Is India's Culture of Rape Finally Changing?

There aren't reliable statistics for past years, so the first hypothesis is difficult to argue one way or another. But many say it's indisputable that victims now feel more comfortable reporting rapes. “They got rid of the weight of guilt that paralyzed them before,” Grover says. Butalia adds: “The growth means women hope to receive the system’s attention and justice. And this is new.” After December’s rape, some conservative politicians — invariably men — tried to make the debate about security. In short, they defended women’s right to be better “protected,” which sounded more like patriarchal condescension than true concern for women.