The recent tragic scenario in a south Goa village involving the suicide of an accused person’s father in response to indirect police brutality and excessive accusations of sexual molestation against his son represent the harsh reality of police brutality upon members of the legal profession since the deceased father was an Advocate.
Particularly, for legal professionals, the stakes of public and professional scrutiny are exceptionally high, which can exacerbate the mental health impact of such allegations upon the family members as well as the legal professional themself.
And in respect of the prosecution of the accused son in such a scenario, the dynamics of legal representation in such cases can be complicated by personal and professional connections within the legal community. Therefore, ensuring a fair trial might require bringing in external legal counsel to avoid conflicts of interest.
It shouldn’t be discredited that given their professional background, the case would likely attract more media attention and public scrutiny. Hence, how the media would portray the Advocates involved could influence public opinion significantly, even potentially impacting the legal proceedings and the perception of the legal profession as a whole.
Certain research papers such as the one by Camplá et al. (2022) have cautioned against the informal reasoning in judicial agents in sexual aggression cases.
According to Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994), research on sexual violence has shown that judgment making about it is influenced by myths about sexual assault, which serve as descriptive or prescriptive cognitive tools about the causes, contexts and consequences of sexual assaults, as well as perpetrators, victims and their interaction.
Camplá et al. (2022) observed that: “Thus, individuals sharing these myths use them to deny, minimise, overgeneralise or justify the violence of men against women (Gerger et al., 2007), while favoring risky sexual behaviors (Álvarez-Muelas et al., 2020)”.
According to Liz Kelly of the London Metropolitan University in her journal article entitled: The (In)credible Words of Women: False Allegations in European Rape Research (2010) has commented:
“The issue of false allegations in rape cases cannot be understood without reference to the ways in which rape law and its interpretation has historically problematised “the words of a woman” when what they were speaking about was sexual violation. Whilst the letter of the law has been reformed in many countries, legacies remain sedimented into institutional cultures and practices, creating a risk of over-identification of false allegations by police and prosecutors” (Kelly, 2010, p. 1345).
From a reformative perspective, Kelly (2010) has observed in the journal article:
“As I write an intense debate is taking place in the United Kingdom, uninformed by research, on a proposal by the new Westminster coalition government to introduce ano-nymity for men 1 accused of rape; this policy was in neither of their election manifestos. The rationale, according to the Prime Minister, is that 8% to 10% of reported rapes are false allegations and to be unjustly accused of “such a heinous crime” blights the lives of many men.” (Kelly, 2010, p. 1346).
Further, to afford clearer perspective upon the strength of the allegations:
“Jan Jordan’s (2001) New Zealand research is among the most nuanced on this issue and offers insights that should inform academic and public discourse. She examined 164 police case files, finding eight percent (n = 13) of which were declared false by complainants and a further 29 (18%) dropped by the police and suspected of being false. Three more detailed findings are critical. First, although false allegations do exist, they are rarely of the kind that dominates popular discourse: in the majority there is no named offender but rather a vague allegation with respect to a stranger. Second, the majority are identified early in the investigative process, often due to an admission by the complainant.” (Kelly, 2010, p. 1346).
A few points to consider would be:
● This instance serves as a quintessential illustration of how police misbehaviour, including the use of excessive force and violence, may result in profound psychological and societal ramifications.
● The father, who directly suffers from the repercussions of his son's allegation and the subsequent cruelty, is a victim of secondary victimisation. This phrase, known as secondary victimisation, pertains to the anguish experienced by those who are not the primary targets of a crime, but rather suffer due to their maltreatment by the criminal justice system or other social responses to the crime.
● The stress, social disapproval, and psychological distress resulting from the allegations and the violent conduct of law enforcement may give rise to profound psychiatric conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ultimately leading to grave outcomes such as suicide in extreme instances.
● The case underscores possible systemic concerns within the criminal justice system, such as the responsibility of law enforcement agents, the need for adequate training in managing delicate situations, and guaranteeing fairness and assistance for all parties involved, including the accused and their families.
● Furthermore, it emphasises the significance of support structures and interventions in aiding families impacted by criminal allegations and police operations.
Comment:
And while every crime against a woman is invariably a crime against the society at large, the overzealousness of police functionaries cannot be representative of a regressive society that it aimed penalising the entire ancestry of the accused person until and unless the crime of sexual violence against the accused has been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The circumstances which provided the impetus for the father of the accused to commit suicide and leave behind a suicide note implicating members of the police force, should invariably prompt a criminological inquiry into the practices, policies, and cultural elements within the police force and the broader criminal justice system that allow such tragedies to occur.
