Apathetic police

Law enforcement must set an example by helping women seeking justice in cases of marital rape.

In April 2019, just three days after a perilous emergency surgery at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj, Binu Yadav was raped by her then-partner, Pradeep Kathayat, while she was bedridden. When she reached out to police for help, they reportedly dismissed the urgency of the case and filed a First Information Report (FIR) only four days later. She sought help twice, after first being sexually abused by Kathayat, then by his uncle. Both times, she faced apathy from law enforcement. They dismissed the importance of consent, undermined her survivor testimony and protected powerful perpetrators.