Indian film-maker Daniel Shravan suggests legalising ‘rape without violence’

New Delhi: Film-maker Daniel Shravan on Wednesday drew massive backlash on social media for suggesting that the government should legalise “rape without violence” for the safety of rape victims.

Shravan posted a number of messages on Twitter in which he expressed his views in the aftermath of the brutal rape and murder of a veterinary doctor in Hyderabad last week.

“Rape is not a serious thing, but murder is inexcusable. The government should legalise rape without violence for the safety of women. It seems to be the only way rape victims can be protected from murder,” Shravan said, in a now-deleted post.

The film-maker said that women should “cooperate with rapists and carry condoms” with them.

“If you are about to get raped, hand over a condom to the rapist and cooperate with him while he fulfils his sexual desire. That way he will not try to harm you,” Shravan added.

He made a few more bizarre suggestions to stop rape-related murders. He said the Indian society and women’s organisations were the main culprits behind the brutal murders of rape victims.

“The society as well as the government is frightening rapists. This is not the way. The girls above the age of 18 should be educated about rape. The girls should never deny sexual desires of men. Especially Indian girls should be aware of sex education like carrying condoms and dental dams after the age of 18,” he said.

He went to the extent of saying that instead of objecting to rape, a woman should “readily” accept the situation.

“The rapists are not finding a way to fulfil their bodily desires and therefore, they get these killing thoughts. An evil thought provokes crime like murder. Better women should accept rape and not fight it,” Shravan said.

The film-maker said it was foolish of the government to assume that rape laws will deter the incidents of rape in the country.

“It is foolishness of the government to think that killing Veerappan will control smuggling, killing Osama Bin Laden will control terrorism. In the same way, the laws against rape can’t control rapes,” he said.

Shravan’s comments not only infuriated the social media users but also invited the wrath of women and child rights activists.

“It is sad to know that an educated person is giving these insane ideas. Some of the content that he posted on social media is in Telugu. But a few statements that he made in English are horrible. He has exposed his sick mindset,” women rights activist Shashi Sharma told Gulf News.

Activist Anjana Bala also slammed Shravan for his derogatory post. He said the film-maker should immediately visit a psychiatrist.

“He sounds like a pervert. I cannot believe what he said. It is not a joke to talk about rape and rape victims like this. A person with sound brain cannot utter such rubbish. He needs to see a psychiatrist,” Bala told Gulf News.

Sharma accused Daniel of seeking “cheap publicity.”

“I guess we should ignore his comments totally because this looks like a cheap publicity stunt. He is a small time film-maker and maybe he is seeking his two minutes of fame,” Sharma added.