Gitikka Ganju Dhar Drives #DNAFightsRape Pledge
by EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | July 21, 2020 | News
Gitikka Ganju Dhar
On 17th July 2020, International Justice Day, live host, anchor, writer, and actor and Founder of Ministry of Talk, Gitikka Ganju Dhar, minced no words. She spoke about setting a target for ending the ‘barbaric menace’ of rape by 2030 and transforming India into a rape-free nation, as part of the ongoing #DNAFightsRape campaign.
In a compelling video, Gitikka urged Indians to take the pledge with her message: “Hurrah to the Prime Minister's vision of building a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2024. Alongside, the Quality of Life Index for women in India must also go up. We must set a target for ending the barbaric menace of rape by 2030 and transform India into a rape-free nation, balatkar mukt bharat."
She expressed the belief that this would happen if and when the number of convictions equals the number of rapes, adding that speedy and just convictions can only be achieved by using DNA as clinching evidence.
Dr. Pinky Anand, senior advocate, noted that the initiative #DNAFightsRape – Save the Evidence started two years ago and had gained tremendous momentum since then. She added that in the past six months, the judiciary had treated forensic DNA results as conclusive evidence and that in the past two years, the testing of DNA in criminal incidents had doubled.
#DNAFightsRape – Save the Evidence is a citizen awareness drive that was launched on November 25th, 2019, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in partnership with the Delhi Police, AIIMS, UN Women India, Red FM, and MARD. The movement has further gained momentum with several partners like Gujarat Forensic Sciences University (GFSU) and Girl Up (UN Foundation) endorsing it this year, informed an official statement.
Arneeta Vasudeva, Senior Vice President, Ogilvy, the creative agency associated with the campaign, added, “Rape is malice that has permeated into this nation’s fabric and is spreading at an alarming rate. With only 1 in 4 rape cases leading to conviction, the future looks grim unless we do something about it. So let’s all on this Day of International Criminal Justice take a pledge to do our part in making India a rape-free country, and a safer community for our women and children.”
Tim Schellberg, Founder and President, Gordon Thomas Honeywell-GA, a governmental affairs firm based in the USA, noted, “I am proud to endorse the #DNAFightsRape on the International Justice Day. This campaign will bring much-needed awareness of the power of DNA in delivering justice to rape survivors. This awareness will create the expectation in India that when a rape occurs, DNA will be collected and tested quickly. In the United States and many other countries who were early to mainstream DNA forensics, rape survivors and their families have a general understanding of DNA evidence and they know its value to a criminal investigation. As a result, the culture in these countries is not to clean or wash evidence and pursue medical examination at the earliest. India too would see greater utilization of DNA in sexual assaults if people here made it a top priority. This would not only bring sexual offenders to justice but also act as a strong deterrent to the act of rape.”
#DNAFightsRape reinforces the message, ‘Do Not Wash, Do Not Clean, SAVE THE EVIDENCE’.
She spoke about setting a target for ending the ‘barbaric menace’ of rape by 2030 and transforming India into a rape-free nation, as part of the ongoing #DNAFightsRape campaign.