Policing responses to crime against women: unpacking the logic of Cyberabad’s “SHE Teams”

Abstract

The widely discussed gang rape in December 2012 in New Delhi marked a significant moment in the public discourse around women’s safety and sexual violence in India. From expressions of shock and horror that marked the initial responses, the online and offline conversations quickly moved to the legal, social, and civic landscapes that encouraged what became referred to as “a culture of rape.” Responses from the state ranged from initiating legal reform to ramping up security and surveillance in public spaces. At one end of the spectrum was the report of the Justice Verma Committee, which called for responses that went beyond the narrow strictures of the law. At the other end were local intensifications of a protectionist and patriarchal attitude toward women, discouraging them from participating too visibly in public life and working to limit young women’s social and professional choices. Against this backdrop, the newly formed state of Telangana, created a cadre of first responder police teams focusing exclusively on crime against women, making use of mobile and social media applications. This paper argues that while such policing initiatives open up the conversation on violence against women, they do little to address the deeper contextual issues that underlie it.