A poor girl hailing from Dalit community was sexually abused, raped and physically assaulted in the Primary Teacher’s Training (PTC) College—an all women’s college in Patan, Gujarat.  The girl, a first year student, was repeatedly sexually assaulted and abused from 11 September 2007 to 25 January 2008 by six male teachers in the PTC College.  After she spoke out about the crimes committed against her, 58 other students complained of also being victims of sexual harassment and various forms of sexual abuse at the hands of these teachers over the past ten years. 

The decade of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls at the Patan PTC College is both shocking and disturbing.  The six accused teachers of the entirely male staff were able to suppress their victims’ complaints by threatening to give them low internal marks if they spoke up about the abuses committed against them. The internal marking system is an important component of the examination and evaluation system in teachers’ training colleges, and low internal marks have the potential of ruining a student’s future career prospects.  As the victims came mostly from poor economic backgrounds and lower caste communities, they heeded such threats in order to avoid jeopardizing this rare opportunity to gain an independent livelihood.  It is only now that this one girl has had the courage to speak out against the perpetrators that these grave crimes have come to light.  It cannot be estimated how many similar stories in colleges throughout the state remain hidden from the public. 

Since the victim lodged her complaint against the perpetrators, she faced a new battle with the justice system of Gujarat. The police registered the victim’s complaint with incorrect facts and framed minimal charges against the perpetrators.  The Chief Minister ordered the District Magistrate to conduct an inquiry wherein the Magistrate tediously interrogated the victim and her parents for days with questions many of which they had already been asked by other authorities.   The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act requires that the investigation of an atrocity be completed within 30 days of filing the complaint.  However, 52 days passed before the state appointed the CID, a state investigation agency, to investigate the case. 

The victim’s experience with Gujarat’s healthcare system was just as alarming.  At the Meghani Nagar Civil Hospital where the victim was admitted, there was no available female doctor, so a male gynecologist examined the victim despite the fact that after suffering such severe sexual abuses, the mere touch of a man made her scream. Overall, the victim has not been given either proper medical treatment or trauma counseling to alleviate her suffering.

Moreover, the National Commission for Women called the compensation awarded to the victim by the Government of Gujarat—1, 00,000 INR (USD 2500)—insufficient considering the gravity of the abuses the victim suffered.

Despite all her ongoing struggle the victim prepared for the exams at her home and gave her exams. She has scored 85% i.e. stood 4^th in her class. The victim is in the IInd year and studying in the same college.

At present, the case is being heard in the Patan Sessions court. The victim wants to study and stand on her own feet. She is from a poor family and after the complaint was filed, she faced lot of accusations and allegations on her character. The victim does not hold a very strong support from her community as well. She does not expect much support from her family and has doubts about her safety and security in her house as well. She has an alcoholic father who sits idle at home and does not take care of the financial expenditure in the family.

In the last few days the pressure on her from within her family and community led her to take some drastic steps. She tried to commit suicide, and finally ran away from home. An NGO in Ahmedabad has gained custody to keep her safe and is putting together, with help from other organisations, a strong defense for her case.