Indian doctors demand safe work spaces after brutal rape

Hundreds of thousands of women marched through the night in several cities across India to protest the brutal rape and murder of a young female doctor in a hospital in the eastern state of West Bengal.     

The 31-year-old doctor was found dead at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata on Friday. Her body sustained multiple injuries and an autopsy report described evidence of sexual violence. 

Authorities arrested a police volunteer in connection with the crime.

The demonstrations called "Reclaim the Night" took place on the eve of the country's 78th Independence Day and highlight concerns over the lack of safety for women in the world's most populous nation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the issue during his Independence Day address to the nation on Thursday.

"As a society, we have to think about the atrocities being committed against our mothers, daughters and sisters. There is outrage against this in the country. I can feel this outrage," Modi said.

'Terrifying' and 'simply disgusting'

Meanwhile, Scores of people went on a rampage at the RG Kar Medical College campus, attacking vehicles and ransacking patient wards Wednesday night, police said Thursday.

Shreya Shaw, a resident doctor at the hospital, says she's traumatized by the violent turn of events.

"Here we were fighting for safe spaces for doctors and women in general. But we had to scurry and get fellow doctors to safety, and shut doors before the mob hurt them. It was terrifying," a visibly shaken Shaw told DW.

Arif Ahmed Laskar, a doctor at RG Kar hospital, described the rampage as "simply disgusting."

"There was a wave of anger amongst all of us to what happened to our colleague. We were demanding justice and now we faced violence from the hooligans," he told DW.

Need for tougher laws to protect doctors?

Since the incident came to light, government hospitals in several cities across the South Asian country have suspended medical services except for emergency departments.

Doctors and other health professionals have demanded justice and called for a new tough law to protect medical workers.

"We need a proper and effective central law. The idea is to have a safe environment," Indra Shekhar Prasad, president of the Resident Doctors Association at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told DW.

"We need protection. The Kolkata incident is not the first case and will not be the last. Security for doctors must be prioritized," he added.

Representatives of 23 medical colleges in West Bengal released a statement, saying, "this is not just a doctors' movement anymore; it's a movement for ensuring workplace safety of all women all over the country."

Attacks on health workers

This is not the first time doctors in India have complained about a lack of safety at workplace.

There have been numerous widely reported incidents of attacks on medical professionals in recent years.

Last May, a young surgeon in southern Kerala state was stabbed to death by a patient.

A few months earlier, a group of people assaulted a senior cardiologist at a private hospital over the treatment of a patient, even though the doctor wasn't involved in the matter.

Then in 2019, there was a mass resignation of doctors in West Bengal after a mob attacked a junior doctor. The attack was triggered by the death of a patient, with the family alleging medical negligence.

According to the Indian Medical Association, about 75% of doctors in India have faced some form of violence at workplace, ranging from verbal abuse to physical attacks. 

Not enough being done?

Doctors say not enough is being done to curb violence leveled at them by people angered over the medical care on offer.

Bhawna Arora, a senior resident at AIIMS, called on the government to prioritize the safety of health care workers. "We constantly worry about safety, especially while working during long hours. Hospitals must be declared safe zones," she told DW.

Dr Sulphi Noohu, a central committee member of the IMA, told DW that when they protested in Kerala, the state government "finally brought in a law that is now effective."

She added, "The attacks have come down dramatically, there is security in hospitals and it has had the desired impact."

Sexual violence under the spotlight

Sexual violence and rape have been under the spotlight in India since the brutal 2012 gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus.

The attack triggered mass protests nationwide and demands for tougher punishments for such crimes.

It led to the creation of fast-track courts to deal with rape cases.

Laws were amended in 2013, criminalizing stalking and voyeurism and lowering the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.

Despite stringent laws, rights activists say the situation for women has not improved.

Crimes against women in India rose 4% in 2022 from the previous year, data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), released late last year, showed.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru