Chennai: There are about two crore cases of rape pending in courts in the country. In Tamil Nadu, a child is raped every alternate day and most of the cases go unreported. And those prosecuted, drag on for years.
So will a five-year-old girl, who was raped in Chennai three weeks ago and denied admission in a private hospital, get justice soon?
A poor migrant labourer's daughter was raped near Chennai's IT corridor and has now been discharged from hospital after a surgery. She needs another operation. The arrest of the alleged culprit was made three weeks after the crime was committed. Activists say the usual delays in court trial may be devastating for the victim.
In Tamil Nadu, by the end of 2008, there were 265 child rape cases pending in courts. Some of them have been pending for more than five years. The police is yet to file chargesheets in 122 cases. And for every case reported, sources say, about 10 go unreported.
"The faster the resolution of the case in court, the easier will it be for victims to get back into a mainstream way of life," said Vidya Reddy, director, TULIR.
However, for the five-year-old girl who has gone back with her mother to her native village in Andhra Pradesh, there's a glimmer of hope.
"We will take personal interest and see that she continues her studies," said Thangam Thennarasu, School Education Minister.
There is hope for some relief for the victim and her poor parents, but will the psychological scars ever heal?