Sentencing Sex Offenders in India: Retributive Justice versus Sex-Offender Treatment Programmes and Restorative Justice Approaches
Keywords:
Nirbhaya'(fearless one), sentencing, rape, sex offenders, death penalty, chemical castration, preventive detention, sex offender treatment programmes, restorative justice.Abstract
Since December 2012, hundreds of people of all ages have protested both within India and around the world, demanding justice for twenty-three year old 'Nirbhaya' ('fearless one'), who lost her life after being brutally assaulted and gang-raped in a running private Bus at Delhi. Her father and brother have publicly called for the execution of those responsible, while other rape victims have suggested that India should introduce chemical castration as a punishment for sexual assault. In light of this, and other similar rape cases in India, this article questions whether punitive methods, such as the death penalty and chemical castration, offer the best way forward. Exploring sex offender treatment programmes and the use of restorative justice, this article sheds light on a range of strategies likely to prove more effective for addressing the problem of sexual violence in India.