Child rape cases: Why introduction of the death penalty is not a great move

About 18-20 per cent of child rapes occur in the family and 50 per cent in an institutionalised setting, according to a study

The government promulgated an ordinance last week that provides the death penalty to anyone who rapes a child under 12. But about 90 per cent of child rape cases were pending trial in India in 2016, no more than 28 per cent of such cases ended in conviction, and there is a 20-year backlog in bringing cases to trial, the latest  national crime data show.

These data indicate the move to prioritise a change to legislation that allows courts to grant the death penalty to rapists of children will not bring quicker or better justice because there is no plan to