Indian doctors strike over rape, murder of medical resident

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday formed a 10-member National Task Force to recommend safety protocols for healthcare workers, local media reported. The Supreme Court has been hearing the case of the Aug. 9 rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor. The crimes allegedly took place at a state-run hospital in Kolkata, a state capital in Eastern India. Following her murder, thousands of doctors across the country have staged protests and declined to see non-emergency patients. The Indian Medical Association on Saturday called for a 24-hour nationwide strike, demanding that the government strengthen laws to protect medical staff against violence, increase security at hospitals, and create safe spaces for staff to rest. A group of 70 doctors on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to intervene in the case.

What do we know about the case? The trainee doctor was napping in a seminar hall during an overnight shift when the suspect attacked her, according to local media reports. Indian law prohibits anyone from publishing the name of a sexual assault victim. Authorities on Saturday arrested police volunteer Sanjay Roy in connection with the murder. India’s federal investigators have taken over the case.

Has the local government made any changes? The state government of West Bengal, where the hospital is located, on Saturday introduced a new initiative to keep women safe in the workplace during night shifts. The program would create safe zones for women with closed-circuit TV monitoring, designate separate rest areas, and assign security officers to medical colleges and hospitals.

Why has the case sparked such widespread protests? The doctor’s death is one of several recent high-profile incidents of violence against women. The country recorded a 20 percent increase in reported rapes from 2021 to 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. The Indian government in 2013 instituted additional measures to combat such crimes after a young woman was raped and killed in 2012 on a bus.

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