The term “item” is derogatory and sexually objects a girl, according to a special court in Mumbai that sentenced a man to 1.5 years in prison for harassing a young girl.
The court stated in the order issued on October 20 that it would not be lenient toward the accused and that such “roadside Romeos” should be punished in order to protect women from such inappropriate behaviour. The man, who was 25 at the time of the incident, was found guilty by Special Judge A J Ansari, who is designated to hear cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, of insulting the modesty of the 16-year-old victim by calling her a “item” and pulling her hair close to her home in the suburbs of Mumbai in July 2015.
The judge stated, “In my opinion, the fact that the accused intentionally caught hold of the victim’s hair, pulled it, and called her a “item” will go to prove the fact that he outraged her modesty.
The court said the accused’s actions were “wholly inappropriate.”
“The accused called her a “item,” a term typically used by boys to refer to girls in a derogatory way because it sexually objectifies them. The order stated that the same would clearly show that he intended to offend her modesty.
It continued, “It is obviously insulting to refer to any girl as a “item”.”
The judge stated that the accused’s actions were clearly motivated by sexual desire because the word “item,” when used to refer to a girl, is only used to objectify her sexually. The court further stated that the case involved the harassment of a young girl on the street and that no leniency could be shown to the accused.
“Such offences need to be dealt with harshly in order to teach these roadside Romeos a lesson and protect women from their inappropriate behaviour, “It read. The accused approached the victim on July 14, 2015, as she was walking home from school and referred to her as a “item.”
The man began verbally abusing the girl and pulling her hair after she asked him to stop. She then made a help request over the police helpline number 100.
When the police arrived, the suspect had already left. The girl returned home and told her father, who then filed a complaint at Mumbai’s Sakinaka police station. The suspect was then taken into custody and released on bail.
