’80 per cent eve-teasers feel they aren’t doing anything wrong’

Since the SHE Teams of police started operating three months ago, over 250 persons have been apprehended and given counselling. In the last week, 27 cases were registered against 36 persons of various ages.

Police commissioner C V Anand, during a performance review, instructed DCP Rama Rajeswari R, the in-charge of the SHE Teams, to streamline the counselling given by the Crimes Against Women (CAW) cell to make it more effective.

As a part of this, the offenders now get a questionnaire before the counselling starts. It seeks to know why the person commits such crimes, his psyche and his attitude to the women.

The relatives of the offenders are urged to pay attention to these responses, as most responses have something to do with the family background, police said.

Most offenders cite nuclear family and non-interfering parents as the background circumstances for their behaviour.

To the question ‘how will you react if your sister or wife or mother is teased, molested or raped’, half the respondents admitted they will be angry, but also said that women are equally at fault for ‘moving freely’ and making themselves vulnerable.

Around 20 per cent of the offenders felt remorse and offered to work with SHE Teams for creating awareness on the issue.

A major finding from the responses was that for many, eve-teasing or molestation was more an act of violence rather than an act arising out of overwhelming sexual urge.