The Pollachi sexual assault case has been going on for a very long time it seems. Some of them say seven years. I think it underlines several issues that intrinsically are not in place in Indian society today. We know a lot of families where parents excessively control their girl children. They monitor every step, they don’t let her go out for movies even with girl friends. They monitor their social media activity, they monitor who they are with, they keep calling every half-an-hour to enquire whether they are coming back home. And they also make sure that the said friend is with them. All this happens with girls and the same thing does not happen with boys.

Now if you generally notice, a lot of normal boys, boys you would otherwise think are decent are sending d!@k pics and masturbation messages, and messages to random girls on social media saying that they want to j!@k off to their photograph and that they find it very pretty. So where does it come from? Generally, sexual repression.

One aspect of this is that, even now, despite movements like MeToo, girls experience a major trauma recounting all of this. Even if it is consensual sex and a man filmed it, it is still illegal. But because there is shame associated with the act of sex in this country, girls are unable to go forward, and they are caught in this vicious ring of blackmail and extortion.