In Pakistan, two men who raped a woman in front of her own children were sentenced to death. The court charged them with rape, kidnapping, robbery and terrorism, BBC reports.
The crime was committed last September. The woman and her two children were driving to the city of Lahore in the northeast of the country late at night, but her car ran out of gas. She stopped at the side of the road to contact relatives and order a tow truck. Then two men broke into the salon of her car, raped and robbed her.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the police attempted to place some of the blame on the victim, pointing out that the victim herself drove down a deserted road at night and did not check the fuel level. The words of the police caused a wide public outcry, thousands of people took to the streets, demanding that they abandon the tactics of blaming the victim and change the legislation so that it better protects women. The authorities listened, and Pakistan passed new laws in December, providing for faster hearings of rape cases and harsher penalties.
Earlier it became known that Pakistan decided to abandon the practice of invasive testing for the virginity of rape victims. The Supreme Court in Lahore has ruled that the derogatory practice is not scientifically or medically necessary, but is used to raise suspicion on the victim. So far, the court's decision will be valid only in the Punjab province.
