Prajwal Revanna Sexual Assault Case: When Survivors Speak
As the Prajwal Revanna sexual assault case created massive outrage, the key accused is “absconding”, an SIT investigation is going on, and political parties are charging against each other—what is happening to these women, the survivors caught in the abuse video unknowingly? The News Minute(TNM), in their series titled “Prajwal Revanna Tapes: The Aftermath,” delves into the years of abuse survivors encountered in the Revanna household and their current living experience.
Three journalists from the TNM, Anisha Sheth, Shivani Kava, and Nandini Chandrashekar are meeting and interacting with the affected parties and recording the deep societal impact of the sexual abuse videos. The news report carries the account of three women who have accused JD(S) leader of sexual assault.
In the videos and images, the women”s faces are seen visibly, even though they attempt to cover their faces or ask not to be recorded. Though two weeks have passed since videos were leaked, many questions demand answers: Who leaked the videos? How many women were affected? What was the extent of compulsion, abuse of power, and politics involved in it?
Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Hassan MP.
The report carries the account of three women who have accused JD(S) leader of sexual assault.
When the reporters spoke to the survivors, they disclosed how fear, trauma, and social stigma propelled them to resist revealing the incident to anyone and subjected them to repeated assault. The news report talks to survivors who lodged police complaints against Prajwal Revanna and also those who did not but wished to share their ordeal. Through the their investigation, the reporters came across from the residents of the Hassan district that the women in the leaked videos include public officials, professionals, Janata Dal (Secular) members and leaders, people who have worked for the Revanna family, and the social elite in the region.
The report records that, as the video clips started circulating, a mother-daughter in Hassan discovered that they were on the tapes. The mother worked as domestic help at the Revanna residence. Their narration points out how the Revanna household is using their entitlement and power to advance their exploitation and cover up their crimes. The report also adds that since they have filed a complaint against one of the most powerful political families in the state, mother and daughter are left on their own. “Strangers are standing by us, not our own people. Some relatives say they support us but they also fear Revanna’s family. We too fear that they will do something to us,” the TNM reports as the daughter is saying. She adds that the police have extended protection to them. The journalists also talked to the woman who said in a testimony that “Revanna family is not guilty”, and she said Ajith (an associate of the Revannas”) made her lie on the video by blackmailing her with an impending arrest.
The leaked videos are circulated on messaging and social media platforms, and some have also turned the situation into a vicious play by locating the identities of the women in the videos and harassing them online or via messages. They recount how constantly they have been reminded, attacked, and targeted online, as well as questioned about their morality.
