*Trigger warning*

It’s been another week of protests in India as the rape of a 5-year old girl is investigated. To suggest, “rape is an epidemic” would be an unjust reduction of the very complex, harrowing and difficult situation faced by sexual assault survivors and their allies in India — as they work against a system that does not have concrete legal pathways to bring perpetrators to justice and a culture that has normalized rape.

On the heels of these high profile, violent rapes in India — the PM of India, Manmohan Singh, has reiterated that women must be protected and it’s of growing concern to the country the “safety of women.” But, suggesting we protect women is a logic that ...