It is said that a rape survivor relives the trauma several times after the criminal act—with the police, in repeated appearances in the court, in the community she belongs to, in the neighbourhood that she and her family live in, and in her future marked by this heinous violation. If the survivor is a 15-year-old and pregnant after the rape, the trauma is clearly manifold. If this survivor cannot abort the pregnancy because India’s existing laws do not allow medical termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks of gestation, the trauma assumes untold proportions. This underscores why the Supreme Court of India’s ruling on Thursday, asking for an amendment in the law for minor rape survivors, is enormously significant.

The SC........

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