In Tarun Tejpal acquittal, judge questions 'appropriate' behaviour for rape victims

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightFrédéric Soltan

Is there an appropriate way for a rape victim to behave?

That’s the question many are asking in India after a judge threw out charges against a man accused of raping a female colleague and questioned the behaviour of the alleged victim.

Judge Kshama Joshi wrote that in photographs taken shortly after the alleged assault, the young woman was “smiling and looked happy, normal, in [a] good mood”.

“She did not look disturbed, reserved, terrified or traumatised