India: Four sentenced to death in New Delhi student rape and murder case, some doubt it will deter further sexual assaults

India is battling an epidemic of sorts in sexual violence as reports of rapes and gang rapes headline newspapers across the country.

Image/CIA

However, there was some vindication last week as Judge Yogesh Khanna announced the death sentence of four men convicted in the brutal gang rape and murder of “Nirbhaya”, the symbolic name given to the 23-year-old New Delhi student victim.

“In these times when crime against women is on the rise, courts cannot turn a blind eye,” he said.

Clearly, the sentence brought joy and applause to those following this and similar cases in the country.

But there are many who believe the sentencing of the four will stem the sexual violence against women in India.

The New York Times reports, some women’s rights advocates are skeptical of its deterrent ability.

“I think a lot of people were hugging each other because they thought this evil is localized, and it will be wiped out, and that is not the case,” said Karuna Nundy, a litigator who has argued before India’s Supreme Court. “The sad truth is that it is not a deterrent.”

Reports of rape in Delhi has already eclipsed 1,000 so far this year, more than double the number from the same period in 2012.