Rape Videos Being Sold in Uttar Pradesh From Rs. 50

This denotes the entertainment value of rape to be between merely 75 cents and $2.23.

Across the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, real-life rape, assault, and gang rape videos are sold on corner shops each day. The clips range from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, and depending on their “exclusivity” in image or action, they are priced between Rs. 50-150. This denotes the entertainment value of rape to be between merely 75 cents and $2.23.

The sale of such videos is open and rampant, occurring under the noses of police and administration. Yet, the rape videos are sold “under the counter,” meaning that only those customers who have come to a dealer with a trusted “reference” will be able to purchase them. Individuals or gangs often obtain the videos for sale by downloading them from Twitter, Tumblr, or Facebook accounts. Perpetrators also frequently take videos of the rape or assault on their cell phones and post them online as a blackmailing tool to bully the victim either into further sexual submission or to prohibit them from reporting it to the cops. Dealers are subsequently easily able to download the videos directly onto a customer’s smartphone or pen drive, completing the illicit transaction.

Not only is selling these explicit videos a felony of piracy and porn, but the dealer and customer become corroborators of the crime as well. Each actor involved—the perpetrators of the act, the videographer, the dealer, the customer, police who turn a blind eye—profits from the offense. From committing the crime to exploiting it for mass entertainment, the victims’ mental and physical health, safety, and dignity are increasingly compromised.

In locales of UP where the videos are sold, neighbors can sometimes identify the victim. According to the Times of India’s report, a man was observed telling teenagers that they might even know the girl in the “latest, hottest” video as his tactic for sale. Case in point: last month in Bareilly, a 21-year-old woman committed suicide when she discovered that her assailant posted her videos online and her nude pictures were being sold to local residents at just Rs. 3 per print.

“Porn is passé. These real life crimes are the rage,” an unnamed shopkeeper in Agra, home to the illustrious Taj Mahal, told the Times of India. The fatal 2012 gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus, who has come to be known as “Nirbhaya,” attracted international attention, mass protests, and forced the Indian government to criminalize stalking and sentence repeat rape offenders to death. Despite these efforts, however, violence against women in India is on the rise, and UP is one of the most dangerous states for women. In 2014, there were 337,922 reports of violence against women, a 9 percent jump from the previous year, undoubtedly with many other incidences having gone unreported.

Bareilly, Belanganj, Balkeshwar, Kamla Nagar, Meerut—these are simply a few of the identified cities in which market shops openly sell rape videos. Sources in the police have said that it would be nearly impossibly to end this trend. Moreover, as a result of the video sales, an upsurge in rape occurrences has triggered the public to call for the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s resignation. In consolation, Agra’s SP Ghule Sushi Chandrabhan has offered, “In the past we have conducted raids at Tajganj and Sadar areas and arrested one for selling explicit videos and pirated films. We will continue to raid such places.”

On August 4th, nine men were arrested for allegedly downloading and selling the videos, according to the International Business Times. Follow #LawlessUP trending on Twitter to keep up with this news.