Delhi gang-rape case: Head of UN women seeks justice for the victim

UN Women head Michelle Bachelet today demanded punishment for culprits of the gangrape-cum-murder of a Delhi girl, saying a strong message must be sent that violence against women will not be accepted.

Bachelet, the former Chilean president, requested that a strong message be sent to discourage such crimes during her visit to Nigeria.

The UN under-secretary general, on a regional tour of Africa to promote women's rights, noted that there are sufficient laws to prosecute rapists in several parts of the world and called for adequate implementation of such.

She reiterated the need to punish the offenders because it involved a woman's life stating, "The loss of life is unacceptable."

They need to be punished for that, but also to send a strong message to everyone that violence against women will not be accepted.

She expressed concern over the existence of good laws which go without implementation, stressing that police and judges often fail to consider as serious enough the allegations of abuse.

The 23-year-old paramedical student was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus on December 16 in New Delhi. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.