Anti Structural Abuse

To:  The Law Minister, Home Minister and the Prime Minister of India

To,
The Law Minister, Home Minister and the Prime Minister of India

Sub: Appeal for the creation of a law against structural abuse, which is defined as any kind of violence (emotional, sexual, mental or physical) against an individual or their privacy

The Petition:

This petition is being written to appeal for the criminalization and awareness of structural abuse in the country. We, the undersigned, protest against any kind of behaviour (by a group of people, a single citizen, or an authority), that is a violation to another’s privacy, liberty, or sense of integrity.

Structural abuse can be explained as a systematic form of violence (emotional, mental, physical, or sexual) that an individual faces under a system or authority. We believe that structural abuse should be acknowledged as a legal offense, and that the violator’s accountability be questioned.

Through this petition, we appeal for:

A – Immediate creation of a formal law against structural abuse, just like the ones for rape and sexual harassment

B – That the terms of the law be written by a core group of people, who understand the legal, psychological and social implications of structural abuse

What does structural abuse mean?

Structural abuse can be of many kinds. Individuals face harassment, pressure, and violence from authorities every single day – at educational institutions, at the workplace, and at home. When we say ‘structure’, we are referring to a social system. Any kind of violence and harassment from authorities or people who hold power over others – directly or indirectly – amounts to a specific, systematic form of abuse.

Thanks to those who’ve fought, today one can atleast go and file a complaint against (some kinds of) rape and sexual harassment. But what does one do if they are violated in ways that the law does not even acknowledge? And how does one speak against their violators, when the one who has abused them holds power over their survival?

Potential instances of structural abuse may include:

• Women being harassed to succumb to certain social norms

• Children being humiliated emotionally, mentally and physically in schools by authority and teachers

• Children being beaten to death in schools

• College students, adolescents being pressurized, by parents, teachers or peers, into taking careers or making decisions that they do not want to

• Imposition of a political or intellectual school of thought through an institution

• Any form of censorship

• Women (and men) being forced to marry against their will

• Women (and men) being forced, or even pressurized into sex in their relationships

• Women being forced, and pressurized into pregnancy, or to conceive

• Any kind of moral policing

• All kinds of gender violence: be it on heterosexual men, homosexuals, transsexuals or heterosexual women

• Violence on animals and any kind of exploitation of non-humans

• Women being psychologically and emotionally harassed at the workplace

• Junior employees being harassed at the workplace

• Creating disadvantage for an individual/s on the basis of stereotype, bias or prejudice

• Children being pressurized and harassed to live up to certain expectations by parents at home

• Senior citizens being thrown out of the family, neglected, humiliated, or marginalized at home

• Women being marginalized from property or denied equal financial rights

• Minorities or members of any community (religious, linguistic) discriminated or violated against, by the government, police, an institution or another individual/s

• Couples harassed in public spaces

• Sexual harassment from bosses, teachers, or officials

• Discrimination or harassment against an individual from peers or other members of a particular social setting

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Structural abuse can mean ANY kind of behaviour that violates an individual’s privacy, under an authority. The victim must be given the opportunity to stop blaming himself or herself; it is the violator who needs psychological guidance and help. The victim must be rescued from the situation and given immediate justice.

Justice and judgment of the offense must be sought through an independent inquiry into the situation, based on the details provided by the violated, in order to arrive at a conclusion on what the victim has undergone.

The purpose behind this petition, and movement for the acknowledgement and criminalization of structural abuse, is to basically generate accountability. When the last word is with the authority, most individuals are afraid to complain, or even speak – it’s not easy to face the consequences of losing a job or a seat.

Structural abuse is one of greatest social hindrances to democracy and liberty. Please pass a law against such behaviour.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Anti Structural Abuse Petition to The Law Minister, Home Minister and the Prime Minister of India was created by Members of the Movement Against Structural Abuse and others supporting the cause and written by Supriya Thanawala (supriyya@gmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.