"Rape is considered a heinous crime and attracts stringent punishment. This fear has to be in the minds of those who think that they can get away with sexually assaulting a woman with some foreign object," John said.
According to Grover, the answer to the problem could be the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha Dec 4, 2012, and seeks to criminalise penetration of a person's vagina, anus, urethra or mouth with any part of the body or an object for a sexual purpose without the consent of the person.
However, the fact that the bill is gender neutral, defeats the purpose, say activists.
"It is very rare that a woman rapes a man. So, making it gender neutral will allow the men to misuse it," she added.
Everything said and done, the low conviction rates when it comes to rape cases will continue to remain a problem till the time proper investigation, fast track courts and witness protection are put in place.
"We need thorough investigation by the police and a witness protection programme to protect a witness, which would rule out the possibility of him/her turning hostile," said lawyer H.S. Phoolka, adding that creating a "conducive atmosphere" in a rape trial is a must.
Data released by the home ministry says 2,649 rape cases were reported in the last five years in Delhi while only 190 people were convicted. Similarly, 3,045 cases of molestation were reported with only 43 convictions.
In another case, an 80-year-old destitute woman was sexually assaulted with a wooden stick by a 19-year-old boy in west Delhi in May, 2011.
