It’s a news item that has started to appear with a worrying regularity — women being assaulted or raped across India. In Delhi itself, as many as 10 cases of rape were reported in the last month alone.

It is this 700 per cent increase in reported rape cases over the last five decades that has got the government thinking. So a new law, already approved of by the cabinet is on the anvil. Here are some of the fine points of those amendments proposed in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC):

* Woman judge to hear rape cases, as far as practicable * Trial to end within three months * Investigation of case preferably at victim’s residence * Investigation preferably by a woman police officer * Questioning of victim in presence of her parents or a social worker * Recording victim statements at places of their choice * Ban on publication of trial proceedings in rape cases Karnataka Poll Chat * Compensation to victims or dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of crime

However, the question remains if the new amendments will ensure faster justice for the victims or not.

Iris (name changed to protect identity) was raped there years ago. The police first refused to lodge her FIR and when they finally did, no medical tests were ordered. Instead, in a misguided attempt at justice, they got her married to her rapist.

“I was forced to marry the man who raped me. My life had already been ruined and I did not know what to do with it. Ultimately, I had to give into the pressure and married the man who had brought about my ruin. People were not willing to help me but forcing me to marry,” she says.

That was three years ago. The new amendments appear to be a step in the right direction, but can they really ensure effective quick justice?