My name is Dimple Bindra, and I carry the haunting memories of sexual assault and rape from my early teenage years. The pain and trauma of those experiences remain seared in my soul, and I know I am not alone. For years, I lived in fear, waking up every day haunted by visions of men chasing me, torturing, and violating every inch of my body. These weren’t just nightmares; they were reflections of the abuse I endured. I was confused, terrified, and utterly lost. One day, overwhelmed by despair, I drowned myself in sleeping pills, wishing to escape a world where I felt so alone and so broken.
My so-called savior at that time drugged and filmed me, doing unimaginable things to me while I was barely conscious. I wanted to fight back, but how could I when I was almost knocked out from the drugs he forced me to take? My mind screamed for help—I wanted to run, I wanted to die. But somehow, I chose to heal. I realized that my survival had a purpose: to help others who have suffered like me. I turned to yoga and found a path to healing. Now, as a yoga and spiritual coach, I guide women through their journeys of trauma recovery because I know that so many are struggling with similar pain.
Plea To Governments all Over The World
But this is not just about me; it’s about every woman who has experienced domestic violence, marital rape, or whose murder is dismissed as ‘suicide.’ Women like Dr. Moumita Debnath in India and Intan Nabila in Indonesia are tragic reminders of how deeply ingrained this violence is in our societies. Powerful men manipulate the system, bribe officials, pay fines, and walk out of jail, leaving victims and their families shattered, with no justice in sight. Even our homes, the very places that should offer safety and comfort, are not safe for many of us. Violence against women must be treated as the serious crime it is, with severe punishments, or this cycle of abuse will never stop.
Every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted, with one out of six American women having been the victim of an attempted or completed rape (“Statistics”, RAINN, 2020). An average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a single year (“Statistics” – The Hotline.Org). In India, a staggering 90 rape cases were reported every day in 2022 (“Crime In India” report, National Crime Records Bureau, 2022). In Indonesia, sexual violence is rampant, yet the laws are insufficient, and justice is often out of reach for survivors. These numbers reveal that the current systems are woefully inadequate in addressing and reducing these horrific crimes.
While some countries have laws against rape, they often fall short, especially when powerful men can bribe their way out of accountability. In India, the existing laws have provisions for imprisonment but are riddled with loopholes that allow offenders to evade real punishment. In Indonesia, the lack of strict enforcement and cultural stigma further hampers justice. We cannot allow perpetrators to buy their freedom while victims continue to suffer in silence.
I urge the governments of the world, starting with the United States, India, and Indonesia, to introduce and enforce stricter penalties for sexual assault and rape perpetrators. Our plea is to consider more stringent measures, including punitive actions such as castration and capital punishment for those found guilty of these heinous acts, to deter potential offenders and underscore the severity of the crime.
Our world, our societies, and our futures should not be marred by such horrendous victimization. This is more than just a petition; it’s a cry for justice and an appeal for the safeguarding of human dignity. To those who are reading this—what if tomorrow, your mother, your daughter, your sister, or you yourself had to go through this? Ask yourself: can we allow this to continue?
Please, sign this petition. Be the change that breaks the silence and brings justice to all.