WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) and nine of her colleagues on Friday, June 13, sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take immediate action to combat gender-based violence and improve the safety of women and girls in India. The Senators’ letter to the newly-elected Prime Minister comes after recent reports that two young Indian girls were raped and murdered in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Chris Coons (D-DE).
“As you know, two weeks ago, two young girls were found dead hanging from a tree after they had gone missing from their home in a remote village in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. An autopsy confirmed that both girls had been repeatedly raped and strangled,” the Senators wrote. “We share your country’s shock and horror over this terrible tragedy.”
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News of the tragedy sparked shock and outrage in the northern Indian state after troubling allegations that police officers may have ignored initial reports that the girls were missing and may have attempted to cover up the crime.
The Senators wrote, “… the Indian government has taken important steps to strengthen laws and increase punishments for these heinous crimes. However, it is clear that more needs to be done to prevent violence against women, improve victim support services, bring perpetrators to justice, and address other forms of gender-based violence including child marriage.”
The lawmakers added that the United States will continue to work with the Indian government and share best practices on how to fight violence against women. “[W]e look forward to continuing to partner with your government on immediate and sustained action to provide adequate psychosocial support for victims of sex crimes, improve gender and sexual assault response training for all Indian police, promote effective implementation of anti-rape laws, increase efforts to prosecute and hold perpetrators accountable, and help decrease the stigma associated with reporting crimes of sexual violence.”
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Preceding provided by Senator Barbara Boxer of California … Stories about Democratic Jewish Women in the Senate and House of Representatives are sponsored on San Diego Jewish World by Laura Galinson in memory of her father, Murray Galinson.