Almost ten years ago, Jyoti Singh’s brutal gangrape and murder in the heart of New Delhi in December 2012 received an inordinate amount of media attention and coverag

The sad truth is that society in general tends to judge the rape victim, not the rapists. It is she who has to hide her face in shame, not the criminals. And those who are shocked by it believe rape is a closet issue best kept locked in the social cupboard.

Sterilization is the most popular method of contraception in India. The 1992-93 National Family Health Survey found that of the 36.2 percent of eligible couples using any modern method, most (30.7 percent) had been sterilized and only 5.5 percent were using temporary methods (IIPS 1995).

The quinacrine trials raise a host of questions regarding the safety of this method of sterilization and the methodology used to assess this.

Otempora! O mores! This cri decoeur will perhaps be evoked in those reading the spate of reports lately, on surreptitious "trials" on the non-surgical sterilization of women with quinacrine, being carried out by NG0s and private doctors in a host of places in the country.

Sexual abuse of children is an issue shrouded in ignorance and denial in our country. One of the chief reasons for this conspiracy of silence is the high value, almost idealization, of the family.