The Nirbhaya gang rape in Delhi four years ago has had one significant impact. More women are reporting sexual assault to the police all over the country. Police forces for their part do not shillyshally about recording complaints. But that is about all. The new sexual assault law is still not fully enforced. It gives serious weight to the testimony of aggrieved women and promises speedy trial. But conviction rates remain unconvincing. Perpetrators are not punished and reasonable doubt remains an elastic notion. The reason may be that the police cannot collect solid evidence. The new law empowers the police to deal with crimes employing modern investigative techniques. However, the police are not trained to apply such techniques and their training is not given for a reasonable period of time. There is a great lack of human resources. Forensic laboratories are weighed down with backlog and are non –existent in the districts. There are no trained evidence collection units. The police are underpaid and they underperform.
All this proves that passing a law is not an adequate curative. Governments resort to quick fixes and leave it at that. Capacity building in the police forces is inadequate and is not proceeding apace. It applies most to cases of sexual assault. Police accountability goes with their autonomy which is basic to democratic functioning and the rule of law. Nirbhaya rankles but what next?