Catholic Nun Trainee Kidnapped, Repeatedly Gang-Raped In India

A 22-year-old Catholic nun trainee in India was kidnapped and gang-raped for a week by a group of men, including her cousins.

On July 5, the trainee was lured to a train station in the Orissa region by her abductors, who told her over the phone that her mother was sick. The men then took her to a different location, where they raped her over several days before taking her back to the train station on July 11. She was instructed not to tell anyone what happened.

According to the New York Post, the rape is alleged to be a revenge attack, and the suspects reportedly believed that the victim’s brother was involved in the death of one attacker’s father.

According to the Times of India, the victim’s cousins, 30-year-old Jotindra Sobhasundar and 28-year-old Tukuna Sobhasundar were arrested Sunday. The next day, a woman — who made the phone call informing the victim that her mother was sick — was also arrested.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India spoke out against the attack, saying, “Rape is an abhorrent crime and an abominable transgression against the honor of women and reflects [the] abysmal state of women in our society, community and nation.”

In December 2012, a 23-year-old medical student boarded a bus with a male friend in the Munirka area of New Delhi. The young woman was beaten and gang raped, and died from her injuries less than two weeks later. The attack and the victim’s death sparked widespread outrage and protests across the globe. Of the six defendants, one will be sentenced later this month, four are being tried in a fast-track court in New Delhi, and one was found dead in his cell in March.

In June, an American tourist was gang-raped after she accepted a ride from three men in a truck. The men were arrested the following week after police tracked down the vehicle.

What do you think should be done to curb sexual assault in India?