Gender neutral move: Govt amends victim compensation rules

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Bhubaneswar: The state government has issued a notification regarding revamping of the procedure for paying compensation to the victims of violence and crimes by amending the Odisha Compensation Scheme, 2017.
In what seemed to be a progressive approach towards the criminal justice system, the Home department has announced that victims of mob lynching would be eligible for compensation and, that victims of sexual assault (other than women) and acid attacks can also claim compensation from the government.
The notification was issued by the government under Article 357A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which mandates every state government to prepare a scheme in coordination with the Centre for compensating victims who have suffered losses or injuries due to crime.
The Home department has amended the Victim Compensation Scheme 2017, and has replaced it with the Victim Compensation (Amendment) Scheme, 2018 by adding new crimes and widening the list of beneficiaries.
It has amended sub clause (g) of Clause 2 of the scheme to provide compensation to the victims of ‘mob violence and lynching’.
In a gender neutral approach, it has also tried to include victims of sexual assault and acid attack other than women by empowering them to claim compensation from the government. It has also announced an increase in the compensation amount for crime victims.
The compensation for deaths caused by all kinds of crime can now range from a minimum of Rs 5 lakh to a maximum of Rs 10 lakh against the earlier amount of Rs 2 lakh (as per the 2017 scheme).
Similarly, the maximum compensation for rape survivors has been increased from Rs 3 lakh to `7 lakh. Rules have also been framed to provide the survivors of gang-rape a compensation of up to `10 lakh.
It has also provided compensation for victims of unnatural sexual offences. The compensation for this can be as high as `7 lakh.
Experts working in the sector welcomed the move, but asked for faster implementation of the scheme which became effective from October 2.
“These steps will surely help victims, but there needs to be more sensitivity among people handling the payment of compensation, and also a need to speed up the process of paying compensation,” said Ghasiram Panda, a women and child rights activist.