From Cornell to Kolkata, let’s work with the boys who will one day be men

Why in the News

Gang sexual assaults at South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata and at Cornell University in the United States followed one pattern, a group of men using phones during the assault. Cases from Louisiana to a French village show the conditions that create such groups are universal, and digital media amplifies them.

What turns a group of men into a ‘pack’?

1. Pack behaviour: Inside a group, each man permits himself to abandon his humanity because those around him are doing so, like peer pressure pushed to a criminal extreme.
2. Three conditions: The pack needs a group for which each man performs, a private space, and confidence that nobody will tell, since each is a perpetrator.
3. Performing for an audience: Recording and sharing show the men perform even for those absent, so online validation can matter more than the act.
4. Men with power: Those involved often hold power. Eg. The main accused in Kolkata was a former leader of the then ruling party’s student wing.
5. The takeaway: Because these conditions are common, the pack can form in expected and unexpected places alike.

Why do the cases cut across stereotypes?

1. Kolkata: Students assaulted a fellow student in a campus guard room and used a phone as a camera to record it.
2. Cornell: In Ithaca, New York, students used a group chat to bring others in.
3. Louisiana State University: A student alleged a football player raped her last year. He still plays after her complaint, which points to athletic culture.
4. Mazan, France: For nearly a decade, Dominique Pelicot drugged his wife, Gisele, and invited ordinary men to rape her.
5. Stereotypes: The cases feed images of India as inherently unsafe for women and of American fraternity culture, yet a quiet French village fits neither.

How does digital media change such assaults?

1. Easier to organise: The internet did not invent gang rape, but phones, cameras and platforms make it easier to organise, film and share.
2. Permission online: Men with violent fantasies find each other online, and a group chat can create a sense of permission before anyone meets.
3. Uses of a recording: A recording lets the group boast and gives it a means to shame or threaten the victim.
4. Evidence trail: Digital data also leaves a trail to perpetrators. Eg. Pelicot’s own recordings and messages helped convict him and the other men.
5. Bypassing institutions: Platforms help survivors and journalists get past institutions that prefer silence.

Does online pornography normalise sexual aggression?

1. Strangulation content: England’s Children’s Commissioner found 58% of young people surveyed had seen pornography depicting strangulation before turning 18.
2. Persuasion myth: It found 44% of children surveyed agreed that “girls may say no at first but then can be persuaded”.
3. Expected aggression: Another survey found nearly half of those aged 18 to 21 believed girls “expect” physical aggression in sex.
4. Causation unproven: The data does not prove pornography causes rape. Yet when online content makes sex with an unresponsive woman routine, as at Cornell and Mazan, men learn to treat incapacity as opportunity.

Challenges

1. Low conviction: Only about 28% of rape cases end in conviction, which weakens deterrence.
2. Institutional cover ups: Colleges often protect their reputation by burying complaints.
3. Patriarchal socialisation: Family, media and education naturalise male dominance from childhood.

Way Forward

1. Early evidence preservation: Investigators should secure physical and digital evidence before it degrades.
2. Breaking group silence: Campuses should create safe channels for bystanders and group members to report.
3. Institutions that look: Hold officials who bury cases accountable, and use digital tools to catch perpetrators early.
4. Engaging boys early: Families, teachers and mentors should teach boys to respect women and be wary of the pack.

Conclusion

Laws and investigations act only after a crime, but the conditions that produce group assault form long before it. Whether families, schools and campuses teach respect and make silence costly will decide if the next pack is stopped before it acts.

Government Initiatives for Women’s Safety

1. Mission Shakti (Sambal): Its safety vertical covers One Stop Centres, the Women Helpline, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Nari Adalats (community forums for gender justice disputes).
2. Nirbhaya Fund: It funds Women Help Desks in over 13,000 police stations to make them approachable for survivors.
3. Safe City Projects: Running in 8 major metros, they use artificial intelligence (AI) enabled cameras and panic buttons in public spaces.
4. National Database on Sexual Offenders: Police use it to track repeat offenders.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2025, GS2, 10 marks] Women’s social capital complements in advancing empowerment and gender equity. Explain.”