and Emotional Abuse has been defined as any insult, ridicule, humiliation, name-calling and such acts. A woman who is insulted and ridiculed for, say, not being able to conceive, or for not having produced a male child, can now take recourse to this law. Any repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the person aggrieved is interested in other words, if say the abuser were to threaten the children, or relatives, of the aggrieved party will also be covered under this head.

Economic Abuse is a very forward-thinking, important part of this definition. The deprivation of economic or financial resources to which the aggrieved woman or child is entitled under law or custom, or which the person aggrieved requires out of necessity, can be claimed under the provisions of this law; withholding such resources now falls under the category of economic abuse. This provision comes into play in instances of marital disputes, where the husband tends to deprive the wife of necessary money as a weapon. The law also sees a husband who sells off his wife's jewellery and assets as being guilty of economic abuse.

A husband, under this provision, cannot dispose of household effects, cannot alienate her from her assets or any other property in which the aggrieved person has an interest or entitlement by virtue of the domestic relationship. A husband may not sell or use stridhan (dowry) and/or any other property jointly or separately held by the wife.

FEMALE INFANTICIDE

Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females. These practices arise in areas where cultural norms value male children over female children. Facts on female infanticide

According to a recent report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) up to 50 million girls and women are missing from India' s population as a result of systematic gender discrimination in India.

In most countries in the world, there are approximately 105 female births for every 100 males.

In India, there are less than 93 women for every 100 men in the population.

The United Nations says an estimated 2,000 unborn girls are illegally aborted every day in India.

Hidden danger Increasing female feticide in India could spark a demographic crisis where fewer women in society will result in a rise in sexual violence and child abuse as well as wife-sharing, the United Nations warned. This in turn will deteriorate the social value system and can cause crisis situation.

Causes However this anti-female bias is by no means limited to poor families. Much of the discrimination is to do with cultural beliefs and social norms. These norms themselves must be challenged if this practice is to stop. The practice of female deselection in India could be attributed to socioeconomic reasons. Studies in India have indicated three factors of female deselection in India, which are economic utility, sociocultural utility, and religious functions.

The factor as to economic utility is that studies indicate that sons are more likely than daughters to provide family farm labor or provide in or for a family business, earn wages, and give old-age support for parents.

Upon marriage, a son makes a daughter-in-law an addition and asset to the

family providing additional assistance in household work and brings an economic reward through dowry payments, while daughters get married off and merit an economic penalty through dowry charges.

The sociocultural utility factor of female deselection is that, as in China, in India's patrilineal and patriarchal system of families is that having at least one son is mandatory in order to continue the familial line, and many sons constitute additional status to families.

The final factor of female deselection is the religious functions that only sons are allowed to provide, based on Hindu tradition, which mandate that sons are mandatory in order to kindle the funeral pyre of their late parents and to assist in the soul salvation

Steps initiated by government The government has initiated many steps and to bring an end to this social evil, and to bring a change in the attitudes of the people in society. It is in this direction that many laws , Acts and schemes have been initiated, like :

The Laws favoring Girl Education The Laws favoring Women's right The Laws favoring Equal Property Share for a daughter Other schemes for girlchild

RAPE

Definitions for rape Though definitions vary, rape is defined in most jurisdictions as sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, by one person ("the accused" or "the perpetrator") with or against another person ("the victim") without the consent of the victim.

The term sexual assault is closely related to rape. Some jurisdictions define "rape" to cover only acts involving penile penetration of the vagina, treating all other types of nonconsensual sexual activity as sexual assault. The terminology varies, with some places using other terms. For example, Michigan, United States uses the term "criminal sexual conduct". In some jurisdictions, rape is defined in terms of sexual penetration of the victim, which may include penetration with objects, rather than body parts. Some jurisdictions also consider rape to include the use of sexual organs of one or both of the parties, such as oral copulation and masturbation.

In Brazil, the definition of rape is even more restrictive. It is defined as non-consensual vaginal sex. Therefore, unlike most of Europe and the Americas, male rape, anal rape, and oral rape are not considered to be rape. Instead, such an act is called a "violent attempt against someone's modesty" ("Atentado violento ao pudor").

In recent years, women have been convicted of raping or sexually assaulting men; for example, by the use of an object or when the man is below the statutory age of consent. Also, in recent years women have also been convicted of rape or sexual assault by procuring a man to rape another woman, and by being an accomplice to a rape.

History of rape

The rape of noblewoman Lucretia was a starting point of events that led to overthrow of Roman Monarchy and establishment of Roman Republic. As a direct result of rape, Lucretia committed suicide. Many artists and writers were inspired by the story, including Shakespeare, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Drer, Artemisia Gentileschi, Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Heywood and others. Picture: The Rape of Lucretia by Titian. In ancient history, rape was viewed less as a type of assault on the female, than a serious property crime against the man to whom she belonged, typically the father or husband. The loss of virginity was an especially serious matter. The damage due to loss of virginity was reflected in her reduced prospects in finding a husband and in her bride price. This was especially true in the case of betrothed virgins, as the loss of chastity was perceived as severely depreciating her value to a prospective husband. In such cases, the law would void the betrothal and demand financial compensation from the rapist, payable to the woman's household, whose "goods" were "damaged". Under biblical law, the rapist might be compelled to marry the unmarried woman instead of receiving the civil penalty if her father agreed. This was especially prevalent in laws where the crime of rape did not include, as a necessary element, the violation of the woman's body, thus dividing the

crime in the current meaning of rape and a means for a man and woman to force their families to permit marriage

The word rape itself originates from the Latin verb rapere: to seize or take by force. The word originally had no sexual connotation and is still used generically in English. The history of rape, and the alterations of its meaning, is quite complex. In Roman law, rape was classified as a form of crimen vis, "crime of assault." Unlike theft or robbery, rape was termed a "public wrong" iniuria publica as opposed to a "private wrong" iniuria privita. Augustus Caesar enacted reforms for the crime of rape under the assault statute Lex Iulia de vi publica, which bears his family name, Iulia. It was under this statute rather than the adultery statute of Lex Iulia de adulteriis that Rome prosecuted this crime.

The medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas argued that rape, though sinful, was much less unacceptable than masturbation or coitus interruptus, because it fulfilled the procreative function of sex, while the other acts violated the purpose of sex.

During the Colonization of the Americas the rape of native women was not held to be a crime under Spanish Law as the persons in question were Pagan and not Christian. The English common law defined rape as "the carnal knowledge of a woman forcibly and against her will." The common law defined carnal knowledge as the penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ (it covered all other acts under the crime of sodomy).

The crime of rape was unique in the respect that it focused on the victim's state of mind and actions in addition to that of the defendant. The victim was required to prove a

continued state of physical resistance, and consent was conclusively presumed when a man had intercourse with his wife. "One of the most oft-quoted passages in our jurisprudence" on the subject of rape is by Lord Chief Justice Sir Matthew Hale from the 17th century, "rape...is an accusation easily to be made and hard to be proved, and harder to be defended by the party accused, tho never so innocent." Lord Hale is also the origin of the remark, "In a rape case it is the victim, not the defendant, who is on trial." However, as noted by Sir William Blackstone in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, by 1769 the common law had recognized that even a prostitute could suffer rape if she had not consented to the act.

The modern criminal justice system is widely regarded as unfair to sexual assault victims. Both sexist stereotypes and common law combined to make rape a "criminal proceeding on which the victim and her behavior were tried rather than the defendant".Additionally, gender neutral laws have combated the older perception that rape never occurs to men, while other laws have eliminated the term altogether.

Since the 1970s many changes have occurred in the perception of sexual assault due in large part to the feminist movement and its public characterization of rape as a crime of power and control rather than purely of sex. In some countries the women's liberation movement of the 1970s created the first rape crisis centers. One of the first two rape crisis centers, the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, opened in 1972. It was created to promote sensitivity and understanding of rape and its effects on the victim. In 1960 law enforcement cited false reporting rates at 20%. By 1973 the statistics had dropped to 15%. After 1973 the New York City Police Department used female officers to investigate sexual assault cases and the rate dropped to 2% according to the FBI.

Male-male rape has historically been shrouded in secrecy due to the stigma men associate with being raped by other men. According to psychologist Dr Sarah Crome fewer than

one in ten male-male rapes are reported. As a group, male rape victims reported a lack of services and support, and legal systems are often ill equipped to deal with this type of crime.

Most legal codes on rape do not legislate against women raping men, as rape is generally defined to include the act of penetration on behalf of the rapist.[citation needed] In 2007 the South Africa police investigated instances of women raping young men.

Types of rape There are several types of rape, generally categorized by reference to the situation in which it occurs, the sex or characteristics of the victim, and/or the sex or characteristics of the perpetrator. Different types of rape include but are not limited to: date rape, gang rape, marital rape or spousal rape, incestual rape, child sexual abuse, prison rape, acquaintance rape, war rape and statutory rape. Date rape Date rape, also called acquaintance rape, is a non-domestic rape committed by someone who knows the victim.[1] This constitutes the vast majority of rapes reported. It can occur between two people who know one another usually in social situations, between people who are dating as a couple and have had consensual sex in the past, between two people who are starting to date, between people who are just friends, and between acquaintances. They include rapes of co-workers, schoolmates, friends, and other acquaintances. Spousal rape Also known as spouse, marital rape, wife rape, husband rape, partner rape or intimate partner sexual assault (IPSA), is rape between a married or de facto couple. Research

reveals that victims of marital/partner rape suffer longer lasting trauma than victims of stranger rape. College campus rape Some studies indicate a particular problem with rape on college campuses. According to a 1992 study, one out of twelve college aged men and women committed rape.[4] The Department of Justice study also found that in "about half of the incidents categorized as completed rapes, the women or men did not consider the incident to be a rape."[5] According to the Journal of Counseling and Development, females aged 1624 are at the highest risk of sexual assault. Gang rape Gang rape, or mass rape, occurs when a group of people participate in the rape of a single victim. Rape involving at least two or more perpetrators is widely reported to occur in many parts of the world. Systematic information on the extent of the problem, however, is scant.

One study showed that offenders and victims in gang rape incidents were younger with a higher possibility of being unemployed. Gang rapes involved more alcohol and drug use, night attacks and severe sexual assault outcomes and less victim resistance and fewer weapons than individual rapes.

Another study found that group sexual assaults were more violent and had greater resistance from the victim than individual sexual assaults and that victims of group sexual assaults were more likely to seek crisis and police services, to contemplate suicide and seek therapy than those involved in individual assaults. The two groups were about the same in the amount of drug use and drinking during the assault. [7]

Rape of children Rape of a child is a form of child sexual abuse. When committed by a parent or other close relatives such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, it is a form of incest and when committed by another child (usually older or stronger), it is a form of child-on-child sexual abuse. When a child is raped by a family member, especially a parent, it can result in serious and long-term psychological trauma.[14] When a child is raped by an adult who is not a family member but in a caregiver or in a position of authority over the child, such as school teachers, religious authorities, or therapists, to name a few, on whom the child is dependent, the effects can be similar to incestual rape.

Psychologists estimate that 40 million adults, 15 million of those being men (Adams 1991), in the United States were sexually abused in childhood often by parents, close relatives and other elders on whom they were dependent. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime 46% of rape committed in the United States is perpetrated by a family member.

Effects of child rape

Effects of child rape include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, propensity to re-victimization in adulthood, and physical injury to the child, among other problems. Children, including but not limited to adolescents, raped by their parents and other close elders are often called 'secret survivors' by psychologists, as they often are unable or unwilling to tell anyone about these rapes due to implicit or explicit threats by the adult rapist, fear of abandonment by the rapist, and/or overwhelming shame. Since the signs of these rapes are usually invisible except to trained professionals, these children often suffer ongoing offenses in silence until independence from the adult rapist is

attained. By that time, the statute of limitations is often long-expired, the adult victim's repressed memories are often considered inadmissible as evidence and the child-rapist is able to avoid punishment.

More than 67,000 cases of rape and sexual assaults against children were reported in 2000 in South Africa. Child welfare groups believe that the number of unreported incidents could be up to 10 times that number. A belief common to South Africa holds that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure a man of HIV or AIDS. South Africa has one of the highest numbers of HIV-positive citizens in the world. According to official figures, one in eight South Africans is infected with the virus. Edith Kriel, a social worker who helps child victims in the Eastern Cape, said: Child abusers are often relatives of their victims - even their fathers and providers.

According to University of Durban-Westville anthropology lecturer and researcher Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala, the myth that sex with a virgin is a cure for AIDS is not confined to South Africa. Fellow AIDS researchers in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria have told me that the myth also exists in these countries and that it is being blamed for the high rate of sexual abuse against young children. Statutory rape National and/or regional governments, citing an interest in protecting "young people" (variously defined but sometimes synonymous with minors), treat any sexual contact with such a person as an offense (not always categorised as "rape"), even if he or she agrees to the sexual activity. The offense is often based on a presumption that people under a certain age do not have the capacity to give informed consent. The age at which individuals are considered competent to give consent is called the age of consent. This varies in different countries and regions, and in the US ranges from 16 to 18. Sex which violates age-of-consent law, but is neither violent nor physically coerced, is sometimes

described as "statutory rape," a legally-recognized category in the United States (however most states allow persons younger than the age of consent to engage in sexual activity if the age difference between the partners is small, these are called close in age exemptions). Prison rape Many rapes happen in prison. These rapes are virtually always homosexual in nature (since prisons are separated by sex). The attacker is most commonly another inmate, but prison guards may also be involved, primarily in female prisons. War rape During war, rape is often used as means of psychological warfare in order to humiliate the enemy and undermine their morale. Rapes in war are often systematic and thorough, and military leaders may actually encourage their soldiers to rape civilians. Likewise, systematic rapes are often employed as a form of ethnic cleansing. In 1998, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established by the United Nations made landmark decisions that rape is a crime of genocide under international law. In one judgement Navanethem Pillay said: "From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as spoils of war. Now it will be considered a war crime. We want to send out a strong message that rape is no longer a trophy of war." An estimated 500,000 women were raped during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The Rape of Nanking during the Japanese invasion of China in WWII is another example of war rape.

Statistics

According United States According to United States Department of Justice document Criminal Victimization in the United States, there were overall 191,670 victims of rape or sexual assault reported in 2005.[58] Only 16% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police (Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. 1992). 1 of 6 U.S. women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. The U.S. Department of Justice compiles statistics on crime by race, but only between and among people categorized as black or white. There were 111,490 white and 36,620 black victims of rape or sexual assault reported in 2005. Out of the 111,490 cases involving white victims, 44.5% (49,613) had white offenders and 33.6% (37,461) had black offenders, while the 36,620 black victims had a figure of 100% black offenders, with a 0.0% estimation for any other race based on ten or fewer sample cases.[61] Some types of rape are excluded from official reports altogether, (the FBI's definition for example excludes all rapes except forcible rapes of females), because a significant number of rapes go unreported even when they are included as reportable rapes, and also because a significant number of rapes reported to the police do not advance to prosecution.

Rape of women by men, by perpetrator Perpetrator Steady dating partner Casual friend Ex-boyfriend Acquaintance Close friend Casual date Husband Stranger Frequency 21.6% 16.5% 12.2% 10.8% 10.1% 10.1% 7.2% 2%

Drug use, especially alcohol, is frequently involved in rape. In 47% of rapes, both the victim and the perpetrator had been drinking. In 17%, only the perpetrator had been. 7% of the time, only the victim had been drinking. Rapes where neither the victim nor the perpetrator had been drinking were 29% of all rapes.

Contrary to widespread belief, rape outdoors is rare. Over two thirds of all rapes occur in someone's home. 30.9% occur in the perpetrators' homes, 26.6% in the victims' homes and 10.1% in homes shared by the victim and perpetrator. 7.2% occur at parties, 7.2% in vehicles, 3.6% outdoors and 2.2% in bars. Effects on victims Victims of rape can be severely traumatized by the assault and may have difficulty functioning as well as they had been used to prior to the assault, with disruption of concentration, sleeping patterns and eating habits, for example. They may feel jumpy or be on edge. After being raped it is common for the victim to experience Acute Stress Disorder, including symptoms similar to those of posttraumatic stress disorder, such as intense, sometimes unpredictable, emotions, and they may find it hard to deal with their memories of the event.

In the months immediately following the assault these problems may be severe and very upsetting and may prevent the victim from revealing their ordeal to friends or family, or seeking police or medical assistance. Additional symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder include:

depersonalization or dissociation (feeling numb and detached, like being in a daze or a dream, or feeling that the world is strange and unreal) difficulty remembering important parts of the assault reliving the assault through repeated thoughts, memories, or nightmares avoidance of things, places, thoughts, and/or feelings that remind the victim of the assault anxiety or increased arousal (difficulty sleeping, concentrating, etc.) avoidance of social life or place of rape

For one-third to one-half of the victims, these symptoms continue beyond the first few months and meet the conditions for the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder.[83][85][86] (See also Significant Emotional Event.) In general, rape and sexual assault are among the most common causes of PTSD in women. Victim blame "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in whole or in part responsible for the crime. In the context of rape, this concept refers to the Just World Theory and popular attitudes that certain victim behaviours (such as flirting, or wearing sexuallyprovocative clothing) may encourage rape. In extreme cases, victims are said to have "asked for it", simply by not behaving demurely. In most Western countries, the defense of provocation is not accepted as a mitigation for rape.

A global survey of attitudes toward sexual violence by the Global Forum for Health Research shows that victim-blaming concepts are at least partially accepted in many

countries. In some countries, victim-blaming is more common, and women who have been raped are sometimes deemed to have behaved improperly. Often, these are countries where there is a significant social divide between the freedoms and status afforded to men and women.

In a review of studies of "rape myths" note that, Rape victims are blamed more when they resist the attack later in the rape encounter rather than earlier , which seems to suggest the stereotype that these women are engaging in token resistance or leading the man on because they have gone along with the sexual experience thus far. Finally, rape victims are blamed more when they are raped by an acquaintance or a date rather than by a stranger, which seems to evoke the stereotype that victims really want to have sex because they know their attacker and perhaps even went out on a date with him. The underlying message of this research seems to be that when certain stereotypical elements of rape are in place, rape victims are prone to being blamed.

However they also note that "individuals may endorse rape myths and at the same time recognize the negative effects of rape."

SATI

Sati An Introduction Sat (Devanagari: the feminine of sat "true"; also called suttee) is a funeral practice among some Hindu communities in which a recently widowed woman would either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion immolate herself on her husbands funeral pyre. This practice is now rare and outlawed in modern India. The term is derived from the original name of the goddess Sati, also known as Dakshayani, who self-immolated because she was unable to bear her father Daksha's humiliation of her (living) husband Shiva. The term may also be used to refer to the widow herself. The term sati is now sometimes interpreted as "chaste woman."

Origin of sati

"Ceremony of Burning a Hindu Widow with the Body of her Late Husband", from Pictorial History of China and India, 1851.

Few reliable records exist of the practice before the time of the Gupta empire, approximately 400 AD. After about this time, instances of sati began to be marked by inscribed memorial stones. The earliest of these are found in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, though the largest collections date from several centuries later, and are found in Rajasthan. These stones, called devli, or sati-stones, became shrines to the dead woman, who was treated as an object of reverence and worship. They are most common in western India. By about the 10th century sati, as understood today, was known across much of the subcontinent. It continued to occur, usually at a low frequency and with regional variations, until the early 19th century. Some instances of voluntary self-immolation by both women and men that may be regarded as at least partly historical accounts are included in the Mahabharata and other works. However, large portions of these works are relatively late interpolations into an original story, rendering difficult their use for reliable dating. Also, neither immolation nor the desire for self-immolation are regarded as a custom in the Mahabharata. Use of the term 'sati' to describe the custom of self-immolation never occurs in the Mahabarata, unlike other customs such as the Rajasuya yagna. Rather, the self-immolations are viewed as an expression of extreme grief at the loss of a beloved one. The ritual has prehistoric roots, and many parallels from other cultures are known. Compare for example the ship burial of the Rus' described by Ibn Fadlan, where a female slave is burned with her master. Aristobulus of Cassandreia, a Greek historian who traveled to India with the expedition of Alexander the Great, recorded the practice of sati at the city of Taxila. A later instance of voluntary co-cremation appears in an account of an Indian soldier in the army of Eumenes of Cardia, whose two wives vied to die on his funeral pyre, in 316 BC. The Greeks believed that the practice had been instituted to discourage wives from poisoning

their husbands. Voluntary death at funerals has been described in northern India before the Gupta empire. The original practices were called anumarana, and were uncommon. Anumarana was not comparable to later understandings of sati, since the practices were not restricted to widows rather, anyone, male or female, with personal loyalty to the deceased could commit suicide at a loved one's funeral. These included the deceased's relatives, servants, followers, or friends. Sometimes these deaths stemmed from vows of loyalty, and bear a slight resemblance to the later tradition of seppuku in Japan.

Practice

"A Hindu Suttee" The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act of 1987 Part I, Section 2(c) defines Sati as: The burning or burying alive of (i) any widow along with the body of her deceased husband or any other relative or with any article, object or thing associated with the husband or such relative; or (ii) any woman along with the body of any of her relatives, irrespective of whether such burning or burying is claimed to be voluntary on the part of the widow or the women or other-wise

The act of sati is said to exist voluntarily; from the existing accounts, many of these acts did indeed occur voluntarily. The act may have been expected of widows in some communities, and the extent to which social pressures or expectations constitute compulsion has been much debated in modern times. However, there were also instances where the wish of the widow to commit sati was not welcomed by others, and where efforts were made to prevent the death. Traditionally, a person's funeral would have occurred within a day of the death, requiring decisions about sati to be made by that time. When the husband died elsewhere, the widow might still die by immolation at a later date. Sati often emphasized the marriage between the widow and her deceased husband. For instance, rather than mourning clothes, the to-be sati was often dressed in marriage robes or other finery. In the preliminaries of the related act of Jauhar, both the husbands and wives have been known to dress in their marriage clothes and re-enact their wedding ritual, before going to their separate deaths. Accounts describe numerous variants in the sati ritual. The majority of accounts describe the woman seated or lying down on the funeral pyre beside her dead husband. Many other accounts describe women walking or jumping into the flames after the fire had been lit, and some describe women seating themselves on the funeral pyre and then lighting it themselves. Some written instructions for the ritual exist. For instance, the Yallajeeyam provides detailed instructions about who may commit sati, cleansing for the sati, positioning, attire, and other ritual aspects.

Compulsion Sati was supposed to be voluntary, but it is known that it has often been forced. Setting aside the issue of social pressures, many accounts exist of women being physically forced to their deaths. Pictorial and narrative accounts often describe the widow being seated on the unlit pyre, and then tied or otherwise restrained to keep her from fleeing after the fire was lit. Some accounts state that the woman was drugged. One account describes men using long poles to prevent a woman from fleeing the flames. Royal funerals

KIDNAPPING AND ABDUCTION

Kidnapping and Abduction An Introduction

In the terminology of the common law in many jurisdictions (according to Black's Law Dictionary), the crime of kidnapping is labelled abduction when the victim is a woman. In modern usage, kidnapping or abduction of a child is often called child stealing, particularly when done not to collect a ransom but rather with the intention of keeping the child permanently (often in a case where the child's parents are divorced or legally separated, whereupon the parent who does not have legal custody will commit the act, also known as "childnapping"). Today, the term is no longer restricted to the case of a child victim.

Child abduction can refer to children being taken away without their parents' consent but with the consent of the child. In England and Wales, it is child abduction to take away a child under the age of 16 without parental consent. However the offence of kidnap in the case of a competent minor requires the absence of consent from the minor. This means that a parent commits kidnapping if he takes the child against its will but if a 3rd party takes the child away from the parents with the child's consent the 3rd party does not commit the offence of kidnapping

Kidnapping in English Common Law Kidnapping is a common law offence requiring: 1. that one person takes and carries a minor away; 2. by force or fraud; 3. without the consent of the person taken; and 4. without lawful excuse. It would be difficult to kidnap without also committing false imprisonment, which is the common-law offence of intentionally or recklessly detaining the victim without lawful authority. The use of force to take and detain will also be regarded as an assault, and other, related offences may also be committed before, during, or after the detention. Alongside murder, kidnapping is the last significant offence under the common law which has yet to be codified into statute. Named forms

Bride kidnapping is a term often applied loosely, to include any bride 'abducted' against the will of her parents, even if she is willing to marry the 'abductor'. It still is traditional amongst certain nomadic peoples of Central Asia. It has seen a resurgence in Kyrgyzstan since the fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent erosion of women's rights.

Child abduction is the abduction or kidnapping of a child (or baby) by an older person. Express kidnapping is a method of abduction used in some countries, mainly from Latin America, where a small ransom, that a company or family can easily pay, is requested.

Tiger kidnapping is taking a hostage to make a loved one or associate of the victim do something, e.g. a child is taken hostage to force the shopkeeper to open the safe. The term originates from the usually long preceding observation, like a tiger does on the prowl.

Dognapping is the crime of taking a canine from its owner.

Kidnapping today Kidnapping for ransom is a common occurrence in various parts of the world today, and certain cities and countries are often described as the "Kidnapping Capital of the World." As of 2007, that title belongs to Baghdad. In 2004, it was Mexico, and in 2001 it was Colombia. Haiti also has frequent kidnappings (starting several years ago), as do certain parts of Africa.

In the past, and presently in some parts of the world (such as southern Sudan), kidnapping is a common means used to obtain slaves and money through ransom. In more recent times, kidnapping in the form of shanghaiing (or "pressganging") men was used to supply merchant ships in the 19th century with sailors, whom the law considered unfree labour.

GIRL AND WOMEN TRAFFICKING

Trafficking - Definition

Trafficking is defined as a trade in something that should not be traded in for various social, economic or political reasons.Thus we have terms like drug trafficking, arms trafficking and human trafficking. The concept of human trafficking refers to the criminal practice of exploiting human beings by treating them like commodities for profit. Even

after being trafficked victims are subjected to long term exploitation. The crime of trafficking manifests itself through the following

According to a recent survey women are bought and sold with impunity and trafficked at will to other countries from different parts of India. These girls and women are sourced from Dindigal, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, and Chengalpattu in TamilNadu, Gaya, Kishanganj, Patna, Katihar, Purnea, Araria and Madhubani from Bihar, Murshidabad and 24 Parganas in West Bengal, Maharajgunj from UP, Dholpur, Alwar, Tonk from Rajasthan, Mangalore, and Gulbarga and Raichur from Karnataka. These women and girls are supplied to Thailand, Kenya, South Africa and Middle East countries like Bahrin, Dubai, Oman, Britain, South Korea and Philippines. They are forced to work as sex workers undergoing severe exploitation and abuse. These women are the most vulnerable group in contracting HIV infection. Due to unrelenting poverty and lack of unemployment opportunities there is an increase in the voluntary entry of women into sex work.

Trafficking both for commercial sexual exploitation and for non-sex based exploitation is a transnational and complex challenge as it is an organized criminal activity, an extreme form of human rights violation and an issue of economic empowerment and social justice. The trafficking of women and children causes untold miseries as it violates the rights and dignity of the individual in several ways. It violates the individual's rights to life, dignity, security, privacy, health, education and redressal of grievances.

Methods and strategies of prevention

The UN's Protocol contains a number of provisions aimed at preventing trafficking. State parties are required to establish policies, programmes and other measures aimed at preventing trafficking and protecting trafficked persons from re-victimization. The existence of vulnerable situations of inequality and injustice coupled with the exploitation of the victim's circumstances by the traffickers and others cause untold harm to the trafficked victim who faces a multiplicity of rights violations. Therefore policies, programmes and strategies that address prevention have to be unique with a focus on and an orientation towards all these issues. Accordingly the prevention of trafficking needs to be addressed not only in relation to the source areas but also in the demand areas the transit points and the trafficking routes. Strategies in all these areas have to be oriented towards the specific characteristics of the situation and the target groups.

The best method of prevention is its integration it with prosecution and protection. Prosecution includes several tasks like the identification of the traffickers bringing them to the book, confiscating their illegal assets. Protection of the trafficked victim includes all steps towards the redressal of their grievances thus helping the victim survive, rehabilitate and establish herself/himself. Thus prosecution and protection contribute to prevention.

The strategies should address the issues of livelihood options and opportunities by focusing on efforts to eradicate poverty, illiteracy etc.There should be special packages for women and children in those communities where entry into CSE may be perceived as the only available option. Education and other services should be oriented towards capacity building and the consequent empowerment of vulnerable groups.

Gender discrimination and patriarchal mindset are important constituents and catalysts of the vulnerability of women and girl children. This manifests itself in several serious violations of women's rights such as high incidence of female foeticide and infanticide and the discrimination against women in healthcare,

education and employment. Since these are vulnerability factors that trigger trafficking prevention strategies need to be oriented accordingly.

Natural calamities and manmade disturbances do exacerbate the vulnerability situation. Therefore relief and aftercare programmes need to have specific components focused on the rights of women and children.

At the micro level the prevention of trafficking in the source areas requires a working partnership between the police and NGOs.Public awareness campaigns and community participation are key to prevention programmes.Prevention is best achieved by community policing.

Political will is an essential requirement to combat trafficking. Creating legal awareness is one of the most important functions of any social action programme because without legal awareness it is not possible to promote any real social activism. Legal awareness empowers people by making them aware of their rights, and can work towards strengthening them to develop zero tolerance towards abuse and exploitation.

Immigration officials at the borders need to be sensitized so that they can network with the police as well as with NGOs working on preventing trafficking. Help lines and help booths are very important for providing timely help to any person in distress. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is considering collaboration between government agencies and NGOs for setting up help lines and help booths that can provide timely assistance to child victims. It will be appropriate if the Child lines all over India, NGOs working on child rights, missing person bureaus and police help lines are linked together as a formidable tool against trafficking.

DOWRY

Dowry An Introduction The custom of dowry in Indian marriages is a deep-seated cultural phenomenon that has been described as one of the largest obstacles to confront India on her road to economic and social justice (Dreze and Sen). Indeed, one of Indias greatest social failures is the extraordinarily high level of gender inequality and female deprivation that has persisted in the nation for the last several decades through cultural practices such as dowry.

The custom is held responsible for a number of problems perpetrated against the nations women, including dowry violence, bride burning, and wife murder. Although unanimously regarded by legislators and scholars as a perpetrator of social detriment against women, the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 that outlawed the practice has been remarkably unsuccessful in reducing the frequency of its occurrence. In fact, not only has the demand for dowry not been eliminated, it has become increasingly popular among the upper echelons of the Hindu society where it originated and has become widespread even among various communities of Muslims, Christians, and tribal groups all across India (Sheel 26). The failure of legislation to eliminate the payment of dowry in Indian marriages likely stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of both the effects and more importantly, the causes of the practice. I argue that dowries exist because of a combination of two reasons. First, there is an excess supply of women in the Indian marriage market that results in the use of dowry as an equilibrating mechanism. Secondly, a differential in the patterns of human capital accumulation of men and women have led to a larger positive benefit from marriage for women than for men, the net difference of which is theoretically equivalent to the amount of the dowry.

Both these explanations for the existence of dowry are fundamentally grounded in the powerful social and cultural ideologies of marriage held by the vast majority of Indian society. Furthermore, the phenomena of dowry-related violence and female infanticide, which are the cause of substantial detriment to the social welfare of Indian women, are intimately linked with and probably symptomatic of the dowry tradition. Legal and other strategies must be used to eliminate both the root causes of the dowry tradition as well as address its grave outward symptoms. Definition of Dowry

Dowry or Dahej is the payment in cash or/and kind by the bride's family to the bridegroom' s family along with the giving away of the bride ( called Kanyadaan) in Indian marriage . Kanyadanam is an important part of Hindu marital rites. Kanya means daughter, and dana means gift. Historically, dowry has been an integral and institutionalized aspect of traditional arranged Hindu marriage. Over hundreds of years, however, the definition of the term has evolved from the ceremonial and voluntary gift giving of the brides family to a form of monetary extortion demanded by the grooms family. Studies on the origins of the tradition postulate that dowry originally and ideally denoted gifts of kanyadana, such as ornaments, expensive clothes and other precious items referenced in ancient texts on marriage ritual, voluntarily presented to both the bride and grooms families during the time of marriage. Moreover, the practice was derived from the high cultural and spiritual merit accorded to gift givers and gift giving in the Vedas and other Hindu literature. As such, dowry was originally used as a means to both sanctify material wealth and also enhance social status in marriage.

The modern phenomenon of dowry, however, reflects a change in the system such that the presentation of gifts no longer remains a voluntary process. Presently in India, brides families are often compelled to provide dowry in the name of gift giving. Evaluated in terms of total cash value, the amount of the dowry is negotiated by the grooms family based on their social and economic status. The higher the socioeconomic status of the grooms family, the higher the dowry demanded (Sheel 18). The exact negotiation for dowry is often done through a mediator so that the marriage retains some semblance of sanctity and does not appear to be an entirely monetary transaction. The modern practice of dowry, therefore, is characterized by a shift from voluntary to forced gift giving, as well as the primary role of the grooms family in determining the demand

for gifts from the brides family. In the way it is currently understood, the term dowry is a broad reference to the totality of assets transferred from the brides family to the grooms at the time of a marriage. The total transfer can be broken down into three basic parts. Firstly, there are the property transfers to the bride, which according to Indian law should legally be under her name and control. Second, there are those gifts that continue to be part of the ceremonial aspect of the marriage and symbolize union between the two families. Ideally, these would be matched by reciprocal gifts of equal value from the grooms family. Finally, there are those assets that can be called marriage payments and are given with the explicit understanding that without them the marriage contract will be voided. In an economic analysis, it is this final aspect that constitutes the actual significant economic cost of dowry for a brides family, and is perhaps the most costly among the three aspects of the dowry.

The Marriage Market The economic underpinnings and causes of dowry can only be fully understood within the framework of economic theory on marriage. Established economic theory views the market for marriage as one in which people bargain for a spouse who maximizes their utility gains from marriage. Traditional Indian Hindu marriages can operate within this framework, but with one clear distinctionthese marriages are almost always arranged by the families of the prospective spouses. Families search the marriage market for suitable matches, examining quantifiable characteristics such as age, caste,

socioeconomic background, labor market earnings for men, and household labor skills (such as cooking, cleaning, and childbearing) for women. Eventually, it is the family, and not just the individual, which makes the final decision as to whether or not the marriage will take place. The concept of arranged marriage does to some extent confound the fundamental economic principles of individual choice in marriage, but for simplicitys sake, the assumption is made that there is a single utility function for both the individual and his or her family. Customs of Indian Marriage Societal and religious dictates have had a profound effect on Indian Hindu marital conventions. As already mentioned, the marriages are normally arranged by the families of the prospective spouses. This phenomenon essentially precludes any potential love marriages, as these marriages are looked down upon by the community, especially if the bride and groom are not of comparable caste and socioeconomic status. Other marital codes are particularly strict for women. Most Indian communities impose an unofficial age limit by which time young women must be married.

Although the age varies somewhat from region to region, families that fail to marry off their daughters by such a time are subject to the gravest censure and shame. Beyond the immediate consequence where the family will be forced to financially support an unmarried daughter for the rest of her life, the social condemnation that accompanies such a situation also carries with it the weight of economic penalization. Often, the offending family will lose employees, customers, and general goodwill in the market Another implication of traditional Indian custom is that a daughter, once married, belongs to and must live with her husbands family.

Any labor market earnings and household skills of the bride become the assets of the husbands family, and any sustenance costs become their liability. Furthermore, as per the tradition of Indian families, all assets (such as wages or dowry) and all liabilities (sustenance costs such as food, clothing, and shelter) of the bride are pooled with those of other members of the family. The parents-in-law then make the final decisions about how the income should be spent or saved As such, in the traditional Indian household, individual rights become subsidiary to those of the family-in-law. These three aspects of the traditions of Indian marriagethe social mandate requiring women to be married by a young age, the transfer of all financial assets and liabilities of a bride to the grooms family, and the household pooling of resourcesconstitute the dominant cultural, social, and ideological forces that have led to the existence and persistence of dowry in Indian society.

Dowry in India Dowry originated in upper caste families as the wedding gift to the bride from her family. The dowry was later given to help with marriage expenses and became a form of insurance in the case that her in-laws mistreated her. Although the dowry was legally prohibited in 1961, it continues to be highly institutionalized. The groom often demands a dowry consisting of a large sum of money, farm animals, furniture, and electronics.

The practice of dowry abuse is rising in India. The most severe in bride burning, the burning of women whose dowries were not considered sufficient by their husband or inlaws. Most of these incidents are reported as accidental burns in the kitchen or are disguised as suicide. It is evident that there exist deep rooted prejudices against women in India. Cultural practices such as the payment of dowry tend to subordinate women in Indian society. Though prohibited by law in 1961, the extraction of DOWRY from the bride's family prior to marriage still occurs. When the dowry amount is not considered sufficient or is not forthcoming, the bride is often harassed, abused and made miserable. This abuse can escalate to the point where the husband or his family burn the bride, often by pouring kerosene on her and lighting it, usually killing her. The official records of these incidents are low because they are often reported as accidents or suicides by the family. In Delhi, a woman is burned to death almost every twelve hours.

The number of dowry murders is increasing. In 1988, 2,209 women were killed in dowry related incidents and in 1990, 4,835 were killed . It is important to reiterate that these are official records, which are immensely under reported. The lack of official registration of this crime is apparent in Delhi, where ninety percent of cases of women burnt were recorded as accidents, five percent as suicide and only the remaining five percent were shown as murder .

According to Government figures there were a total of 5,377 dowry deaths in 1993, an increase of 12% from 1992. Despite the existence of rigorous laws to prevent dowrydeaths under a 1986 amendment to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), convictions are rare, and

judges (usually men) are often uninterested and susceptible to bribery. Recent newspaper reports have focused on the alarming rate of deaths of married women in Hamirpur, Mandi and Bilaspur districts in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Causes of Dowry Economic theory, which views the market for marriage as one in which people bargain for a spouse who maximizes their utility gains from marriage, when combined with the realities of various sociological factors, present reasons behind the existence of the dowry system in India. Under the assumption of a perfectly competitive marriage market with perfect information, the existence of a dowry can be seen as the combined result of a few different forces. The Marriage Squeeze and Excess Supply of Wives Theoretical work by economists on marriage transactions has stipulated that dowries are likely to occur when equilibrium conditions result in an excess supply of women who want to marry and enter the marriage market. An excess supply of women, or a relative scarcity of men in the marriage market, can be equilibrated through the use of the marital cost of dowry. In theory, the monetary cost of the dowry increases as the supply of women wanting to marry rises, shifting the supply curve enough to balance the demand for wives.

Some scholars have argued that the excess supply argument is suspect for the case of Indian society because the nations gender-ratio imbalance is notoriously tilted towards fewer women than men, rather than reverse. In fact, the countrys

female-male ratio has declined from 972 women per thousand men in 1901 to less than 927 women per thousand men in 1991. However, there is a fundamental flaw in examining the total gender ratio as an indicator of the relative supply of women in the marriage market, for certain social customs of Indian society cause distinct peculiarities in the way the Indian marriage market is divided between men and women. In India, Hindu marriages are based on social and religious beliefs that allow men to marry at virtually any age, while women are required to marry by a much younger age. Although the maximum age limit for marriage varies for women in different regions of India, the central belief is that a daughter who remains unmarried after the socially determined age will thereafter be ineligible for marriage, and as such, will bring to her family social disgrace, the financial liability of her sustenance, and certain types of economic sanctions imposed by the rest of the community. The most significant implication of such an ideology is that the Indian marriage market becomes divided into an older male cohort and a much younger female cohort. Thus, the actual gender ratio in the Indian marriage market cannot be detected in the nations total gender ratio or even in same age group or same time period gender ratios. Instead, it is the relative numbers of the younger female cohort as compared with the older male cohort that determines the true ratio of eligible men and women who want to marry. This peculiar gender division leads to some key insight about the rising costs of dowry, for the structure of Indias marriage market is highly affected by one of the nations greatest obstacles to social and economic progress: population growth.

Recent empirical work has shown that Indias surge in population growth over the last several decades has led to a marriage squeeze. In theory, a marriage squeeze means that a population with a declining mortality rate and increasing birth rate

will have larger younger cohorts than older ones. Because women tend to marry older men in Indian society, the eligible women in Indias marriage market would therefore belong to a younger and hence larger cohort. Essentially, a high population growth would lead to a gender ratio in the marriage market characterized by a surplus of women, and the amount of this surplus would depend on the actual rate of population growth. A marriage squeeze, therefore, by causing an increase in the supply of women in the marriage market, would also cause an upward shift in the amount of dowry needed to equilibrate that market. In one region of southern India, data and research estimate that the marriage squeeze ratio has caused a significant increase in net real dowry transfers over time (Rao 672). In considering this trend as a result of the surplus of women in the marriage market, it is also important to note that the area studied was a region in which female mortality at younger ages exceeds male mortality. In fact, the gender ratio in the region has tilted towards more men than women in the total population ever since the turn of the century. The surplus of women over men at marriageable ages, therefore, indicates that the population growth was large enough to outweigh the fact there have always been more women than men within the same age cohort. Indias alarmingly high population growth led to a subsequent increase in the size of the younger female cohort in the marriage market, thereby inducing a marriage squeeze that can be held at least partly responsible for the existence of as well as the recent increase in costs of dowries.

Divergent Patterns of Human Capital Accumulation

The theory of the marriage squeeze, based on the Indian social phenomenon where younger women tend to marry older men, uses Indias high population growth of the last several decades to explain the increase in the average cost of dowries. However, the other prevalent customs and attitudes of Indian marriage are another extremely significant aspect of the economic rational for why the practice of dowry persists in Indian society. Aside from the excess supply of women in the marriage market already discussed, the existence of dowry may alternatively be attributed to an inherent differential between the gains from marriage for men and women. This explanation has one very important implication: the benefits of marriage for women exceed the benefits gained from marriage by men. It is thus the net difference between these marital gains that the grooms family appropriates as dowry, or marriage payment. The discrepancy in marital gains can be seen as having two components. Firstly, traditional social norms inhibit the acquisition of market-oriented human capital by women and instead promote procurement of household-oriented human capital, which in turn can only be fully utilized within the context of marriage. Secondly, individual and family utility, which in economic theory is generally defined as well-being or happiness, is derived not only from the consumption of material goods, but also from a desire to uphold a good name and reputation in a community by adhering to its prevalent social and cultural beliefs. Neoclassical economic theory fails to take into account the utility derived from social acceptance, but it is only by understanding the social and ideological forces of Indian society that it becomes possible to fully understand the economic and market forces that have led to the existence of dowry.

In this context, two broad categories of human capital can be defined: market

specific human capital, which contributes to productivity and earnings potential in the labor market, and household specific human capital, which contributes to productivity and skills that increase the social status of the household and family (Sen, Pollack). Capital accumulation decisions are made during childhood by parents and families. It is assumed that market specific human capital generally requires monetary investment, and is obtained through formal education and training, while household specific capital can generally be acquired without any monetary investment through training and work in the household under the supervision of a senior female member of the household. It is reasonable to assume that families consider several factors when making decisions about human capital investment for their children. These include the utility derived from their childrens preferences, the family utility derived from adhering to social customs regarding the appropriate forms of capital accumulation for different genders, and finally, the expected rate of return on the familys monetary investment into childrens market specific human capital. In this context, three prevalent features of Indian society will be discussed in their relevance to decisions regarding the acquisition of human capital for women. Perhaps the most basic phenomenon of Indian marriage is that a daughter, once married, essentially becomes the property of her husbands family. All assets, including any labor market earnings, household skills, and dowry, are transferred to the family-in-law. Sons, however, are almost always the source of future income and dependence for parents during their old age. As such, money invested into the acquisition of market specific human capital for a son is usually regarded as a form of investment into parents future consumption. Monetary investment into a daughters acquisition of human capital, however, returns no specific financial yield, although there may be benefits accrued due to any utility parents may derive from the happiness of their children. Such financial circumstances help explain the widespread decision of Indian households to allocate most or all resources intended for childrens consumption to the investment of market specific human capital for sons,

while daughters are generally forced to invest in the zero cost acquisition of household specific human capital. The investment decisions made by Indian families regarding the acquisition of human capital for their children are likely to be influenced by the large differential in labor market earnings between men and women. Many studies have determined that there is an enormous amount of wage discrimination in the Indian labor market. In particular, research has shown that Indian women with post-secondary schooling earn about 21% less than Indian men, and that about 67-77% of this wage gap may be attributed to discrimination. The primary significance of this wage discrepancy in decisions of human capital acquisition is that investment into market specific human capital for daughters yields a much lower expected real rate of return than such investment for sons. The wage discrepancy in the labor market is another reason that Indian parents tend to invest less in market specific human capital for their daughters, as they realize that the yield from such an investment in terms of labor market earnings would be relatively meager In addition to rationally and economically analyzing the expected return on investment, Indian families are also heavily influenced by the strong social and cultural beliefs that view the acquisition of economic resources by women with intense antagonism. Indian social structural ideologies have long regarded women as the stable foundation of the family. Appropriate responsibilities for women have generally been limited to household tasks such as childbearing, cooking, cleaning, and other social and religious activities such as singing for community events or planning religious ceremonies known as pujas. Moreover, excessive education or education of the wrong kind, such as education that grants her the means of economic self-sufficiency, increases the probability that a girl will gain an unseemly amount of independence, violate her traditional role and disrupt familial and societal harmony in the future (Sen 83). Depending on a familys adherence to such prevailing social attitudes, daughters are for yet another reason generally restricted to developing only household oriented skills, while sons are allocated

the funding needed to gain market skills through school, college, and job training. Thus, due to a variety of both economic and social reasons, women in Indian societies are raised with a much higher proportion of household specific human capital relative to market specific human capital. The most significant implication of the discrepancy in patterns of human capital accumulation for men and women is on the relative benefits they receive in marriage. The most fundamental characteristic of household specific human capital is that it can be fully utilized only within the married state. For example, The benefits of skills such as those specific to bearing and raising children become irrelevant out of marriage, for out-of-wedlock and divorced motherhood are considered among the greatest social disgraces for Indian women, often provoking severe censure and disdain by the community at large. Consequently, women who have acquired large amounts of household specific human capital stand to receive two major benefits from marriage. First, there is an increase in consumption and utility derived from a society that regards marriage in high esteem. And secondly, there is the increase in utility derived from the complete utilization of acquired household specific human capital While the former applies to men and women equally, the latter is a benefit specific to women who have been raised in traditional households that restricted their capital accumulation to household oriented skills. In such cases, the women will have an inevitably larger gain from marriage than men will, and the net difference would be equalized through the payment of an appropriate amount of dowry.

Both the marriage squeeze theory of excess supply of women in the marriage market as well the theory of divergent patterns of human capital accumulation rationalize the existence of dowry in Indian society based on one critical factor: traditional Indian

social values. In the theory of the marriage squeeze, population growth has only affected the size of the female cohort in the marriage market because of the social values that compel women to be married by a certain age. In the theory of divergent human capital accumulation, social mandates, such as those that limit the procurement of human capital for daughters to household oriented skills, as well as those that force women to transfer all assets to the family-in-law after marriage, inevitably put many women in situations where they must rely on marriage for economic sustenance. Examined from this perspective, the main evil behind the perpetuation of the dowry tradition lies in the restrictive and frequently detrimental Indian social views on marriage. The effect of dowry on the welfare of Indian society, however, is further complicated by certain social skills that are inextricably linked with the tradition. Such effects, which include dowry-related violence and abuse, bride burning, wife murder, and female infanticide, constitute some of the most highly detrimental ills perpetrated against Indian women.

Effects of Dowry

The provisions and acts against dowry in the Indian legal code are largely ineffective. The phenomenon is too pervasive and too prevalent in rural communities (where civil law is hardly understood let alone observed) to be influenced by basically any kind of legal statutes.

Moreover, studies have shown that a majority of police and other security officials regard dowry as a family issue in which the law, the government, or the police should not interfere. As such, the expected punishment for violating legal codes regarding dowry is practically zero, and families continue to practice the giving of dowry according to tradition. Furthermore, the ineffectiveness of the legal codes also means that the dowry is essentially irrecoverable upon termination of the marriage. The lack of legal enforcement of laws pertaining to the family results in a depressing but economically legitimate rational for the perpetration of two very serious social ills: wife murder and female infanticide.

Dowry-related Wife Abuse and Murder

Because of the practically nonexistent expected punishment for legal violations concerning dowry and because men in Indian society do not generally face any negative economic or societal consequences upon dissolution of a marriage, the existence of dowry in effect induces a man to eliminate his current wife if the expected gains from doing so exceed the gains from continuing to be with her. Essentially, a man who can gain more from the potential dowry of a second marriage than from the benefits of remaining with his first wife is more likely to murder his current wife, especially if there is a low probability of conviction. In a similar vein, wife abuse may be used as a means of inducing a woman to leave a marriage, thereby allowing the husband to contract a second marriage and appropriate a second dowry without the legal risk (however small) of committing murder. Although this economic rational has yet to be adequately substantiated through empirical research, the argument is convincing particularly in light of the incredible pervasiveness of dowry-related wife abuse and murder. Incidents of violence and murders of wives due to issues of dowry first began to be reported in the early 1980s. Stories emerged of women who were burned to death, beaten and abused, murdered, and who committed suicide because of families-in-law who relentless harassed brides on issues related to insufficient dowry. By 1994, the Home Ministrys National Crime Record Bureau clocked a dowry death at every 102 minutes.

In a country where people rarely report acts of domestic violence, however, even these grossly disturbing figures likely represent only a fraction of the actual dowry deaths that took place during these years. These horrific episodes of violence and murder can be seen

as the combined result of an inadequately enforced legal system along with an age-old tradition that inherently undermines the relative economic self-sufficiency of women. Female Infanticide In a similar vein, the dowry system may be seen as partly responsible for the female infanticide that occurs all over rural India. Because of the same lack of legal enforcement that has exacerbated dowry-related abuse and murder, the phenomenon of female infanticide is prevalent among Indian families (particularly in rural communities) where the additional cost of dowry for a third or fourth daughter may greatly exceed the familys financial capacity. Again, economic empirical work has yet to explore this correlation, but the raw data and prevalent attitudes are staggering. Government employed midwives revealed in interviews that they feared for a newborns life if it was so unfortunate as to be the third or fourth girl born into a poor family of farm laborerssuch a family could not possibly afford the price of another girls dowryputting the child to sleepseemed their only choice. Both dowry-related murders as well as female infanticide are unfortunate and highly deleterious symptoms of Indias dowry system. Imposing a highly negative impact on the social welfare of women in Indian society, these phenomena must be addressed as what they aresymptoms of a more significant root problem: that is, the prevailing social and cultural ideology that led to the existence of dowry in the first place.

Conclusion

Elimination of dowry and of the negative impact it impresses on Indian social welfare requires a twofold system of policies. Firstly, the domestic violence, murder, and female infanticide that result from the dowry tradition must be abolished through increased enforcement of legal provisions such as those in the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961. By vehemently prosecuting and convicting perpetrators of dowry violence, the expected punishment could be increased enough to offset the benefits of committing such dowryrelated crime, thereby reducing the overall frequency of occurrence. Secondly, given that crimes related to dowry are rooted in dominant Indian social, religious, and ideological forces, the complete eradication of dowry can only be attained when these social and religious attitudes are forced to change. It has been examined in this paper that the two primary causes of dowry are the excess supply of women in the Indian marriage market and the systematic under-accumulation of market specific human capital by women that causes a discrepancy in marital gains for men and women. In order to stop the perpetuation of the dowry tradition and its associated social ills, the relative gains from marriage for men and women must first be equalized. This can only be accomplished through a fundamental shift in Indian social attitudes about both marriage and women. Perceptions about appropriate roles for women must evolve to include education and employment, the current requirement that brides surrender all future assets to in-laws must be changed so that parents can depend on daughters as well as sons in their old age, and finally, the government must undertake sustained action to prevent employment and wage discrimination against women in the labor market. Unfortunately, there is an enormous period of lag time between the time when calls for social change are actually made and the time when societal beliefs and customs actually begin to transform. Today, dowry continues to be a socially accepted and rational outcome of the current Indian marriage market. True progress in the elimination of the dowry system will only come through endeavors to create awareness among Indian communities about the negative effects of dowry,

through programs and government sanctions that endorse education and employment for women of all ages, andthrough a fundamental change in the attitudes of Indian peoples.

SEXTUAL HARASSMENT

Sexual Harassment An Introduction Sexual harassment is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment may be illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and annoyances to actual sexual abuse or sexual assault. Sexual harassment is a form of illegal employment discrimination in many countries, and is a form of abuse (sexual and psychological) and bullying. For many businesses, preventing sexual harassment, and defending employees from sexual harassment charges, have become key goals of legal decision-making. In contrast, many scholars complain that sexual harassment in education remains a "forgotten secret," with educators and administrators refusing to admit the problem exists in their schools, or accept their legal and ethical responsibilities to deal with it. Early history of the use of the term In her book In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution (1999), journalist Susan Brownmiller quotes the Cornell activists who in 1975 thought they had coined the term sexual harassment: "Eight of us were sitting in an office ... brainstorming about what we were going to write on posters for our speak-out. We were referring to it as 'sexual intimidation,' 'sexual coercion,' 'sexual exploitation on the job.' None of those names seemed quite right. We wanted something that embraced a whole range of subtle and unsubtle persistent behaviors. Somebody came up with 'harassment.' 'Sexual harassment!' Instantly we agreed. That's what it was. These activists went on to form Working Women's Institute which, along with the Alliance Against Sexual Coercion, founded in 1976 by Freada Klein, Lynn Wehrli, and Elizabeth Cohn-Stuntz, were among the pioneer organizations to bring sexual harassment to public attention in the late 1970s.

The term sexual harassment was used in 1973 by Dr Mary Rowe in a report to the then President and Chancellor of MIT about various forms of gender issues. (See Saturn's Rings, 1973). Rowe has stated that she believes she was not the first to use the term, since sexual harassment was being discussed in women's groups in Massachusetts in the early 1970s, but that MIT may have been the first or one of the first large organizations to discuss the topic (in the MIT Academic Council), and to develop relevant policies and procedures. MIT at the time also recognized the injuries caused by racial harassment and the harassment of women of color which may be both racial and sexual. The President of MIT also stated that harassment (and favoritism) are antithetical to the mission of a university as well as intolerable for individuals. Harassment situations Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances. Often, but not always, the harasser is in a position of power or authority over the victim (due to differences in age, or social, political, educational or employment relationships). Forms of harassment relationships include:

The harasser can be anyone, such as a client, a co-worker, a teacher or professor, a student, a friend, or a stranger.

The victim does not have to be the person directly harassed but can be anyone who finds the behavior offensive and is affected by it.

While adverse effects on the victim are common, this does not have to be the case for the behavior to be unlawful.

The victim can be any gender. The harasser can be any gender. The harasser does not have to be of the opposite sex.

The harasser may be completely unaware that his or her behavior is offensive or constitutes sexual harassment or may be completely unaware that his or her actions could be unlawful. Adapted from the U.S. EEOC definition

Misunderstanding between Female-Male Communication: It can result from a situation where one thinks he/she is making themselves clear, but he/she is not understood the way he/she intended. The misunderstanding can either be reasonable or unreasonable. An example of unreasonable is when a man holds a certain stereotypical view of a woman such that he did not understand the womans explicit message to stop.(Heyman, 1994)

Varied behaviors One of the difficulties in understanding sexual harassment is that it involves a range of behavior, and is often difficult for the recipient to describe to themselves, and to others, exactly what they are experiencing. Moreover, behavior and motives vary between individual harassers. Behavioral classes Dzeich et al. has divided harassers into two broad classes:

Public harassers are flagrant in their seductive or sexist attitudes towards colleagues, subordinates, students, etc.

Private harassers carefully cultivate a restrained and respectable image on the surface, but when alone with their target, their demeanor changes completely.

Langelan describes three different classes of harassers.

Predatory harasser who gets sexual thrills from humiliating others. This harasser may become involved in sexual extortion, and may frequently harass just to see how targets respondthose who don't resist may even become targets for rape.

Dominance harasser the most common type, who engages in harassing behaviour as an ego boost.

strategic or territorial harassers who seek to maintain privilege in jobs or physical locations, for example a man's harassing female employees in a predominantly male occupation.

Types of harassment There is usually more than one type of harassing behavior present, so a single harasser will often fit more than one category. These are brief summations of each type.

Power-player - Legally termed "quid pro quo" harassment, these harassers insist on sexual favors in exchange for benefits they can dispense because of their positions in hierarchies: getting or keeping a job, favorable grades, recommendations, credentials, projects, promotion, orders, and other types of opportunities.

Mother/Father Figure(a.k.a. The Counselor-Helper) - These harassers will try to create mentor-like relationships with their targets, all the while masking their sexual intentions with pretenses towards personal, professional, or academic attention.

One-of-the-Gang - harassment occurs when groups of men or women embarrass others with lewd comments, physical evaluations, or other unwanted sexual attention. Harassers may act individually in order to belong or impress the others, or groups may gang up on a particular target.

Serial Harasser - Harassers of this type carefully build up an image so that people would find it hard to believe they would do anyone any harm. They plan

their approaches carefully, and strike in private so that it is their word against that of their victims.

Groper - Whenever the opportunity presents itself, these harassers' eyes and hands begin to wander, engaging in unwanted physical contact that may start innocuous but lead to worse.

Opportunist - Opportunist use physical settings and circumstances, or infrequently occurring opportunities, to mask premeditated or intentional sexual behavior towards targets. This will often involve changing the environment in order to minimize inhibitory effects of the workplace or school or taking advantage of physical tasks to 'accidentally' grope a target.

Bully - In this case, sexual harassment is used to punish the victim for some transgression, such as rejection of the harasser's interest or advances, or making the harasser feel insecure about himself or herself or his or her abilities. The bully uses sexual harassment to put the victim in his or her "proper place."

Confidante - Harassers of this type approach subordinates, or students, as equals or friends, sharing about their own life experiences and difficulties, sharing stories to win admiration and sympathy, and inviting subordinates to share theirs so as to make them feel valued and trusted. Soon these relationships move into an intimate domain.

Situational Harasser - Harassing behavior begins when the perpetrator endures a traumatic event (psychological), or begins to experience very stressful life situations, such as psychological or medical problems, marital problems, or divorce. The harassment will usually stop if the situation changes or the pressures are removed.

Pest - This is the stereotypical "won't take 'no' for an answer" harasser who persists in hounding a target for attention and dates even after persistent rejections. This behavior is usually misguided, with no malicious intent.

Great Gallant - This mostly verbal harassment involves excessive compliments and personal comments that focus on appearance and gender, and are out of place or embarrassing to the recipient. Such comments are sometimes accompanied by leering looks.

Intellectual Seducer - Most often found in educational settings, these harassers will try to use their knowledge and skills as an avenue to gain access to students, or information about students, for sexual purposes. They may require students participate in exercises or "studies" that reveal information about their sexual experiences, preferences, and habits.

Incompetent - These are socially inept individuals who desire the attentions of their targets, who do not reciprocate these feelings. They may display a sense of entitlement, believing their targets should feel flattered by their attentions. When rejected, this type of harasser may use bullying methods as a form of revenge.

Stalking - Persistent watching, following, contacting or observing of an individual, sometimes motivated by what the stalker believes to be love, or by sexual obsession, or by anger and hostility.

Unintentional - Acts or comments of a sexual nature, not intended to harass, can constitute sexual harassment if another person feels uncomfortable with such subjects.

Sexualized environments (aka environmental harassment) Sexualized environments are environments where obscenities, sexual joking, sexually explicit graffiti, viewing Internet pornography, sexually degrading posters and objects, etc., are common. None of these behaviors or objects may necessarily be directed at anyone in particular or intended as harassment. However, they can create an offensive environment, and one that is consistent with "hostile environment sexual harassment".

Rituals and initiations Sexual harassment can also occur in group settings as part of rituals or ceremonies, such as when members engage newcomers in abusive or sexually explicit rites as part of hazing or initiation. While such traditions have historically remained in arenas of male bonding or female bonding, such as team sports, fraternities, and sororities, it is becoming increasingly common for girls/women's groups to engage in similar ceremonies. Retaliation and backlash Retaliation and backlash against a victim are very common, particularly a complainant. Victims who speak out against sexual harassment are often labeled troublemakers who are on their own power trips, or who are looking for attention. Similar to cases of rape or sexual assault, the victim often becomes the accused, with their appearance, private life, and character likely to fall under intrusive scrutiny and attack. They risk hostility and isolation from colleagues, supervisors, teachers, fellow students, and even friends. They may become the targets of mobbing or relational aggression. Women are not necessarily sympathetic to female complainants who have been sexually harassed. If the harasser was male, internalized sexism, and/or jealousy over the sexual attention towards the victim, may encourage some women to react with as much hostility towards the complainant as some male colleagues. Fear of being targeted for harassment or retaliation themselves may also cause some women to respond with hostility. For example, when Lois Jenson filed her lawsuit against Eveleth Taconite Co., the women placed a hangman's noose above her workplace, and shunned her both at work and in the communitymany of these women later joined her suit. Women may even project hostility onto the victim in order to bond with their male coworkers and build trust.

Retaliation has occurred when a sexual harassment victim suffers a negative action as a result of the harassment. For example, a complainant be given poor evaluations or low grades, have their projects sabotaged, be denied work or academic opportunities, have

their work hours cut back, and other actions against them which undermine their productivity, or their ability to advance at work or school. They may be suspended, asked to resign, or be fired from their jobs altogether. Moreover, a professor or employer accused of sexual harassment, or who is the colleague of a perpetrator, can use their power to see that a victim is never hired again, or never accepted to another school. Retaliation can even involve further sexual harassment, and also stalking and cyberstalking of the victim.

Of the women who have approached her to share their own experiences of being sexually harassed by their teachers, feminist and writer Naomi Wolf writes, "I am ashamed of what I tell them: that they should indeed worry about making an accusation because what they fear is likely to come true. Not one of the women I have heard from had an outcome that was not worse for her than silence. One, I recall, was drummed out of the school by peer pressure. Many faced bureaucratic stonewalling. Some women said they lost their academic status as golden girls overnight; grants dried up, letters of recommendation were no longer forthcoming. No one was met with a coherent process that was not weighted against them. Usually, the key decision-makers in the college or universityespecially if it was a private universityjoined forces to, in effect, collude with the faculty member accused; to protect not him necessarily but the reputation of the university, and to keep information from surfacing in a way that could protect other women. The goal seemed to be not to provide a balanced forum, but damage control."

Another woman who was interviewed by Helen Watson, a sociologist, reported that, "Facing up to the crime and having to deal with it in public is probably worse than suffering in silence. I found it to be a lot worse than the harassment itself."

Effects of sexual harassment and the (often) accompanying retaliation Effects of sexual harassment can vary depending on the individual, and the severity and duration of the harassment. Often, sexual harassment incidents fall into the category of the "merely annoying." However, many situations can, and do, have life-altering effects particularly when they involve severe/chronic abuses, and/or retaliation against a victim who does not submit to the harassment, or who complains about it openly. Indeed, psychologists and social workers report that severe/chronic sexual harassment can have the same psychological effects as rape or sexual assault. For example, in 1995, Judith Coflin committed suicide after chronic sexual harassment by her bosses and coworkers. (Her family was later awarded 6 million dollars in punitive and compensatory damages.) Backlash and victim-blaming can further aggravate the effects. Moreover, every year, sexual harassment costs hundreds of millions of dollars in lost educational and professional opportunities, mostly for girls and women. Common effects on the victims Common professional, academic, financial, and social effects of sexual harassment:

Decreased work or school performance; increased absenteeism Loss of job or career, loss of income Having to drop courses, change academic plans, or leave school (loss of tuition) Having one's personal life offered up for public scrutinythe victim becomes the "accused," and his or her dress, lifestyle, and private life will often come under attack. (Note: this rarely occurs for the perpetrator.)

Being objectified and humiliated by scrutiny and gossip Becoming publicly sexualized (i.e. groups of people "evaluate" the victim to establish if he or she is "worth" the sexual attention or the risk to the harasser's career)

Defamation of character and reputation Loss of trust in environments similar to where the harassment occurred

Loss of trust in the types of people that occupy similar positions as the harasser or his or her colleagues Extreme stress upon relationships with significant others, sometimes resulting in divorce; extreme stress on peer relationships, or relationships with colleagues Weakening of support network, or being ostracized from professional or academic circles (friends, colleagues, or family may distance themselves from the victim, or shun him or her altogether)

Having to relocate to another city, another job, or another school Loss of references/recommendations

Some of the psychological and health effects that can occur in someone who has been sexually harassed: depression, anxiety and/or panic attacks, sleeplessness and/or nightmares, shame and guilt, difficulty concentrating, headaches, fatigue or loss of motivation, stomach problems, eating disorders (weight loss or gain), alcoholism, feeling betrayed and/or violated, feeling angry or violent towards the perpetrator, feeling powerless or out of control, increased blood pressure, loss of confidence and self esteem, withdrawal and isolation, overall loss of trust in people, traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts or attempts, suicide.

Effects of sexual harassment on organizations

Decreased productivity and increased team conflict Decrease in success at meeting financial goals (because of team conflict) Decreased job satisfaction Loss of staff and expertise from resignations to avoid harassment or resignations/firings of alleged harassers; loss of students who leave school to avoid harassment

Decreased productivity and/or increased absenteeism by staff or students experiencing harassment Increased health care costs and sick pay costs because of the health consequences of harassment The knowledge that harassment is permitted can undermine ethical standards and discipline in the organization in general, as staff and/or students lose respect for, and trust in, their seniors who indulge in, or turn a blind eye to, sexual harassment

If the problem is ignored, a company's or school's image can suffer Legal costs if the problem is ignored and complainants take the issue to court. (Boland 1990)[10][11][12][13][14]

The effect of the organization on sexual harassment Studies show that organizational climate (an organizations tolerance, policy, procedure etc.) and workplace environment are essential for understanding the conditions in which sexual harassment is likely to occur, and the way its victims will be affected (yet, research on specific policy and procedure and awareness and prevention strategies is lacking).another element which increases the risk for sexual harassment is the jobs gender context (having few women in the close working environment or practicing in a field which is atypical for women)

Evolution of sexual harassment law United States - Workplace In the US, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin or religion. The prohibition of sex discrimination covers both females and males. This discrimination occurs when the sex of the worker is made as a condition of employment (i.e. all female waitpersons or male carpenters) or where this is a job requirement that does not mention sex but ends up barring many more persons of one sex than the other from the job (such as height and weight limits).

Barnes v. Train (1974) is commonly viewed as the first sexual harassment case in America, even though the term "sexual harassment" was not used. In 1976, Williams v. Saxbe established sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination when sexual advances by a male supervisor towards a female employee, if proven, would be deemed an artificial barrier to employment placed before one gender and not another. In 1980 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued regulations defining sexual harassment and stating it was a form of sex discrimination prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the 1986 case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court first recognized "sexual harassment" as a violation of Title VII, established the standards for analyzing whether the conduct was welcome and levels of employer liability, and that speech or conduct in itself can create a "hostile environment." The Civil Rights Act of 1991 added provisions to Title VII protections including expanding the rights of women to sue and collect compensatory and punitive damages for sexual discrimination or harassment, and the case of Ellison v. Brady resulted in rejecting the reasonable person standard in favor of the "reasonable woman standard" which allowed for cases to be analyzed from the perspective of the complainant and not the defendant. Also in 1991, Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. became the first sexual harassment case to be given class action status, paving the way for others. Seven years later, in 1998, this case would establish new precedents for setting limits on the "discovery" process in sexual

harassment cases, and allowing psychological injuries from the litigation process to be included in assessing damages awards. In the same year, the courts concluded in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, Florida, and Burlington v. Ellerth, that employers are liable for harassment by their employees. Moreover, Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services set the precedent for same-sex harassment, and sexual harassment without motivation of "sexual desire", stating that any discrimination based on sex is actionable so long as it places the victim in an objectively disadvantageous working condition, regardless of the gender of either the victim, or the harasser.

In the 2006 case of Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, the standard for retaliation against a sexual harassment complainant was revised to include any adverse employment decision or treatment that would be likely to dissuade a "reasonable worker" from making or supporting a charge of discrimination. During 2007 alone, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and related state agencies received 12,510 new charges of sexual harassment on the job [19] Education Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (United States) states "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

In Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992), the U.S. Supreme Court held that private citizens could collect damage awards when teachers sexually harassed their students. In Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser (1986) the courts ruled that schools have the power to discipline students if they use "obscene, profane language or gestures" which could be viewed as substantially interfering with the educational process, and

inconsistent with the "fundamental values of public school education." Under regulations issued in 1997 by the U.S. Department of Education, which administers Title IX, school districts should be held responsible for harassment by educators if the harasser "was aided in carrying out the sexual harassment of students by his or her position of authority with the institution." In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, and Murrell v. School Dist. No. 1, 1999, schools were assigned liability for peer-to-peer sexual harassment if the plaintiff sufficiently demonstrated that the administration's response shows "deliberate indifference" to "actual knowledge" of discrimination. Evolution of sexual harassment law in other jurisdictions In India, the case of Vishaka Vs. State of Rajasthan in 1997 has been credited with establishing sexual harassment as illegal. In Israel, the 1988 Equal Employment Opportunity Law made it a crime for an employer to retaliate against an employee who had rejected sexual advances, but it wasn't until 1998 that the Israeli Sexual Harassment Law made such behavior illegal. (Kamir, 2005)

In May 2002, the European Union Council and Parliament amended a 1976 Council Directive on the equal treatment of men and women in employment to prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace, naming it a form of sex discrimination and violation of dignity. This Directive required all Member States of the European Union to adopt laws on sexual harassment, or amend existing laws to comply with the Directive by October 2005.

In 2005, China added new provisions to the Law on Women's Right Protection to include sexual harassment. In 2006 "The Shanghai Supplement" was drafted to help further define sexual harassment in China.

Legal guidelines and definitions EEOC definition In 1980 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission produced a set of guidelines for defining and enforcing Title VII (in 1984 it was expanded to include educational institutions).

The EEOC defines sexual harassment as:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: 1. Submission to such conduct was made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, 2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual was used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or 3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. 1. and 2. are called "quid pro quo" (Latin for "this for that" or "something for something"). They are essentially "sexual bribery", or promising of benefits, and "sexual coercion".

Type 3. known as "hostile work environment," is by far the most common form. This form is less clear cut and is more subjective.

Note: a workplace harassment complainant must file with the EEOC and receive a "right to sue" clearance, before they can file a lawsuit against a company in federal court. (Boland, 2002) Quid pro quo sexual harassment Quid pro quo means "this for that". In the workplace, this occurs when a job benefit is directly tied to an employee submitting to unwelcome sexual advances. For example, a supervisor promises an employee a raise if he or she will go out on a date with him or her, or tells an employee he or she will be fired if he or she doesn't sleep with him or her. Quid pro quo harassment also occurs when an employee makes an evaluative decision, or provides or withholds professional opportunities based on another employee's submission to verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Quid pro quo harassment is equally unlawful whether the victim resists and suffers the threatened harm or submits and thus avoids the threatened harm.

Hostile environment sexual harassment

This occurs when an employee is subjected to comments of a sexual nature, unwelcome physical contact, or offensive sexual materials as a regular part of the work environment. For the most part, a single isolated incident will not be enough to prove hostile environment harassment unless it involves extremely outrageous and egregious conduct. The courts will try to decide whether the conduct is both "serious" and "frequent." Supervisors, managers, co-workers and even customers can be responsible for creating a hostile environment. Probably the most famous hostile environment sexual harassment case to date is Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. which inspired the movie North Country.

The line between "quid pro quo" and "hostile environment" harassment is not always clear and the two forms of harassment often occur together. For example, an employee's job conditions are affected when a sexually hostile work environment results in a constructive discharge. At the same time, a supervisor who makes sexual advances toward a subordinate employee may communicate an implicit threat to retaliate against her if she does not comply.

"Hostile environment" harassment may acquire characteristics of "quid pro quo" harassment if the offending supervisor abuses his authority over employment decisions to force the victim to endure or participate in the sexual conduct. Sexual harassment may culminate in a retaliatory discharge if a victim tells the harasser or her employer she will no longer submit to the harassment, and is then fired in retaliation for this protest. Under these circumstances it would be appropriate to conclude that both harassment and retaliation in violation of section 704(a) of Title VII have occurred." Retaliation Retaliation has occurred when an employee suffers a negative action after he or she has made a report of sexual harassment, file a grievance, assist someone else with a complaint, or participate in discrimination prevention activities. Negative actions can include being fired, demotion, suspension, denial of promotion, poor evaluation, unfavorable job re-assignmentany adverse employment decision or treatment that would be likely to dissuade a "reasonable worker" from making or supporting a charge of discrimination. (See Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White) Retaliation is as illegal as the sexual harassment itself, but also as difficult to prove. Also, retaliation is illegal even if the original charge of sexual harassment was not proven.

In India

Sexual harassment in India (and Pakistan)is termed "Eve teasing" and is described as: unwelcome sexual gesture or behaviour whether directly or indirectly as sexually coloured remarks; physical contact and advances; showing pornography; a demand or request for sexual favours; any other unwelcome physical, verbal/non-verbal conduct being sexual in nature. The critical factor is the unwelcomeness of the behaviour, thereby making the impact of such actions on the recipient more relevant rather than intent of the perpetrator. Though the phrase "sexual harassment" is generally acknowledged, by everyone, to include clearly damaging and morally deplorable behavior, its boundaries can be broad and controversial. Accordingly, misunderstandings can abound. Moreover, sexual harassment law has been highly criticized by experts, such as Alan Dershowitz and Eugene Volokh, for imposing on the right to free speech.[39] Some feminist groups criticize sexual harassment policy as helping maintain archaic stereotypes of women as "delicate, asexual creatures" who require special protection.[40] Camille Paglia, for example says that young girls can end up acting in such ways as to make sexual harassment easier, such that for example, by acting "nice" they can become a target. Paglia commented in an interview with Playboy, "Realize the degree to which your niceness may invoke people to say lewd and pornographic things to you--sometimes to violate your niceness. The more you blush, the more people want to do it."[41] Sexual harassment policy and legislation have been criticized as attempts to "regulate romance" which goes against human urges.[42] Other critics assert that sexual harassment is a very serious problem, but current views focus too heavily on sexuality rather than on the type of conduct that undermines the ability of women or men to work together effectively. Viki Shultz, a law professor at Yale University comments, "Many of the most prevalent forms of harassment are designed to maintain work-particularly the more highly rewarded lines of work-as bastions of male competence and authority." [43] Feminist Jane Gallop sees this evolution of the definition of sexual harassment as coming from a "split" between what she calls "power feminists" who are pro-sex (like herself) and what she calls "victim feminists," who are not. She argues that the split has helped lead to a

perversion of the definition of sexual harassment, which used to be about sexism but has come to be about anything that's sexual. (Gallop, 1997)

There is also concern over abuses of sexual harassment policy, and employers and administrators using accusations as a way of expelling employees they want to eliminate for other reasons. (Westhues, 1998).

There is also discussion of whether some recent trends towards more revealing clothing and permissive habits have created a more sexualized general environment, in which some forms of communication are unfairly labeled harassment, but are simply a reaction to greater sexualization in everyday environments.

There are many debates about how organizations should deal with sexual harassment. Some observers feel strongly that organizations should be held to a zero tolerance standard of "Must report - must investigate - must punish." Others write that those who feel harassed should in most circumstances have a choice of options. See "Workplace Justice, Zero Tolerance, and Zero Barriers.