‘Shifting the shame’: the young gang-rape survivor spreading awareness on sexual violence

At just 13, Kiran faced down vilification and threats after an attack in her small Indian village. Now she is taking her message to the world stage

When three men were sentenced to 25 years each for the gang-rape of a teenager in north-eastern India in 2017, the impact on their home village was profound.

For 14 months between the attack and the verdict, the community ostracised, threatened and vilified the survivor’s family as they pursued justice for 13-year-old Kiran* – a story captured in the Oscar-nominated 2022 documentary To Kill A Tiger. But the landmark ruling led to an immediate cultural shift in the rural community. Neighbours who had told Kiran’s father, Ranjit, that he should marry his daughter off to one of her rapists to avoid bringing dishonour to the village admitted they were wrong; men and boys stopped taunting and objectifying women and girls.

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