Praja rajya Vedike and Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO – Karnataka) along with Karnataka Sexual Minorities Forum (KSMF), Sangama, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), Alternative Law Forum (ALF), Aneka, Loksatta Party – Karnataka, and New Socialist Alternative came along to protest against rape and sexual violence targeted towards women.

The candle light protest titled “Men against sexual violence, Men against gender justice” attracted a considerable gathering of men and women from various cross section of the society who stood to express their grief on the Delhi gang rape and demand justice for the victims of sexual violence and rape throughout India

Following demands were raised by the protestors:

1. Greater dignity, equality, autonomy and rights for women and girls. For this, the society should stop policing their actions at every step.
2. Immediate relief in terms of legal, medical, financial and psychological assistance and long-term rehabilitation be provided to survivors of sexual assault.
3. A 24×7 helpline should be set up for helping survivors of sexual assault/ sexual harassment. The helpline should also cater to phone calls by women who are alone and feel threatened to travel in the night, thus providing them assistance in terms of safe transport. This should be run by the government in partnership with women’s rights organisations.
4. Provision of improved infrastructure to make cities safer for women, including well-lit pavements, bus stops and emergency services.
5. Effective registration, monitoring and regulation of transport services (whether public, private or contractual) to make them safe, accessible and available to all.
6. Compulsory courses on gender sensitisation should be embedded within the training curriculum at all levels starting from High school to Industries and professional workplaces, including police, judiciary and other Govt. institutions.
7. That the police do its duty to ensure that public spaces are free from harassment, molestation and assault. This means that they themselves have to stop sexually assaulting women who come to make complaints. They have to register all FIRs and attend to complaints. CCTV cameras should be set up in all police stations and swift action must be taken against errant police personnel.
8. Immediate setting up of fast track courts for rape and other forms of sexual violence all across the country. State governments should operationalize their creation on a priority basis. Sentencing should be done within a period of six months.
9. The National Commission for Women has time and again proved itself to be an institution that works against the interests of women. Its role should be reviewed and audited as soon as possible.
10. The State should acknowledge the reality of custodial violence against women in many parts of the country, especially in Kashmir, North-East and Chhattisgarh. There are several pending cases and immediate action should be taken by the government to punish the guilty and to ensure that these incidents of violence are not allowed to be repeated.
11. Media, filmmakers and advertisers should put an end to objectification of women through advertisements, films and media. The State should setup and strengthen institutions to monitor and correct stop stereotyping of women based on Gender discrimination.

The protest saw a significant presence of national and local media.