Rape incidents in the State, though a perennial problem, have never received a fitting response from the successive governments and society at large and, therefore, the evil has assumed massive proportion today. Meanwhile, the police response has always been of the fire tenders type, a momentary show of promise only to slacken down fast after protests and controversies die out following rape incidents. Goa`s image has received a severe beating. The root cause of our misery is that our society does not consider rape incidents as life-threatening, and reckon it as a part of life as any other crime. Readers and viewers detach themselves from the victims who hail predominantly hail from the migrant community and with the ‘it-cannot-happen-to-my-daughter’ attitude.
The psychological cause of the old rape menace is the traditional Indian males’ attitude that all Goan women are `challu mahl` or easily available, as had been projected to them by the Indian Hindi films for ages. Though that was reduced by successive campaigns by Goan celebrity women in Bombay and elsewhere, the advent of nudism in Goa towards the 80s, the promotion of ‘beach special tours by the then tourism department and the Carnivals depicting our women dressed scantily, etc resurrected the Indian male deep obsession with the land of fun and feni.
Consequently, Indian males descended into Goa by like swarms of bees every weekend by train to stations like Tivim in North Goa. At bus terminals and public places, they approach women with queries like `How to go to Calangute’ or which is the way to the beach? Things have come to such a pass that there are reports of organised large scale prostitution rackets and where the fun-seekers suffer from extortion and attacks. In these circumstances life has become a living hell for the young Goan women in coastal village, particularly after sunset. There are cases of stalking of women at the bus stands like Mapusa. Women react to these outrages of their modesty secretly in much the same way their counterparts react to eve-teasing in cities like Mumbai.
In the light of this issue facing Goa, it is time that the administration takes extraordinary measures like forbidding entry to the beaches after 7.30 pm, shutting down of entertainment places like pubs after 12, introducing of ‘women only, bus services to tourist centres; separate queues for women and a moratorium on setting up of new hotels and resorts. A new Goa people-friendly tourist policy with provisions for setting up of tourist police with sweeping powers is the crying need of the hour.
