Political Power Essay Example for Free

Political Power Essay Power could be defined as â€Å"the ability to bring about change† according to Beyond intractability. Org website (http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Power/). Power is the ability to influence the behavior of the others so as to make them do what one wants.   It entails authority and control.   Thus political power is the authority to control a society. Political power can be manipulated leading to negative use by the person or people holding it.   There are many bad uses of political power that can result from holding of the power by an irresponsible person. Such negative uses include dictatorship, corruption and oppression of the society.   Political power can also be used positively to bring benefit to the society. Political power can be used to foster development, to maintain peace and also to protect the society from external threats of invasion.   Despite the various harsh negative uses of political power, the positive uses shows that political power does not always lead to negative outcomes.   Political power can be effectively used to bring a lot of benefits to the society. Political power can be used to perpetrate corruption. People holding much political power can use it inappropriately to engage in corruption. This is particularly possible when much of the power is vested on a few individuals and there is no evaluation or a watchdog on how this power is used.   When they get enticed to use it for their personal gain at the expense of the society for which they are supposed to care. Corruption is abuse of office or power by a person so as he can benefit.   Corruption can take many forms all leading to great injustices to the society.   When political officers get into office, they do so promising the society that they will serve the interest of the society before their own personal gains.   However, after gaining political power they uphold their personal gain.   This can be done through misappropriation of funds whereby the offices holding the power spends public funds in a way that do not bring benefits to the society.   Example of misappropriation of funds may entail starting of projects that are not necessary to the society or buying luxurious facilities for their use at the expense of other more necessary facilities. Corruption can also be in the form of embezzlement o f public funds.   The political officers may use their power to get access to money belonging to the public through public corporations and use it for their own personal interests.   Facilities of such corporation can be wrongly used to serve the officer’s personal interests instead of their official use. Such actions lead to poor performance of such corporation leading to difficulties in meeting the essential needs of the society.   If funds belonging to a government institution, for example, a hospital are embezzled by a few officers, it means the hospital is not able to offer the services it is supposed to offer efficiently.   This will lead to great suffering of the members of the society which depend on such public facilities.   It is also very unfair to the society as they pay taxes so that they government can offer such services Corruption can also take the form of bribery.   This is mostly an administrative form of corruption but can be perpetrated by political officers also.   This involves the political officers asking for bribes from the members of society or organization so as they can be offered certain services. The is bribes may range from small gifts to massive amounts of money.   This form of corruption means the members of society are not able to get services without parting with other resources.   It also means there is segregation of some of the members of the society as, if they fail to raise the required bribes, they don’t get access to the resources they need. Corruption can also lead to extortion.   This entails use of political power by the political officers to obtain something by illegal threats.   The political officers may acquire interests in certain things or organization though issuing threats or force. Corruption has various costs to a country. If corruption is predominant in a country all the members of society are affected in one way or another.   The wealth of such a country is significantly affected leading to decrease in income.   The economy in a very corrupt state will be poor and businesses will not operate efficiently.   Consequently, the national income goes down affecting the ability of the government to offer essential services to the citizens.   This will inform produce a society with high rates of illiteracy and poverty. In the animal farm Napoleon used his political power to instigate corruption. He changed the rules from what had been collectively agreed to what suited his rule. He also used the dogs to threaten any other animal that opposed his rule. Napoleon and the other pigs also used the property of the farm for their own use which the other animals had not agreed upon. Another negative use of political power is establishment of dictatorship rule. Dictatorship is whereby the country is controlled by one or a few individuals who have absolute power.   Their rule is not limited by anyone, buy law constitution or social justices.   They do what they want. To gain dictatorship political officers use the little political power they have to gain more political power and later dictatorship. This is possible through oppression of nay efforts that try to limit their power.   This may include execution of people who take the bold steps of openly opposing the rule of these political powers. Dictators take control of all the operations of power in the country and personalize the rule. The dictatorship may also regulate all the actions by the citizens of a country and directs these actions against the will or consent of the citizens. Dictatorships are influenced by different factors that lead the political rules to misuse their political powers and establish dictatorships.   There are many countries that have been ruled by dictators or are still ruled by dictators.   An example of dictatorship is Stalinism which was a regime established by Joseph Stalin who lived between 1878 and 1953 in United Social Soviet Republic.   He was a dictator party leader whose tenure and campaigns costed lives of millions of people.   His rule had big negative impacts on USSR but also transformed it from a peasant society to an industrial nation http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstalin.htm). In George Orwell’s book (1996), the Animal Farm he depicts how people struggle collectively to oust bad rule but after gaining control, the few who are trusted with the political power misuse it and establishes an autocratic form of rule whereby they dictate on all the others. The pigs in the story, after chasing the oppressive farmer, took control of the farm and established a rule that oppressed the other animals.   The animals that questioned the rule were mistreated or executed (Orwell 1996). Napoleon used mudslinging to destroy the reputation of Snowball and later chased him from the farm. These represent how people who oppose a dictator are exiled after being falsely accused. This is typical of many African and Asian countries whereby after gaining independence form colonialism, the leaders who were trusted with political power went ahead to establish dictatorship.   Other examples of dictators include Idd Amin of Uganda, Hu Chi Minh of North Vietnam and Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Oppression of citizens and social injustices is another form of negative use of political power.   In this case, the leaders vested with political power bends the rules, and perpetrate actions that lead to oppression of citizens and social injustices.   The law or the constitution is not followed and injustice becomes inaccessible to the society. In political system where citizen are oppressed and social injustice are rife, a few people control all the branches of government. Though the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of the government may seem independent, this few individuals use their political powers to influence the operations of all these branches.   This results to much suffering of the citizens and as the justice system are faulty the citizen lack a forum through which their injustices can be addressed. In modern society this can be done through practices like imposition of rules that are aimed at oppressing the citizens, coercion to the citizens to carry out certain actions and even detention of some prominent people.   The individuals who do not support the action of those with the political power are mistreated, detained or exiled. In the Animal farm, George Orwell depicts how this is done when the pigs after assuming the leadership of the other animals change the rules and uses their power to mistreat, overwork, starve and oppress the other animals (Orwell 1996). Napoleon sold off one of the animals after he became old and less productive. This was an act of betrayal and oppression of the animal as he had also taken part in the fight for their independence. Political power can also be used for the benefits of the society. There are many countries that have benefited from positive use of the political powers to the benefit of the society.   One way political power can be used positively is fostering development can greatly be encouraged through use of political power to create the right environment for development.   Political powers can be used to enact laws, policies and strategies that are aimed at fostering development.   As the political systems influence much of the economic systems in a country, positive use of the political power can lead to positive influence on the economy of a country. The leaders vested with political power can use this pioneer to help enact laws or policies that will encourage investment and expansion of the economy.   This may be in the form of providing incentives to investors building effective infrastructures or providing a conducive environment for the economy to flourish.   In the animal farm the decision to build the windmill was a good idea aimed at bringing development in the farm and comfort to the animals (Orwell 1996). United States is a country that has massive political power that is used to foster developments. The country has a free market economy with policies encouraging conducive running of the economy.   A country like Japan has used their political power to build good infrastructures that facilitate expansion of their economy. Another positive use of political power is maintenance of peace. Political power can be effectively used to maintain peace and order in the country.   As peace is very crucial for co-existence and development in a country such use of political power can lead to great benefits to the country.   The political leaders can use their authority and influence in the society they rule to encourage and foster good co-existence between the citizens.    Political powers are needed to ensure that this happens.   The leader will use their authority to maintain order in the society and make sure that no one single citizen engages in practices that infringe the rights of others.   Laws are enacted to guide the actions of the citizens and certain strategies are taken to make sure that the laws are followed.   Political power is used to establish such a system. In Orwell’s Animal Farm the animal had collaborated to come up with rules that were aimed at maintaining good co-existence among the animals (Orwell 1996). This is done through establishment of a police force that maintains law and order and enactment of a court system that ensures that those who defy the rules are punished or forced to obey. Political power also establishes the judicial system that offers a forum through which the citizens can have their rights enforced.   All these actions bring peace by ensuring all the citizens get their rights and live harmoniously. Another positive use of political power is protection of the country from invasion. Political power is used in establishment of strategies of ensuring that a country is protected from external invasion.   This will ensure that the country is safe from threats and can concentrate on development. Political power can be utilized in different ways to protect a country from external attacks.   First the political leader can use their power and authority to help and lead in formation of policies aimed at protecting the country from possible attacks.   These policies may include security measures aimed at preventing such attacks.   The political powers can also establish armed forces that will maintain the security of the country and defend it in case of any external attacks. Weapons can also be acquired either through manufacturing or purchase form other countries aiming at providing a security measure to prevent or defend an attack.   Political leaders can also use their authority to established partnerships links with other countries aimed at fostering co-operation thus minimizing threat of attack from those countries.   These co operations may also be used as partners in maintenance of the peace of the country.   Such partners will collaborate in case of an attack or in strategies aimed at minimizing possibilities of an attack. In Orwell’s Animal Farm he depicted good use of political power when the animals united in their fight against Mr. Jones, the earlier owner of the farm. Because of this unity they were able to defeat Mr. Jones (Orwell 1996). Political leaders can use their authority to influence the practices of their country so as to prevent any actions that may trigger attacks from other countries.   Such actions may include neutrality in conflicts involving other parties. Countries in Europe have formed the European Union aimed at co-operation and collaboration in different issues.   This union unites the country hence minimizing the possibility of attack of one country by another.   There are many such unions that have been formed for such purposes including organization for economic co-operation and development (OECD) and the African Union (AU). Other countries in Europe and other places have formed NATO which is aimed at collaboration to prevent attacks form other countries.   All these efforts are aimed at protection of the individual countries and are established by political powers Political power can be used to instigate very bad and harmful activities in a country such as corruption, dictatorship and oppression of citizens. These activities lead to a lot of suffering and deterioration of economies of such countries.   However, political power can also be used to establish policies and practices for the benefit of a country. Political power is a key ingredient for development, peace and safety of a country.   Actually for country to be successful it must have a good and strong political powers that will help instigate the success.   Ã‚  Thus, it is evidence that political power does not always lead to negative outcomes.   It can be used effectively to produce many benefits to a society. Reference: Beyondintractability.org. Power. Retrieved on February 6, 2008 from http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Power/ Orwell G. (1996).Animal Farm. New York; New American Library. Spartacus educational. Joseph Stalin. Retrieved on February 6, 2008 from http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstalin.htm

Hard Times :: essays research papers

The book Hard Times written by Charles Dickens is a story about a Lancashire Mill Town in the 1840’s. The novel is divided into three books. Dickens titles the books accordingly to prepare the reader for what is about to come, and throughout the novel he shows the effects of the education system, the setup of the caste system, and the Industrial Revolution had on society through this small town of Coketown. The main characters of the novel show the English caste system of the 19th century by showing how one influences the other and the amount of power the bourgeois now have in society. They own the factories. Therefore, they have the money and, because of the changes coming from the revolution, have some power in society. The titles of the three books, â€Å"Sowing†, â€Å"Reaping†, and â€Å"Garnering† shows significance in the way Dickens is trying to help the reader get an understanding of what is to come. Dickens shows the way the working classes are f ighting for a say in the way they are treated at work by forming unions and how a bad negotiator can ruin things. He shows from the start that the education system is based on â€Å"fact† and not â€Å"fancy.† The breakdown of the â€Å"fact† based education is shown when Gradgrind himself asked a question that is not fact based. In the end, the whole system of education is reversed and the â€Å"fancy† is fancied. The novel can be summarized as a book about two struggles. One struggle is between fact and imagination and the other is the struggle between two classes. Thomas Gradgrind, the father of Louisa, Tom, and June not only stresses facts in the classroom in which he teaches, but also at home to his family. He has brought up his children to know only the â€Å"facts.† Everything is black and white, right or wrong with nothing in between. Gradgrind does not like the idea of going to the circus or having flowered carpet. Everyone knows a person cannot have flowered carpet. He would trample all over them and they would end up dying. The second struggle is between the classes is illustrated between Stephen Blackpool and Bounderby. Blackpool represents the working class and Bounderby the bourgeois or middle class. He is a warm-hearted man who feels he deserves this mediocre life. Blackpool was once an employee under Bounderby and was fired for standing up for his beliefs.

Discourses in Childhood Essay

What is a discourse? Describe two competing discourses of childhood and suggest the ways that they can have an impact on children’s lives. The concept of discourse is the key to understanding a social constructionist approach to childhood. A discourse is an independent set of interrelated ideas held by a particular ideology or worldview. The social constructionist approach tries to describe the different ways in which knowledge of children and childhoods are constructed. Different discourses of childhood have different ideas of childhood which has different implications on the way in which children are treated. Within the social constructionist theory there are 3 main discourses – romantic, puritan and tabula rasa. This essay will look at 2 of those discourses, which directly compete with each other – the Romantic and Puritan, and suggest ways in which they impact children’s lives. The romantic discourse of childhood suggests children are naturally good. InRousseau’s (1979) view childhood and innocence go hand in hand – children are born pure and innocent. He believed children ought to be given freedom to be who they are, that their childhood should be carefree, and that their innocence should be protected. Rousseau believed children only learn evil and misbehave because they have been mistreated or corrupted in some way. This is contrary to the Puritan discourse, which believes children are born wicked, are amoral, without conscience, and if left to their own devices will resort to savagery. According to Hobbes (1588-1679), who supports this discourse, children should be controlled and disciplined by adults – even if it causes the child unhappiness, short-term pain or distress. Unlike the previous discourse, the Puritan discourse sees children as being responsible for their actions. These discourses of childhood are seen constructed in the media. The Peugeot television advert (Video 1 Band 3, page no’s 239 – 256)gives an example of a man driving a car fanaticising about being a hero andsaving the little girl pictured from being run over. The advert tries to construct the image that  the Peugeot is the type of car that will appeal to a â€Å"hero† and one who is a ‘protector.’ The advert is constructed in such a way to encourage the viewer to form an image of an innocent, vulnerable child and to treat children as people needing protection. (the man is the hero protecting the child from danger). It is obvious that this advert reflects the Romantic discourse. One further advert constructed around the romantic discourse is the Evian water advert (Video 1 Band 3, video page no’s 256 – 257 & 266 – 268) featuring babies swimming in water. From this the viewer is meant to construct an image of the baby as being pure, and unspoiled. This advert is designed to encourage the viewer to think of pure Evian water and a ‘pure’ baby, suggesting that babies are innocent because they are pure. As already said the romantic and puritan discourses are directly competing. The Puritan discourse can be seen through the following 2 film clips. Thefirst is from the film â€Å"Leon† (Video 1 Band 3, video page no’s 271 – 297) which is a story of the friendship between Leon, a professional assassin and Mathilda who is a young girl who’s parents and young brother have been killed and who asks Leon to teach her to kill so that she can avenge her family’s death. The film has constructed an image of Mathilda as an unruly, sinful, and wicked child which is how the puritan discourse describes children. â€Å"Leon† shows that childhood in this case is not a time of innocence and that bad things, like violence and death are witnessed – and caused – by children. It shows a child – as Mathilda is obviously still a child – who has not had her childhoodprotected. The final film clip (Video 1 Band 3 p 333-339) is that of â€Å"American Beauty† portraying a young girl named Angela who is a friend of Lester’s daughter’s. Angela is depicted in a way that makes the viewer think she is sexuallymature and like Mathilda in the previous clip – ‘knowing’ and not innocent. This challenges the viewer’s ideas of childhood being a time of sexual innocence as here is a young girl oozing sexuality, definitely not innocence – but as a child lacking in morals, mirroring the puritan view of childhood. However in a scene where Lester thinks his fantasy of Angela is about to come true, Angela reveals that she innocent in her knowledge of sexual matters, reminding viewers that she is still a child in need of protection. This film clip began as depicting an amoral, sinful, ‘knowing’ young girl in line with the puritan discourse and ends by depicting children as people in need of protection and who are innocent, and as childhood as a time which adults should be protecting the child from anything that will shatter the child’s innocence. In a sense, the end of the clip depicts the adult’s job as to be the hero, saving the child from ‘evil’ much the same as the man in the Peugeot advert mentioned earlier. These discourses affect our views of children which in turn affects how children are thought of and therefore treated. In adopting a Romantic view, you will see children as innocence which in the 2 media clips, was associatedwith vulnerability and purity. According to Rousseau, children should be protected from the adult world, and everything should be done to make their childhood a happy carefree time. As already seen though through the 2 film clips, the Puritan discourse treats children as being unruly and in need of control. They are treated as being responsible for their actions and therefore they should be punished when they do wrong. Having shown how romantic and puritan discourses can be seen in contemporary childhood through the use of the media, I will move on to look at a true life example – that of the murder of 3-year old James Bulger in1993. This little boy was badly beaten and left on a railway line after being abducted from his mum whilst on a shopping trip. His killers were two 10-year old boys. (Asquith 1996)To adopt the romantic discourse of childhood in dealing with the those two boys who killed James Bulger would be to suggest you believed the boys to be naturally good but corrupted by adults and therefore should be forgiven and given rehabilitation – not punishment. On the other hand, to agree withthe competing discourse – that of the puritan discourse  then you would seethose boys as being inherently evil and responsible for their own actions and therefore deserving punishment. Therefore it is clear that whichever discourse of childhood is chosen in dealing with children, it has implications on the way in which children are treated. So far this essay has looked at the social constructionist approach to childhood, but will now consider another approach – the applied. Whenstudying childhood from an applied approach, the main interests are the effect which practical issues like the children’s upbringing and development will have on the children’s lives. Within this approach there are 2 models ofhow the law can deal with young offenders, like the boys in the James Bulger case. According to Asquith 1996 there are two models within the appliedapproach that give different opinions on how to deal with young offenders. These are linked to the discourses already mentioned within the social constructionist approach. The welfare model uses social and individual factors in explaining why children do wrong – it is because they have been mistreated or deprived in some way. This mirrors the Romantic discourse in the sense that both see children as being innocent and blame other factors for children’s wrongdoings. It believes, therefore that children do not deserve to be punished but ought to be shown forgiveness and deserve to be cared for in order to overcome any disadvantages they have faced. In following this model, children should not be dealt with in a court of law but by means of rehabilitation and by considering what would be best for the child. The justice model is in contrast to the welfare model and sees child offenders as being responsible for what they’ve done and deservepunishment and dealt with in a court of criminal law. The justicemodel mirrors the puritan discourse, as they hold similar beliefs thatchildren are innately evil and ought to be held responsible for their own actions and deserve to be punished accordingly. This essay has looked at 2 competing discourses of childhood – the romantic and the puritan. They are competing in the way that they view children and  childhood which in turn has a direct implication for the way that children are treated. Within the Romantic discourse, children are constructed as being pure, innocent and their childhood should be protected and kept carefree. This discourse competes with the puritan discourse which sees children as being innately wicked, unruly and lacking in moralsIt stands to reason therefore that these competing discourses have different implications for the way children are treated. In adopting a romantic discourse children will be forgiven for wrongs, protected from evil and offered rehabilitation when they do offend whereas in adopting a puritan discourse children who are â€Å"naughty† do so because of their innate evilness and deserve to be punished. REFERENCES Book 1 Understanding Childhood,Chapter 1Block 1 Study Guide and Audio-Visual Notes, Unit 1Video 1 Band 3 â€Å"Representations of Childhood†

Position Of Rape Laws In India - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2100 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Review Tags: Act Essay India Essay Did you like this example? The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter IPC), drafted by T. B. McCauley and his colleague law commissioners, reflected the then prevailing sexual norms in India, criminalized rape a coercive non-consensual (as well as consensual in a set of specified circumstances) sexual intercourse with a woman. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Position Of Rape Laws In India" essay for you Create order S.375  [1]  of the Indian Penal Code describes six circumstances in which the offence of rape is said to be committed. In these, the first and the second clauses are representative of the elements required to constitute the offence of rape and the rest characterizes different situations of consent and its absence in various circumstances incomprehensible or given based on a misconception of a fact by a woman. It is often stated that a woman who is raped undergoes two crises-the rape and the subsequent trial. While the first seriously wounds her dignity, curbs her individual, destroys her sense of security and may often ruin her physically, the second is no less potent of mischief, inasmuch as it not only forces her to re-live through the traumatic experience, but also does so in the glare of publicity in a totally alien atmosphere, with the whole apparatus and paraphernalia of the criminal justice system focused upon her. The main ingredients of rape are namely against will of the woman, without her consent, Consent procured by putting the woman under fear of death or hurt is no consent in law, Consent accorded under a misconception that the person is husband of the woman is not a valid consent, consent procured of a woman of unsound mind or under the influence of intoxication, etc. Most cases of prosecution fail because the victim is not able to prove that she did not consent to the act. The corollary that the judiciary seems to have adopted is that if the woman has failed to resist at the time of act, she is deemed to have consented to the sexual intercourse. The judiciary, again surprisingly has held that lack of any injuries on the body or the private parts is a strong indicator of consent on the part of the woman.  [7] Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra  [8]  has carried the debate on the definition of consent further. This famous (or rather infamous!) case, known by the name of mathura case has peculiar facts and different analysis of t he same by the High Court on one side and Trial Court and Supreme Court on the other. This case was sought to be covered by the prosecution under cl.3 of the Indian Penal Code. It was alleged that that the victim was made to give consent by putting her in fear of death or hurt. The Sessions Court Judge disbelieved the prosecution story and held that corroborative circumstances lead to the conclusion that while Mathura was there in the Police Station she had sexual intercourse and that in all probability it was with Ganpat. Fearing the wrath of her relatives, the Judge held that she did not admit that she had surrendered her body to the constable. On appeal, the High Court said- Mere passive or helpless surrender of the body and its resignation to the others lust induced by threats or fear cannot be equated with the desire or will, nor can it furnish an answer by the mere fact that sexual act was not in opposition to such desire Disagreeing with the High Court, the Supreme Cour t said that unless fear was shown to be that of death or hurt, it would not vitiate consent. The Supreme Court said Further, for circumstantial evidence to be used in order to prove an ingredient of an offence, it was to be such that it leads to no reasonable inference other than that of guilt. We have already pointed out that the fear, which clause thirdly of section 375 speaks of, is negativated by the circumstance that the girl is said to have been taken away by Ganpat right away from amongst her near and dear ones at a point of time when they were all leaving the police station together crossing the entrance gate to emerge out of it.. The Court observed that Mathura was subjected to no fear of death or hurt that may have led her to consent to the act and the absence of any injuries in any part of her body indicates that the affair on the whole, was a peaceful one and the story put up by her is totally false. It was observed further by Court that her relatives had been clo se by and Mathura could have raised resisted and appealed to her brother, had she had no intentions of satisfying the constables lust. Her meek conduct, her following the constable and allowing him to have his way with her showed that she had consented. Resistance and non-consent Resistance inasmuch as is a definite indicator of consent should not be laid down as the only means of expressing non-consent.  [9]  There have been a number of acquittals merely because the judge found no evidence of resistance from the victim. Adding insult to the injury, the inference that non-resistance to the sexual activity is an implicit consent on the part of the victim to the sexual activity only draws out the patriarchal nature of the judiciary and overwhelming acceptance of traditional notions and myths of female sexuality existing in the society in modern times.  [10]  The presumption that active resistance is the only criterion for proving non-consent is problematic at its best and illogical at its worst since such a view confers on the prosecutrix, the burden of proving her non consent and her consequent resistance to sexual intercourse.  [11]  This is akin to treating the prosecutorix to that of an accomplice, and a severe insult on her dignity and being. Injuries on the body of the prosecutorix are the usual evidence that is looked for to prove resistance. Hence, where a person is charged with the offence of having committed rape, the question for determination is whether the woman was a consenting party or not. The first and foremost circumstance that is looked for in cases of this kind is the evidence of resistance which is expected from a woman unwilling to yield to sexual intercourse forced upon her.  [12] In case of Valliappa Harijan v. State of Goa  [13]  , the prosecutorix narrated thus I was forcibly thrown down and he (accused) made me lie on the towel. He then sat on my thighs and tied both my hands on either side and raped me. The courts response to this statement was that One cannot understand how this action of the accused could be humanly possible particularly when a woman exerts resistance. Any woman of character and modesty would have put some amount of resistance when she is being raped. The doctor stat ed that the there were no injuries on the private part of the prosecutorix. It can be inferred that sexual intercourse, if at all has occurred, was only with the consent of the prosecutorix. The Apex Court has also held the opposite i.e the absence of any injury on the body negates the claim of resistance.  [14] The courts have failed to take notice of the situation of a rape victim that she may not be able to muster enough strength to repel the act. She can be in a sate of shock and fear that could inhibit her ability to resist or react violently to the act. A woman considering her stature in the society is generally not expected to assault a man. Therefore, there may not be any injury in her body. Failure of the judiciary to recognize this has resulted in resistance being an essential ingredient in determining lack of consent and where there is no injury on the body, it is deemed that the complainant had consented to the act.  [15] Rape and Law of Evidence Rape remains one of the most misunderstood and underreported crimes. The victims are traumatized and there also exists a fear or dislike of going to the police. From official statistics, it is seen that there is a sharp increase in the incidence of this crime in the country. A survey on rape cases shows that rape victims mostly come from the lower rungs of the society. Rape has a devastating effect on the survivors and aftershocks include depression, fear, guilt, diminished sexual interest etc. Because of the stigma attached to rape, the victim faces social ostracism. Burden of proof of innocence on the accused In a criminal case the charge against the accused must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.  [16]  The presumption is that the burden of proving everything necessary to bring home the guilt to the accused is on the prosecution. One of the most important elements of the offence of rape under section 375, IPC is the lack of consent of the victim. The prosecution must prove the non-consent beyond reasonable doubt, as per the canons of criminal law. It is of common knowledge that a large number of prosecutions for the offence of rape fail for want of such a proof.  [17]  It is to remove this infirmity and other procedural difficulties in prosecution of a person charged with rape that the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983 (43 of 1983) section 6 has added section, 114A in the Evidence Act, 1972 with effect from December 25, 1983.  [18] A careful perusal of the section 114A of the Evidence Act, 1872 would reveal that the legislature has made a fine distinction between:  [ 19] Rape falling within sub-section (1) to section 376, and sub-section (2) clause (f), and Rape falling within clauses (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g) of sub-section (2) to section 376 IPC. The change effects a marked departure from the classic principle of criminal jurisprudence, that a person is deemed innocent until the contrary is proved by the prosecution. As a result of the change, the charge that the alleged act of sexual intercourse was without or against the consent of the prosecutrix will be presumed ipso facto, unless the contrary is proved. That is to say, section 114A of the Evidence Act shifts the burden of proof on the accused to prove his innocence. Whether or not there is justification for engrafting the mandatory presumption in the above Act there is little warrant for it in a rape case. It is remarked that such a presumption would place a heavy burden on the alleged offender of rape while providing a weapon to the prosecution for blackmailing. Conclusion It is elementary that the criminal law is the chief legal instrument for preventing anti-social acts of a serious character. This object is sought to be achieved, in the first instance, by the legislative command embodying that aspect of punishment, which is called general deterrence. The fact that the particular crime has been committed shows that the object of deterrence has failed to prevent the particular criminal act. The debate on punishment for rape has progressed in two diagonally opposite directions. While one segment of the judiciary has consistently awarded less than the minimum mandatory punishment, another section of judges and opinion makers have been advocating for barbaric punishments of the medieval era to deal with the increase in reported cases of rapes in country. But at the other level, rape victims continue to be looked upon with suspicion and the issue of rape is trivialized. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, of the 284 cases of rape reported in Delhi in 1992, there were only 3 convictions by 1995. Similarly during 2001, of the 11,735 rape trials completed by courts all over the country, as many as 8,669 (76 per cent) failed and were acquittals or discharged  [20]  . It is clear that feminist sensibility is not evenly spread across the judicial checkerboard. Almost always the trial courts are deeply imbued with the mission of penalty in rape cases; almost always the High Courts mitigate (a look at the case recited by the Supreme Court in this very case, confirms the tendency of the trial courts to take the offence seriously and of the High Courts to reverse well-grounded convictions). And the Supreme Court does, on the whole, though not with an integral consistency speak rigorously on behalf of the violated women. The patriarchal nature of the judiciary and the sensitization of the same are the needs of the hour. It is essential that the judiciary, which has pursued doggedly the quest to preserve the constitution, s hould also wake up to the reality in the Indian milieu, where the constitutional guarantees and imperatives granted to the woman are being grossly violated. Law should not sit limply, while those who defy it go free and those who seek its protection loses hope. (Jennison v. Baker (1972) 1 All ER 997).  [21]